The West Virginia Mountaineers racked up 241 yards on the ground and held the visiting Missouri Tigers out of the end zone until late in the game to secure a 26-11 victory Saturday in Morgantown, WV.
“We’re going to get a whole lot better between now and 6:30 next Saturday.” Odom said after the loss. “There’s some positives to build on with all three phases there. Your never happy with a loss, but we’ll go work.”
Missouri fans searching for positives to take away from the programs’ first season opening loss in 14 years will note that quarterback Drew Lock appeared much more poised in this game and his continued development will be key if Missouri is going to fight for bowl eligibility this season. The Tigers may have also found a pair of weapons in the passing game as both Chris Black and J’Mon Moore each had 100 yards receiving in the game.
Certainly, growing pains are expected of new offensive coordinator Josh Heupel’s offense, and trying to build on a unit that ranked 127th out of 128 teams is going to be a chore. Perhaps more disappointing, was the lack of a push up front from a Tiger defense that was 6th nationally in total defense a year ago. The pass rush (including All-American Charles Harris) was non-existent and it appeared that the scrappy Mountaineer offensive line continued to win battles up front.
“The progress we make from now until next Saturday, we’ll make a jump in the right direction.” Odom added.
Next Saturday Missouri will host the 1-0 Eastern Michigan Eagles for the first time since a Charlie Batch led EMU team rolled into Columbia back in 1997. The Tigers need a solid showing in front of the home crowd as people continue to search for anything positive to build on. With road games looming against LSU and Florida in a few weeks, Mizzou must take advantage of winnable games against both Eastern Michigan and Delaware State in September if it hopes to return to a bowl game once again.
