The Missouri Tigers are 3-0 and likely to break in the teens of the national polls with a convincing win over the reigning Fiesta Bowl champions. A solid day on the ground (178 yards, led by Marcus Murphy's 94 on 15 carries) and a monstrous defensive performance (UCF's only touchdown came after an interception in Mizzou territory) carried the day.
UCF vs. Missouri final score: 3 things we learned from Tigers’ 38-10 win
The No. 20 Tigers and their overwhelming defensive front took care of business against one of the country’s best non-power teams.
Missouri’s next three games (after Indiana) will likely define its season as South Carolina, Georgia and Florida await. Winning two of those could have the Tigers in position to defend their division championship, but for now, they’ve knocked off their toughest non-conference opponent in definitive fashion, almost doubling the game’s 11-point Vegas line.
Three things we learned
1. Yep, Missouri's defense is still Missouri's defense. The Tigers' decade-long tradition of strong front-seven play remains intact, despite the losses of Kony Ealy and Michael Sam.
Though this was apparent against South Dakota State and Toledo, seeing it in action against a talented team drove the point home. UCF quarterback Justin Holman was sacked twice each by Markus Golden and Shane Ray. Lucas Vincent and Rickey Hatley each added another. And big Josh Augusta was active as well, at one point grabbing an interception.
While the Tigers' secondary remains perhaps their biggest question, this kind of pass rush against a strong team means it's not that big of one. And if the offense sputters, the D-line might fix that, too -- the final score was a 66-yard fumble runback by Duron Singleton after Hatley's sack.
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2. Justin Holman isn't necessarily the next Blake Bortles. The story after UCF's near-loss in Ireland to Penn State: if the Knights had played Holman for the entire game, they would've won. And while that might be true, how sure were we that that's because Holman's so much better than previous starter Pete DiNovo? Could it have been that PSU was just unprepared for the quarterback switch? Holman was considered a dual-threat out of high school and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns against the Nittany Lions.
But against Mizzou, neither his arm nor his legs amounted to much. He averaged 2.2 yards on 15 carries (including those sacks) and averaged 5.8 per throw, with two picks. And while that has a lot to do with item No. 1 in this list, it also means we shouldn’t assume the UCF quarterback competition is over for good.
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3. Oct. 11 could be a big one. Let’s say Georgia beats South Carolina Saturday and takes the SEC East driver’s seat. How does one beat Georgia?
Well, considering the Dawgs' biggest strengths are their running game and their pass rush, you're gonna need a great defensive front and offensive line. Mizzou has at least one of those. To attack Georgia, you're gonna need receivers who can threaten a young secondary -- while Missouri's didn't quite astound against UCF, Bud Sasser, Darius White and Jimmie Hunt have combined for 11 touchdowns in three games. Plus, you're gonna want home-field advantage, and that game's in Columbia.
(And if South Carolina wins, then the East’s there for the re-taking.)
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