Special teams was an emphasis for Missouri ahead of its matchup Saturday night in Columbia with Troy, and for good reason.
The Tigers had two field goal attempts blocked the prior week against Kansas, including one that was returned 88 yards to the end zone to give the Jayhawks a 7-0 lead. Blocked kicks weren’t the only issue for Mizzou during a sloppy first half in Lawrence, but they were a key reason why the team found itself tied at 14 with KU heading into halftime.
“I haven’t done a great enough
job of making sure that it was taught in a clear and concise manner that our guys could execute it,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday at Tiger Talk, “But it was taught today, and it was taught again yesterday … so we got that thing re-taught and put in, and we won’t have any more problems moving forward.”
Drinkwitz’s vow turned out to be more than just talk.
MU’s special teams units were responsible for its first 10 points of the game against the Trojans, knotting the score with 9:39 remaining in the opening half. Those two scores spanned less than two minutes of game time and spurred a 24-point run by the Tigers that was the decisive swing in the contest.
Punter Brunno Reus helped set up the momentum shift, cornering Troy at its own 2 yard-line with a 58-yard boot. Death Row Defense forced a three-and-out that led to an uncharacteristic mistake by Reus’ counterpart, First Team All-American Evan Crenshaw.
Crenshaw shanked his punt, and it went out of bounds for just 29 yards to set Mizzou up with the ball in Trojans territory.
Blake Craig put the Tigers on the board with a 35-yard field goal after a short drive by the offense, making it 10-3 with 11:18 on the clock before halftime. Corey Batoon’s defense responded by forcing another quick punt, which traveled 42 yards into the awaiting arms of DaMarion Fowlkes.
The sophomore took the ball 68 yards the opposite way to the end zone. It was the first return touchdown of the season for MU and the first of Fowlkes’ career.
“We just hit the middle and gashed it,” Fowlkes said when asked about the touchdown. He also shared what went through his head during the final yards before the goal line: “Ball security.”
The 24 point unanswered streak looked for a moment like it might lead to smoother sailing in the second half, much like the Tigers’ Border War win.
But Goose Crowder found Howard Kinchen up the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown with just six seconds remaining before the break to again make it a one-score game.
Mizzou did not extend its lead back to two scores until mid-way through the fourth quarter, when Blake Craig send a 36-yarder through the uprights to put the home team ahead by 10.
Craig went 2-for-2 with makes from 35 and 36 yards that bookended the Tigers’ scoring.
“We really needed to see [that] and make sure that we have confidence in our protection,” Drinkwitz said.
Craig’s field goals, combined with the punt return from Fowlkes, accounted for 13 of MU’s 27 points against the Trojans. Those 13 points provided permanent proof on the box score of the unit’s sharp turnaround in just over a week.
“Special teams was really not where we needed to be,” Drinkwitz said, “We emphasized it all week, and those guys responded in a positive way.”
Now, the Tigers will look for a similar turnaround as a team. Mizzou’s win came in spite of the team being outgained by 99 total yards and by 139 yards in the air.
“I don’t want anybody to think we’re sitting here satisfied in the locker room, jumping up and down. They’re disappointed; we’re all disappointed. We know that we can play better.”
Fellow Rock M beat writer Colin Simmons’ description of the outcome as a ‘pyrrhic victory’ in his recap of the game was more than fitting.
Both of the team’s touchdowns on offense came on drives of less than 20 yards, and the unit’s most sustained success of the night came on a seven-play, 51-yard drive that was aided by a Troy penalty and ended in Craig’s final field goal.
MU can not, and will not, expect to come out with a victory if it makes similar mistakes as the team moves on to SEC play.
But for a team that’s grounded its identity under Drinkwitz on controlling the pace of play, winning the field position battle and being superior in the small aspects of the game to end up on the right side in many one-score games, the Tigers’ success on special teams Saturday may be a bigger deal than many expect.
That all starts with Reus, who was arguably the most impactful player on the field for Mizzou against Troy.
“He was booting them,” safety Santana Banner said.
The stats back him up. Reus had an average of 46.3 yards on his seven punts, with three punts of more than 50 yards and five that landed inside the Trojans’ 20 yard-line.
“They were trying to bleed us down the field, and that was able to just make them take a lot longer to get it done,” Drinkwitz said, “So he had an impressive game, and again, I’m pretty glad that he’s punting the ball so well.”
The Florida State transfer is now averaging just over 44 yards per punt on the season. That’s on pace to be the highest average by a Tigers punter since Sean Koetting, who averaged 46.3 yards in 2021.
“Brunno’s been doing an excellent job ever since arrival,” cornerback Sione Laulea said. “He hasn’t really showed any dips or lows, he’s just been kind of that peak guy that we need him to be.”
It’s rare for special teams to play a decisive role in a win; it often plays a key factor in defeats more than victories. That’s certainly been the case for much of Drinkwitz’s tenure at MU.
But Mizzou may have its most complete special teams units of the Drinkwitz era in Columbia. If the Tigers can return to their form of the first two weeks in the passing game and defending the pass, that could be worth more wins for MU by the end of this season.
