All the way down from Missouri head coach Barry Odom to the players, they all know what is at stake this Saturday at 3 p.m. when the Tigers host Middle Tennessee.  If the Tigers hope to reach six wins and bowl eligibility, they must win they next four games.  Once the Tigers step back into SEC play, they will host Kentucky, travel to South Carolina and then back home to face Vanderbilt.  Before the Tigers can look ahead, they must focus on the Blue Raiders.

Mizzou’s secondary will have a test this weekend.  Blue Raider redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill will have to continue taking care of the ball and moving the offense. Stockstill currently ranks eighth in the nation with 2,091 passing yards. He’s thrown 18 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.  In order to ease up the stress on Mizzou corners and secondary, the defensive line has to put pressure on Stockstill.  That may prove to a be a big challenge.

Missouri has only recorded 10 sacks this season, ranking 13th out of 14 SEC teams.  Middle Tennessee is tied for fourth in the country by only allowing four sacks this season.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Lock, I assume, will take the majority of snaps for the Tigers offense.  He’s still third in the SEC with 1,714 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions, however inside the conference, the numbers are much different.  Lock has only completed 40% of his passes against Florida, LSU and in the second half of the Georgia game with just one TD pass and six picks.

Marvin Zanders showed some promise against Florida’s second string and his ability to run could play a much bigger role in the Tigers’ offense this week.

One promising sign for the Tigers was that the run game got rolling.  Junior Ish Witter and freshman Damarea Crockett both finished the game with season-highs in total yardage. Crockett finished with a career-best 145 yards on 14 carries (10.4 avg) and Witter added 82 on 15 carries (5.5 average).