[ad_1]
Missouri sent out all but one of the top 15 offensives last season. One of these players was Drew Lock, a potential pick for the NFL draft in the first round. One of them was Albert Okwuegbunam, a tight member of the SEC. One of them was Paul Adams, a two-year-old captain whose 315-pound frame has blocked pass defensemen for nearly two seasons.
And yet, Missouri did not manage a single first try in the second half against No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday. That's what made the difference in a 15-14 loss that Missouri coach Barry Odom has called one of the toughest of his career.
"It's football," said offensive lineman Kevin Pendleton. "It will break your heart. He will stab you several times in the back if you do not do what you need to do.
"We had time where we could have put it away."
Odom and his players repeated the word "run" after the match, all in the context of Missouri's inability to do so. The Tigers only had 49 yards of offense in the second half. They took the field eight times, and they trotted after three games on each.
With less than two minutes left, Missouri scored a third and two goals. A first try would have allowed the Tigers to win.
Midfielder Damarea Crockett rushed through Kentucky's defense to collect the first 8 meters of the series, and the offensive coordinator turned to his quarterback star at third base. He called for a Johnathon Johnson run to the right-hand line, an Odom play said the team ran "a million times" in practice.
Lock's pass has been incomplete.
"He puts the ball in my hands," said the quarterback. "He puts the ball in JJ's hands, puts it in the hands of our O-line team, and I appreciate it from him, which means a lot for him to be able to count on me at that time. and I would like him to do it 10 times out of 10. "
The Tigers – who were without receiver Emanuel Hall (groin injury) and their tight end Kendall Blanton (knee) – had to go all the way to get the coach to win the match.
The Missouri offense scored 14 points in the first period and Odom said Kentucky did not make any major adjustments at half-time. His players did not perform and the Wildcats played when they needed it. Linebacker Josh Allen fired Lock twice, forcing fumbles, which Missouri managed to recover.
Lock chose to return to Missouri instead of participating in the NFL draft last spring, claiming he still had a lot to do with the Tigers. He now has four guaranteed games in his university career and he will have to win them all he wants to improve his team's record in 2017, 7-5.
Neither Lock nor Odom beat a Missouri-ranked opponent, and next week's 9th-ranked Florida game will likely be Lock's last chance. None of the Tigers' opponents after Florida won records.
Missouri has now suffered two defeats until the last seconds of this year. Both times, the Tigers were two points clear in the second half and they failed to put the game aside.
"We had it in our hands," said offensive lineman Yasir Durant after Saturday's game. "We deserved to win this game. We should have won this match. "
The Tigers only needed two yards to convert three of their third runs into the second half. Rookie Jalen Knox dropped a pass that could have given Missouri a nine-minute conversion in the third quarter, and Kentucky stuffed Tyler Badie in the last two central series.
The game boiled down to the attacker's inability to convert.
"We're right here and I really hate it for Odom coach," said Crockett. "All I can say is that it's going to break. I promise you."
Crockett said it would be difficult for the Tigers to recover from the defeat and they will have to let the pain bring them closer together.
Lock was sitting on the Missouri bench while Wildcats quarterback Terry Wilson completed a two-yard winning pass. As Kentucky's sideline exploded to celebrate, Lock looked for a penalty flag, hoping his eyes would find one. When he did not see the yellow, he checked twice. Always nothing.
All that remained was the result on the ground.
[ad_2]
Source link
