5 Things You Need to Know About the Missouri Tigers, Presented by Sword Performance

Alright, folks. It is Caturday once again and this time around we get some Southeastern Conference football under the lights. Kentucky will welcome the Missouri Tigers to Kroger Field for a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff. This is a budding rivalry and the ‘Cats owe the Tigers some revenge after last season’s ugly 20-10 loss.

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Missouri is coming off of a 34-24 victory over Central Michigan in week one. The Chippewas were able to move the ball consistently and were squarely in the game the entire way. On the other side, Kentucky obviously cruised to their 45-10 season-opening win over ULM.

For much more in-depth information on the Missouri Tigers be sure to check out Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report and Freddie Maggard’s take on what Kentucky must do to beat Mizzou.

Now, let us dive in to 5 things you need to know about the Missouri Tigers.

Workhorse Running Back

The Missouri Tigers have a budding star at Quarterback, but this offense goes as Tyler Badie (#1) goes. Badie is a constant threat for explosive plays with eight rushes of 10 yards or more in week one. In total, the senior running back rushed over 203 yards on 25 carries and two scores against Central Michigan. He also collected 40 yards and a touchdown through the air on three receptions.

Badie is a proven commodity in the Tigers backfield. The 5’8″ 194 pound rusher has 1,339 career rushing yards, 859 career receiving yards, and 18 total touchdowns to his name in Columbia. Kentucky was excellent against the run in week one, but this will be a significant jump in talent. Limiting explosive plays will be the key to success against Tyler Badie and Mizzou.

Potential Star Quarterback

Connor Bazelak (#8) turned a lot of heads during his redshirt freshman season in 2020. The former four-star recruit chose the Tigers over the Wildcats and then beat UK in his first season behind center. Bazelak tossed for 2,366 yards last season while averaging 7.3 yards per attempt.

Now, Bazelak enters his redshirt sophomore season with high expectations. Those expectations were for the most part met last Saturday with a solid 21-32 performance that netted 257 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

This will be a significant test for the Kentucky secondary as Bazelak and company will look to stretch the field vertically. Just like in the run game, the Wildcats must keep the home runs to a minimum Saturday night under the lights.

Seeking Havoc

It is time to see what the Big Blue Wall is made of. Missouri is going to load up in the box and attempt to make plays in the Kentucky backfield. In week one, the Tigers led the country with nine quarterback sacks. They also accumulated 14 tackles for loss.

You can expect to see plenty of blitzing and an aggressive style that is predicated on high-risk, high-reward outcomes. That was evident by the 21 plays of 10 or more yards they allowed last weekend against Central Michigan. With havoc comes explosive plays. Which team comes out on top in that category will go a long way to determining the winner.

Blaze Alldredge is the Havoc Creator

We’ve established that Missouri wants to create negative plays with their defense. Rice transfer Blaze Alldredge is the primary playmaker on the defensive side that makes those plays happen.

After raking up 214 tackles, including 29 tackles for loss, in his three seasons playing for the Rice Owls, Alldredge picked up right were he left off in Columbia. The senior linebacker recorded 10 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks against the Chippewas. Once again, limiting the negative plays and creating some explosives will lead to a Kentucky victory at Kroger Field.

A Rivalry in the Making

Kentucky leads this series 7-4 all-time, but Mizzou took the 2020 matchup out in Columbia 20-10. This has become a measuring stick game for the two programs that are attempting to entire the Southeastern Conference’s top tier. Saturday night, one team will win and have a chance to turn a good season into a great season. However, one team will suffer a loss that they did not account for in preseason prognostication.

As the home team, the ‘Cats need to come out on top. Associate Head Coach Vince Marrow has called the matchup the biggest game since 2018 at Florida. The team and fanbase alike are putting a lot of meaning on this game.

Rivalry games also bring heightened emotions. Playing under the lights in front of the most raucous home crowd we’ve witnessed in two years will give both sides plenty of juice. Whether that is bottled up in a productive manner or spills over into sloppy, undisciplined is yet to be seen.