St. Louis-born players Luther Burden (3), Brady Cook, and Cody Schrader (7) are all atop the SEC football statistics, after Mizzou’s big win over Memphis, last Saturday at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Coming into the 2023 season, the major concern about the University of Missouri football team was how good would the offense be.
The Tigers struggled at times last year. They averaged just 250 total yards and 16.7 points per game, and scored less than 20 points in half their games last year.
But Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz turned over the offense to new coordinator Kirby Moore, and after a slow start in the first two games, the Tigers have been roaring in their last two games.
Mizzou has scored 64 points in the last two games, topping the 30-pt mark twice, and posted nearly a thousand yards of total offense the last two weeks. The Tigers are 4-0 on the season, ranked No. 23 in country (on the Associated Press poll, No. 22 in the Coaches Poll), and they’ve looked fantastic doing it.
“It’s been great to see the last couple of weeks,” Drinkwitz said. “Our guys have worked so hard to make improvements. Kirby’s been pushing these guys and working with these guys, and you can really see it’s paid off the last couple of weeks.”
Another place where improvement can be seen is atop the SEC leaderboards, where several Mizzou players’ names sit. And amongst those leaders are several St. Louis-area kids, who have played a key factor in Missouri’s rise.
Much-maligned quarterback Brady Cook (Chaminade Prep) has 1,073 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, and no interceptions. Those numbers all rank among the SEC best. And he’s second in the conference in QBR rating at 185.23.
Wide receiver Luther Burden III (East St. Louis) has been Cook’s primary target this season. He’s tied for the league lead with 32 receptions and is fourth in the conference with 504 yards. Burden also has three receiving touchdowns and two rushing touchdown this year.
The biggest surprise of them all might be running back Cody Schrader (Lutheran South), the former Division II transfer. He leads the SEC in carries (65) and yards (403), and is fourth in the conference in yards per carry at 6.20.
“We rely on those guys to lead our offense, lead our attack,” Drinkwitz said. “We go out there knowing we need to get the ball in all of their hands, and Coach Moore has done an exceptional job of making sure they’re getting the ball where they need it, in space, and having chances to make big plays when they do.”
About the only issue the offense has had the last couple of weeks is its production on third down. The Tigers have converted just three-of-21 third down chances the last couple of weeks, despite scoring all those points and amassing all those yards. One can only imagine the potential Mizzou might reach if it were better on third down.
“Potential means we haven’t arrived yet. But yeah, we know we’re capable. We’ve got to really dial in on third down,” Drinkwitz said. “I mean, 0-for-8? I don’t know that I’ve ever been 0-for-8 on third downs. So, that’s something we got to really look at and fix.”
Mizzou will open up SEC league play this weekend, when it travels down to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. The Commodores are 2-3 on the season and coming off a loss in their own SEC opener last week against Kentucky.