I know a lot of fans looked at this Nevada game before the season and said this was going to be a good test for this Missouri football team. I’m just not seeing from a win-loss standpoint. The Tigers beat Nevada 69-17 last year. This isn’t the same Missouri team, but Nevada hasn’t improved that much if they have improved at all.
The Wolfpack are 0-2 this year with losses at Notre Dame and Colorado State. Nevada has been outscored 70-20. What is important this week is to see the Tigers step up some of their intensity. Can they eliminate mental errors to reduce penalties? Can they get off to a fast start similar to what they did in the Illinois game as opposed to Bowling Green and Furman.
I actually think the road trip will help the team. It gets them out of the state. They get away from the hype around Columbia. All the talk about how good this team will be or why this team isn’t doing this or that.
There will not be a lot of Mizzou fans in Reno. The game will be played on national television and while the spotlight will be on this team, I think you’ll see a better focused squad this Friday. Those are the expectations of head coach Gary Pinkel.
During his press conference on Monday, he said the one thing he is frustrated with the most was his team’s inability to get as focused as they were for the Illinois game. You can hear more from Pinkel as he discusses injuries, how the team is coping with not just a Friday game, twelve days off and then a Thursday game. Plus, how do you coach a team out of penalties. Pinkel explains his plan.
