Welcome to the Morning Commute. Today, with Mizzou on a break, we’re going to turn our attention to the former Tigers in the NFL. Just a quick rundown, hope you don’t mind:
* Luther Burden III continues to emerge as a focal point of Chicago’s dangerous offense. With QB Caleb Williams back on the field, Burden led all receivers with 8 catches for 95 yards in the Bears 31-23 win.
* It was a battle of former Mizzou DLs when Baltimore went to Cleveland, with Isaiah McGuire’s Browns taking down Zion Young’s Ravens 13-10. McGuire got on the b0ard with a sack and four total tackles, while Young totaled three tackles in all.
* Akayleb Evans (3 tackles) helped Carolina’s defense hold the banged up Eagles to just 14 points, as Carolina won 25-14.
* Tampa Bay continues to struggle, dropping their game with the Steelers 26-19. Don’t blame Josiah Trotter, though, who led the Bucs with 12 total tackles and a pass breakup.
* Darius Robinson played a part in Arizona’s surprising 18-16 rock fight with the Rams. Robinson didn’t get a tackle, but did hit Stafford twice during the game.
* Nick Bolton led the Chiefs with 11 tackles as they continued their unbeaten 5-0 run to start the season, 22-6 over the Chargers.
* Kris Abrams-Draine had one of the best days of his career in Denver’s 17-14 win over Seattle on Thursday night - he grabbed the game-sealing interception and had three total pass breakups along with six tackles. And he wasn’t the only Tiger on the board, as Tyler Badie got a carry for six yards as well.
> While Simmons threw for more yardage, he failed to get the Tigers into the end zone. All day long it looked like he was just a bit off on his throws. The same throws he’s made this year went wide left, wide right, just past the finger tips of an open receiver, or, for the first time into the hands of the defense. The two former teammates each had a completion percentage in the mid 50s, Ole Miss converted 9 of 14 third downs, including six through the air. Missouri faced 17 third downs, they converted 6, all through the air.
Austin Simmons is on his way, but he’s not quite there yet.
> “I think everybody was off today, and I didn’t see it coming. But, I mean, it’s just obvious we were off,” Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “We had a couple of deep balls that were just kind of close, but weren’t there for whatever reason. That’s on me to figure out those inches that we need in order to be successful.”
You could tell things were off early on. And it all snowballed from there.
> Mizzou is competing against eight other Division I teams, two of which are ranked above the Tigers. Texas A&M is ranked #28 and Michigan is ranked #54 among Division I teams, just a hair above #56 Missouri. Arizona and Rice aren’t too far behind at #71 and #75, respectively.
God, it sure would be nice to be on the greens with the weather this week.
> “I think one heck of a match,” Sullivan said. “The players, I think they showed up. They were ready to compete. They stayed composed. They served the crap out of the ball, and it’s really exciting for the individuals we get to celebrate today.”
It’s Mizzou’s third straight win. And on Senior Day of all days!
> The loss leaves Mizzou 14th in the 16-team SEC standings with four conference points. Texas A&M (one point) and Ole Miss (zero) are the only teams behind the Tigers, while LSU sits one point ahead at five. Vanderbilt leads the conference with 19 points, followed by Alabama and South Carolina at 18 each. Georgia, meanwhile, improved to 6-4-5 overall and 2-2-3 in conference play.
Mizzou has two more games to keep itself out of the SEC cellar.
> Some interesting lines this week for those of you watching. Auburn is getting [no respect](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx2dzYz2F8g&pp=ygUQaSBnZXQgbm8gcmVzcGVjdA%3D%3D) after waltzing into Athens and taking down Georgia, as they’re giving 8.5 points to Lane Kiffin’s up-and-down Bayou Bengals. Meanwhile, South Carolina is a one score favorite over conference leader Tennessee, while Texas - which is currently considering benching its two-year starter!! - is a 3.5-point favorite over an Ole Miss team that just beat a fellow ranked conference opponent by four scores.
Gotta say, I wouldn’t mind a few more shock victories to come back to!
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