This is the James Franklin Mizzou fans remember.
Through two
games, the senior quarterback has cruised. So far, one interception --
an incredibly off-target pass that slipped from Franklin's grip and
landed in the hands of a Toledo defender Saturday -- has been the only
major flaw.
"He's a very talented guy," Pinkel said after the
Tigers (2-0) beat Toledo 38-23. "We all know that. Shoot, remember his
sophomore year? What a heck of a sophomore year he had for being a
first-year starter. It's great to see him play the way he's been
playing."
Franklin has completed 42 of 63 passes (66.7 percent)
for 530 yards and four touchdowns. His passer rating (155.1) is
currently higher than it has ever been at a season's end. And he has
already run 23 times for 121 yards -- one yard less than his 2012
rushing total.
So far, so good. The key will be to keep it up, especially in Southeastern Conference play.
COPELAND CONCERN
Something
serious to monitor through Mizzou's bye week will be the status of
starting left guard Max Copeland. The senior left Saturday's game with a
high ankle sprain. He later returned but was hobbling noticeably before
and after plays.
Copeland, a former walk-on, is a tough kid. He
scratched out a starting role on a team that didn't know who he was. In
doing so, he became a leader.
He will play if he can, but a high
ankle sprain can be as painful as a broken leg. And sometimes they take
even take longer to heal.
STRUGGLE WITH THE SCREEN
Murray
State turned to screen passes for a sizable chunk of its 262 passing
yards Saturday. After the game, Pinkel addressed the obvious weakness.
"We
weren't covering it very good," he said. "And if I had an answer for
it, pal, I would have fixed it a lot quicker than what we did."
"There's
no question about it," he continued. "We had a lot of trouble with that
perimeter part, what we call perimeter run support. Those screens are
like sweeps -- same thing. We had trouble with it."
Mizzou corner E.J. Gaines didn't seem too concerned.
"It's
something we still need to work on," he said. "We've worked on it a
lot, but we need to get better. ... When we get in SEC play, that's not
something SEC teams do."
They will if they know the Tigers can't stop it.
PLAN FOR MAUK
Get
used to small doses of Maty Mauk. The backup quarterback has twice
started the Tigers' first drive of the second quarter, and Pinkel plans
on continuing this, likely for the rest of the season, regardless of the
score.
"We decided we are going to put him in in the first
series of the second quarter, let him play," Pinkel said. "We will
probably do that, and continue to do that. Let him get some playing
time. I don't think he got a whole lot of help when he was in there. But
it's good for him to get out there and get going."
So far the redshirt freshman has completed 2 of 3 passes for 18 yards. He also was sacked twice for a loss of 15 yards.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow Ben Frederickson on Twitter (@Ben_Fred), or contact him at frederickson.ben@gmail.com.
