Missouri Football: 3 Takeways from the Tigers 24-17 loss at Florida

In a season where moral victories seem to come more often than official victories — the Missouri Tigers come up short on the road at Florida. Here are 3 takeaways.

1. The Tigers aren’t good enough to turn the ball over and still win games.

Neither team won the turnover battle as both starting quarterbacks turned the ball over twice for their respective teams. The difference between Florida and Missouri is that the Tigers aren’t talented enough to overcome multiple turnovers against quality opponents. Brady Cook was picked off twice by Jaydon Hill — the first returned for a touchdown to put the Gators up 7-0 in the first quarter.

The Tigers’ defense gave the team a chance to win. Florida’s offense was held to 17 points in the game — with only 3 in the first half after a long punt return to set the Gators up at the Missouri 24-yard line. Quarterback Anthony Richardson lost a fumble on a DJ Coleman sack in the second quarter. He also threw an interception late in the fourth quarter that gave the Tigers one last opportunity to score.

2. Brady Cook played better than the box score reflects.

Brady Cook completed 22 of 30 passes for 220 yards. Moreso, he played a gutsy football game. Even as Cook took multiple sacks and hits — he still kept battling back. Missouri played as well on third down as they have all season — converting on 9 of 17 opportunities. In the fourth quarter — Cody Schrader took a pass on a third and 22 and rumbled for 27 yards for a first down. Cook then found Mekhi Miller for an 18-yard gain on third and 15. Nate Peat would finish that drive off with an 18-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to seven. On the Tigers’ last drive — he found Miller once again on a third and 18 for a first down. Unfortunately for Missouri, both of Brady Cook’s interceptions came on third downs — the latter occurring deep in Gators territory.

3. The road woes continue for the Tigers.

Eli Drinkwitz has coached 13 games away from Faurot Field as head coach for Missouri. In those 13 games (including the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl) — the Tigers are 2-11. That’s simply not going to get it done in the SEC. There aren’t enough home games on the schedule to overcome not winning road games. When they aren’t simply outmatched from a talent perspective, slow starts out of the gates doom them.

If this team plans on finding a way to become bowl eligible by the season’s end — they’re going to have to find ways to eliminate or overcome the slow starts and win on the road at South Carolina. The offensive unit is relatively inexperienced but they have to learn how to finish games when the opportunities present themselves.

The loss drops Missouri to 2-4 and 0-3 in SEC conference play. The Tigers get a much-needed week off to heal up and then play host to Vanderbilt on October 22nd.