Measured Disappointment from Columbia

Well, shoot.

Sure, it is disappointing. We had a pretty good Missouri team on the ropes, leading into the 4th quarter, and they were able to close the deal against us. The seeds for this were sown in the first half, when the Falcons had their chances to take a commanding lead and didn't, and it all left the Tigers with a reachable target, and reach it they did.

They were the better team. When they were playing poorly, we didn't execute enough to really capitalize. They eventually wore us down (a point John Gibson made with Joe Morgan-like repetition) and then when we were playing poorly, they did execute well enough to make us pay. In addition to moving the ball at will on their last four drives, they had Tyler really confused and even some happy feet, based on what I could hear.

I'll have more tomorrow, but there were plenty of positives too. I am convinced this team can compete for the East title. We got some productivity out of Willie Geter and Ray Hutson, our defense played well for much of the game against a team with more playmakers than they will see in the MAC, and we had good placekicking.

A win would have been beautiful, so that is a disappointment. Missouri was too big, strong, and effective over a 60 minute game on their field.

But there are positives from the loss. I think Marshall is a winnable game next week, and I continue to be encouraged by our season to date.