Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6 Southeastern Conference) hosts No. 23 Missouri on Saturday for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff on SEC Network.

The Tigers (7-3, 3-3) have won all six of their home games, but their only road victory was a blowout of Massachusetts in mid-October. Missouri was blown out at Texas A&M and at Alabama, and is coming off a heartbreaking defeat last weekend at South Carolina.

To learn more about this Tigers team, The Commercial Dispatch chatted with Eli Hoff, who covers Missouri for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Editor’s note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

 

The Commercial Dispatch: Missouri has been a solid team this year, but has fallen short of last year’s standard and their expectations for this season. What’s your assessment on this group with two games to go?

Eli Hoff: It’s been an interesting season for Missouri. Based on program history — and even the first three years under Eliah Drinkwitz — having only three losses at this stage of the season would be a great year. But the run that the Tigers had last year and the talent on this roster (plus the expanded playoff) made it seem like there was a chance for more than this. At least some fans are disappointed in that.

There’s undoubtedly talent on this roster, but it hasn’t always showed to the degree it could have. Losing a handful of defensive starters to the draft was significant last season. The explosiveness that was present in the offense has been a missed connection for much of the season. There’s plenty of heart — just look at the wins against Vanderbilt, Auburn and Oklahoma. But it’s taken heart to beat some teams over which Missouri has a talent advantage, and the losses to Texas A&M and Alabama were ugly.

The Dispatch: He hasn’t been healthy all season, but what makes Brady Cook such an effective quarterback?

Hoff: Some of this gets an asterisk because he’s not 100 percent and his throwing wrist is limited right now, which is relevant to Saturday’s game, of course. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who can move the chains and power between the tackles when needed. Mizzou will call his number around the goal line and especially on two-point conversions. Arm strength wasn’t an issue pre-injury, but some antsy footwork was limiting deep-ball accuracy. He excels at going through high-low progressions. Now, being unable to snap his wrist all the way is leaving some passes short, but he got the job done against South Carolina despite that. 

The Dispatch: Cook aside, what will be the biggest challenges the Tigers’ offense will pose?

Hoff: Luther Burden III is a matchup nightmare. Missouri’s challenge has been getting him the ball. He could go the whole first half with only 2-3 touches and that wouldn’t be all that surprising. Theo Wease Jr. will win in man coverage in the red zone if given the opportunity. And tailback Nate Noel runs the outside zone — an offensive staple for this team — as well as anybody.

The Dispatch: What do you make of this Missouri defense, and what will it need to do to slow down Mississippi State’s offense?

Hoff: Coverage breakdowns happen more often than they should. Losing both starting corners to the NFL didn’t lead to the kind of backfilling to maintain that standard. This defense needs to get pressure to ease the secondary’s burden, otherwise things tend to break down. The defense tends to be streaky. There will be a quarter of porous coverage, then one with relentless play around the line of scrimmage. That’s been enough more often that not, but tackling issues (15 missed tackles) were costly against South Carolina last weekend.

The Dispatch: Missouri will win if…

Hoff: Talent shows up. Burden gets touches, Noel is consistently finding holes, pressure gets home defensively.

The Dispatch: Missouri will lose if…

Hoff: Something with Cook’s injury takes a step back, the defense remains lax, or there’s a let- up in overall intensity. Last week, the Tigers could rally around playing for a long shot College Football Playoff bid. That’s off the table now, so the fight has to come from somewhere else.