If you were wondering how Missouri would handle this weekend without their starting quarterback, the answer is “pretty well.” The Tigers are leading Florida at halftime by a score of 13-3.
Florida may have one of the better defenses in the SEC, but so far it has been Missouri’s defense that has been in control against a woeful Florida offense. The Gators have accumulated just 61 total yards of offense, with just 10 yards on 16 rushing attempts. Missouri has 200 yards of offense at the half.
Freshman quarterback Maty Mauk has completed 10 of 23 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown and has been picked off once. Six different receivers have caught a pass from Mauk in the first half.
Both teams have a couple of turnovers and neither team has performed well on third downs. Florida has just one third down conversion out of seven, and Missouri has two out of seven attempts.
Cody Riggs was ejected for targeting, with a helmet-to-helmet hit at the end of a play. An official video review upheld the ejection for the second targeting ejection in the SEC in the early going.
If Missouri’s defense can continue to frustrate Florida’s offense, which certainly feels realistic, then Missouri might grab a firm grip on the SEC East, especially if South Carolina cannot come back against Tennessee this afternoon.