Last night I had some thoughts on Mizzou’s 27-24 win over Iowa. But I’m not done yet!

Defensive promise… and a bowl streak!

One of the moments that stood out to me in Mizzou’s come-from-behind win over Iowa last night was Toriano Pride Jr.’s interception.

Admittedly, this isn’t a shock. It came at a crucial time for the defense as Iowa worked to tie the game with two points. And the pick itself was a real eye-catcher, as Pride jumped over the receiver and grabbed Sullivan’s errant pass.

But the style of the piece wasn’t why I was impressed. Rather, it was the fact that it happened at all. Despite all the pomp and circumstance of his homecoming last offseason, Toriano Pride’s first outing as a Tiger was quite disappointing. At one point, he was even pushed aside as one of the team’s two best cornerbacks. And after earning a 91.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in Week 1, his second-highest overall score was 68.3. His overall grade for the season was 66.6…not what you’d expect from a starting corner in the SEC.

But what do we say about transfers? Are they generally good (or better) in season two? The coaching staff’s belief in swagger paid off against the Hawkeyes and could look even better if the East St. Louis product becomes one of two strong cornerbacks in 2025 along with Dreyden Norwood.

In fact, the same could be said about most of Mizzou’s defense. The Tigers will lose a handful of contributors, but they return the majority of their snaps and a slew of players who produced strong campaigns. With the addition of some impact transfers from the 2025 class, the return of Darris Smith, and maybe even some rookie help, the 2025 defense is looking pretty strong. That will be an imperative, especially if the offense looks good on Hard Reset.

And before we move on to free thoughts…we officially have a bowl streak on our hands! After losing his first two postseason stints as Missouri’s head coach, Eli Drinkwitz now has two prestigious Big 10 wins on his resume. He is still two straight bowl victories away from matching Mizzou’s best postseason streak ever – a four-game streak that included the 1961 Orange Bowl, 1962 Bluebonnet Bowl, 1966 Sugar Bowl and 1968 Gator Bowl – But without three you can’t get to four and without two you can’t get to three. Here’s to another successful trip into the late season next winter!

10 more free thoughts…

• Is Marquis Johnson Mizzou’s next WR1? He was a good argument against Iowa’s stingy pass defense. Johnson showed his menace at every level of the field on Monday afternoon. He was a vertical threat, both in the way he went deep and the way he lofted a dropped ball. He was open on the sideline and made some nice footwork plays. And he had some nice transitions into the middle of the field. His size is a little detrimental to him, but he is an electric playmaker who has excelled against quality opponents two years in a row. A breakout season could be on the horizon next fall.
• I’m truly amazed that two of Mizzou’s best receivers over the last two years ended their careers due to injury. I’ve already dealt with Mookie Cooper’s disappointing end to the season, but seeing Theo Wease Jr. go down with an “upper body injury” was disappointing, especially after taking a questionable hit from Xavier Nwankpa. Wease was defenseless and Nwankpa did nothing to avoid a thunderous blow to his head and neck, initially described as “targeting” before knocking him over.

I know we’re not that far along with the targeting rule at this point, but it’s a little concerning that Caleb Flagg’s attempt to grab a loose ball from Brandon Sullivan (final score: tackle for loss) was the closer to the textbook definition of targeting than Nwankpa’s (final result, the end of Theo Wease’s playing and college career.) I know you can’t write nuance into the rulebook…but maybe we should try something?

• It wasn’t the night I, Josh Manning’s biggest fan, wanted for his sophomore year, but I dreamed of what his junior year could look like after that touchdown run ending. Manning appeared to scope out the middle of the field before turning on the afterburners and pushing every Hawkeye defender to the outside with ease and hitting the pay dirt. Manning has all the tools to be the heir to the throne of Luther Burden III. to become. Support those hands and Beau Pribula (I assume) will have one heck of a receiving corps next season.
• I will really miss Johnny Walker Jr. The explosive EDGE has been a thorn in the side of opposing defenses over the last two years and has always had a knack for popping up at just the right moment. His two sacks both came at opportune times for the defense, including on the final drive of the game to put Iowa in its place. More than his stats, however, Walker always seemed to cause trouble for the other team, even when he didn’t make it to the QB position. The Tigers will have their hands full finding a replacement for next year.
• I know it’s out there somewhere – that picture of Corey Flagg Jr. going over the top of the Iowa offensive line to stop fourth down and a short to end the game. If you have it, please send it to us. We’ll take good care of it!
• Did anyone else notice how bad the announcers were last night when it came to the Mizzou research? Two things particularly struck me. When Taylor Zarzour introduced the game, he began by noting that Mizzou and Iowa were two teams that “don’t make mistakes.” And while that can certainly be said of Iowa, I’m not sure how you watch so much Mizzou football in 2024 and not realize that mistakes are inherently a part of the Tigers game.

Second, Zarzour and Matt Stinchcomb repeated over and over again at one point that Theo Wease Jr. was in Luther Burden III’s place and Marquis Johnson was in Theo Wease’s place. I’m not sure what game they were watching, but I didn’t notice any of this alignment mess. In fact, it seemed as if Wease was directing the same types of plays as always, while Johnson had larger roles than usual, including some of Luther Burden’s plays. I understand that it’s easy to move everyone up a spot, but on the first attempt to pass it as a real analysis it failed the sniff test, let alone the third, fourth and fifth.

• I enjoy all the pictures I can find of Eli Drinkwitz lifting this monolith of a trophy and doing his best not to let it fall on his head.

• Could the loss in the Music City Bowl be the catalyst for Kirk Ferentz?

• Thank you to everyone who read our post-game coverage this year. We are very pleased that you are spending your celebration or mourning with us. We look forward to doing it again next year!