COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It was almost a cruel twist of fate that the
Missouri football team was off last Saturday and was able to watch as
South Carolina and Auburn rallied for late victories.
Those
outcomes removed any possibility that the Tigers could win the SEC East
Division championship without having to win their final two games. But
at least now they know what they have to do. To win the East and advance
to the SEC championship game, they must win Saturday at Ole Miss and
beat Texas A&M at home a week later.
It's all on them now, and there's no room for error.
While
that is the overriding story line Saturday, here are three key things
to watch as No. 8 Mizzou (9-1, 5-1) travels to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
for a Saturday night matchup with No. 24 Ole Miss (7-3, 3-3).
FRANKLIN'S RETURN
All eyes will be on James Franklin on Saturday, of course.
The
Mizzou senior quarterback was playing the best football of his career
when he suffered a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter at Georgia.
He completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 1,577 yards, with 14
touchdowns against just three interceptions. His 156.2 passer rating
ranks sixth among SEC quarterbacks. He averaged 311.2 total yards in his
six starts.
Franklin has had the benefit of more than a month to
recover. And because of the off week he has had two full weeks to
prepare for Ole Miss.
"He looks really good," Mizzou coach Gary
Pinkel said Monday. "He looks just like he left off before the injury.
What has been really good is having a couple extra practices, which we
always do for our bye week as preparation for our next opponent. ... We
do quite a bit of best (offense) against the best (defense). It works
really well for his timing. He looks really good. He's excited about
being back, and the team is excited about getting him back, too. I
obviously want him to do really well. He had some adversity and battled
through it, and we are excited to have him in."
OLE MISS RUN GAME
Ole
Miss coach Hugh Freeze has stressed the importance of being able to run
the ball in this matchup. His Rebels are averaging 200 yards rushing
per game and 4.8 yards per carry through 10 games.
"We're pretty
good when we can run it," Freeze said. "We mix in passes and what we
like to do off our run game. When we're not running it -- look at the
Alabama and Auburn games -- when we're not running it effectively, we're
not the same team."
In their last three games, the Rebels
rushed for 382 yards vs. Troy, 103 against Arkansas and 292 vs. Idaho.
But in its three losses -- to Alabama, Auburn and Texas A&M -- Ole
Miss averaged just 101 yards rushing and 3.1 yards per carry.
Ole
Miss has a multi-player rushing attack similar to Mizzou's. Jeff Scott
leads the team with 488 yards rushing and a 7.6-yard average, but
running backs I'Tavius Mathers (429, 6.3) and Jaylen Walton (391, 5.1)
each gets plenty of carries, as does quarterback Bo Wallace (232 yards
rushing).
Missouri has been stingy against the run all season.
The Tigers are allowing just 111.9 yards on the ground per game
-- Georgia racked up an opponent-high 164 yards rushing -- and just 3.3
yards per carry.
"Defensively, they stop the run," Freeze said.
"Very few people have been able to line up and just run the ball
effectively. They get you one-dimensional. Those ends are quick and
cause problems in the backfield. ... We've got to try to find a way to
run the ball effective enough so that we can be who we are and want to
be and keep them thinking we're balanced. We've been very effective
being balanced as of late."
MIZZOU DEFENSIVE BACKS TO BE TESTED
Ole
Miss ranks third among SEC teams and 19th among FBS teams in passing
offense at 297.4 yards per game. The Rebels have had 329 yards passing
or more in five of their last six games, including 428 against Arkansas.
Wallace
is having a strong season. He has passed for 2,664 yards, with 17
touchdowns and five interceptions, and has run for 232 yards and four
scores.
His three favorite targets are Laquon Treadwell (53
catches for 477 yards and five touchdowns), Donte Moncrief (44, 686,
five) and Ja-Mes Logan (36, 497, three).
Mizzou has allowed
273.9 yards passing yards per game, the highest mark in the 14-team SEC,
but the Tigers lead the conference in sacks (34) and interceptions (17)
and are fourth in yards per attempt (6.51) and eighth in passing
touchdowns allowed (14).
The defensive backs have accounted
for 11 of those: cornerbacks E.J. Gaines (four), Randy Ponder (one) John
Gibson (one) and Aarion Penton (one) and safeties Braylon Webb (two),
Ian Simon (one) and Matt White (one).
Missouri's starting
secondary has experience, with three seniors -- Gaines, Ponder and White
-- and one junior (Webb). Those four players will be on the spot on
Saturday when matched up against Mississippi's bigger wideouts.
Treadwell, Moncrief and Logan are all listed at 6-foot-3, while Webb and
White are both 6-foot and Gaines (5-11) and Ponder (5-10) are shorter.
You can follow Nate Latsch on Twitter (@natelatsch) or email him at natelatsch@gmail.com.
