Welcome to a new series called ‘What’s The Trend’ that highlights the biggest risers and fallers in the Mizzou Football world each week! After a dominant Week 1 performance against Central Arkansas — that brought some minor setbacks — here are this week’s trends.
On the Rise
Beau Pribula
Even though it wasn’t the most fair Week 1 QB battle in Columbia, Pribula won and made his name known by the Mizzou fans. He finished the game with 283 passing yards and four total touchdowns.
Pribula has appeared in two press
conferences since the game and has exuded confidence in both.
“I’ve been comfortable running this offense since the spring,” the quarterback said on Tuesday. “I fit into (this offense) well. My play style meshes good with Coach Moore’s calling style.”
The Penn State transfer’s Week 1 performance got him a 91.8 PFF grade which ranked 8th in the country. While UCA wasn’t the biggest test Pribula will have all season; he didn’t disappoint and will look to keep it going against Kansas’ defense.
Mizzou Fans
Mizzou fans have a lot to be happy about after Week 1 of football. The stadium sold out its 57,321 capacity and the team got a dominant win. Even though the stands were almost empty by the fourth quarter — Mizzou fans left the stadium happy.
Now, fans get another home game and arguably the most entertaining one of the season. Missouri fans are going to be everywhere this upcoming weekend, and I expect the atmosphere at the game to be crazy.
CFP Chances
With losses from numerous top teams — specifically in the SEC like Alabama and Texas — it makes Missouri’s job a little easier. Not the mention that Mizzou has shifted to favorites on ESPN’s matchup predictor in its matchup against Alabama.
According to PFF, Missouri has a 35% chance of making the playoff, which ranks higher than 8 of the 16 teams ahead of them in the power rankings. There’s still a lot of work to do, but Missouri fans can definitely have some hope.
On the Decline
kansas
It’s a bad week to be a Jayhawk… It’s safe to say that if you are a kansas fan and are on or around Mizzou’s campus this weekend, you might not have the best experience.
Social media has started to amplify the beef between Missouri and kansas and things just getting started. To any Jayhawk coming to Columbia for the game: I wish you the best of luck.
Mizzou Kicking
Mizzou fans were devastated when they heard that second-year starter Blake Craig has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
Robert Meyer slotted in and went 4-for-4 on PATs in his collegiate debut against Central Arkansas. He’ll likely take the kicking work for the time being. The team added another option in Ryder Goodwin, who was added to the roster from a junior college on Tuesday.
Things haven’t gone south yet in the kicking department, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
Appreciation for Mizzou Athletics
As happy as Mizzou fans are about being 1-0 in football, things off of Faurot Field haven’t been all rainbows and butterflies. There’s been a lot of frustration from students who paid for the student pass, then are unable to get tickets through the claiming system because of sellouts. The claim system seemed a little smoother for basketball but Mizzou Athletics definitely needs to do some fixing as they navigate the changes to the student pass.
Fans have also expressed frustration about the construction, which was expected. But specific areas of the stadium were extremely crowded when fans were trying to get to their seats. As a result, fans are now required to enter at the entrance nearest to their seats. Only time will tell if this helps, but the department of Mizzou Athletics is certainly not on the top of the hill for Mizzou fans.
