Happy August, everyone!
Welcome to the Morning Commute where we get football this month!
Expectations for this season seem to be all over the place, but mostly... meager, from the outside. The media picked Mizzou 12th, Phil Steele picked them in the same spot.
Mizzou fans are a little more optimistic but the reality is the lack of a known solution at Quarterback is going to temper the lens for which these Tigers are seen until they can take the field.
The good news? We’re already through one week of camp, and there are just
4 more Thursdays until we get real game action.
Time to put it all together…
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) July 31, 2025
• 8-9-25#MIZ | #STP pic.twitter.com/qZtAQ7cmNa
In the meantime, I’ve been busy doing some prep work in helping us get ready for the migration to a new system here next week. The regular content hose is gearing up, so be patient with us as we adapt to a new setup. I can’t wait for people to see it and get used to the improvements.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
The new deal raises Batoon’s salary to $1.4 million for this season and will jump by $100,000 next year, according to reporting by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The terms also include a $100,000 bonus if he remains the defensive coordinator by February of next year.
Batoon led the Tigers to top-20 finishes in passing yards allowed, total defense and scoring defense in his first season on the job after Blake Baker’s departure for LSU.
That’s a lot of dollarinos. Assistant coaching salaries have ballooned just like everything else, but this is clearly a move by Drinkwitz to fortify a spot he feels confident in, and Batoon’s first year proved he’s well equipped for the gig.
- Matt Harris has been tracking Mizzou Hoops recruits efficiency during the summer, which has finally wrapped up:
After some deduping and scrubbing, here’s a (late) look at where Mizzou’s targets in 2026 fare in terms of net rating. If the positioning looks eerily similar to the scatter plot for offensive efficiency, well, the correlation between it and net rating is strong (R=0.713) and almost half the variance in net rating is explained by a change in offensive PPP.
Which makes intuitive sense. Let’s say you’re a lockdown defender and only allow 0.700 points per possession. If you’re only a median threat offensively, you’re posting a plus-12 net rating. Now, that’s not abysmal. You’d rank in the 64th percentile of this sample. But cracking the 80th percentile would require you to trim your defensive PPP down to 0.600. That would make you one of the best defenders in the class, depending on possession volume.
Some really interesting stuff over on RM+.
- Over at Rock M+, we’re talking about the basketball teams defense, from a comment on @DataMizzou’s #2 question heading into the season:
The Mitchell, Porter, Mack, Robinson foursome resonates with possibilities. You could add either a wing, a 3rd guard, or a center to that mix. They are versatile enough to sustain an effective defense with a variety of different teammates. And the roster depth is pretty good; so long as you sub in Boateng when either of your top 4 sits, you maintain your defensive integrity. Assuming they even care about that.
There will still be questions regarding any Gates led team’s defensive chops until he fields a team with a stout defense. Last year was better but there’s still room to improve. Did you know we have web push notifications on RockM+ now?
Rock M Radio: Before the Box Score is coming soon!
Nate and BK got back together to get a bit of a season preview going as we get through the first week of camp. Be on the lookout for it.
Subscribe to Rock M Radio on Apple Podcasts. Or stream episodes through Megaphone or Spotify. Have a question for us? Leave a 5-star review with your question and that show just might answer it in an upcoming episode!
If you like Rock M Radio drop us a Review and be sure to subscribe on your preferred podcasting platform. Follow @RockMRadio on Twitter and if you haven’t already head over to our YouTube channel and click that subscribe button!
(** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)
More from rockmnation.com:
- Everyone’s piling on after another tough loss
- A tough loss to Kentucky leaves us wondering what’s next?
- UPDATE: DeMarkus Acy gives brief thoughts on the PI call that cost Missouri a win
- Defeated.
- BREAKING: Mark Smith will play this season
- Missouri Defense Shuts Down Snell, No. 12 Kentucky, but it’s Not Enough in Last-Second Loss
- Two freshmen and a walk-on will make up Missouri’s combo guard depth
