Did Missouri invent a new way to lose? 10 thoughts after Mizzou football's loss to Kentucky

It was another difficult pill for Missouri football fans to swallow on Saturday, this time in the form of a judgment call by the referees.

Here are 10 thoughts on Missouri's fifth loss of the season, beginning with that roughing the kicker call late in the fourth quarter.

1. Did Mizzou just find a new way to lose?

I can't think of a moment where a play like the roughing the kicker penalty, which would have spotted Missouri deep in Kentucky territory with a chance to win at the very least, was put on a stage as high-profile as Saturday.

That's because I can't remember that ever being a play we've seen before.

Will Norris' tackle on Colin Goodfellow ruled a roughing the kicker was devastating. Another crippling blow to prevent the Tigers' chances to win a key SEC game.

You cannot fault Norris. He was doing his best to make a play. Plus, the ruling we were given is an extremely gray area.

When a punter establishes himself in the act of punting, or a kicker establishes the act of kicking, they are protected by the rules. Goodfellow was sprinting back to get the snap that sailed over his head, picked it up and had just enough time to establish himself as a punter.

Therein lies the gray area. In the same vein as what constitutes a football move in the process of catching the ball, what continues as re-establishing themself as a kicker? Is it the second a punter stretches the ball out in front before they kick it? Or is it when a punter takes the first step with the plant leg before swinging their kicking leg?

There's not a more defined part of that rule, which could be reviewable. I think that's because these questions have plainly never been asked before. It's like Kenny Pickett faking a slide last season, only to keep running for a long touchdown. The NCAA hopped up and changed that rule quickly in the name of player safety. What about the act of being a kicker?

In that case, could Brady Cook just begin the act of punting if he's under duress in the pocket? I know the answer is probably not, but without more specific guidelines then who knows?

Also, I know where the tackle box ends horizontally in reference to the offensive line, but why does a tackle box extend 50 yards back to the opposing goal line?

“How a guy can still be a protected punter 50 yards down the field and how our guy is supposed to know he can’t tackle him is beyond me,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after the game. “But I’m sure I’ll get an explanation and I’m sure it will defend (the referees)."

It figures that play was one of the deciding factors in the loss. Had Norris gotten there a half second sooner, he's tackling Goodfellow at the two-yard line and Cook might've just hopped into the end zone for this third touchdown.

Depending on your point of view, this game would have either put MU in line to clinch bowl eligibility, clinched it outright or been MU's seventh win.

But, this team can't stop finding ways to lose in the most excruciatingly painful fashions possible. Kentucky lucked out. Missouri, again, just couldn't catch a break.

Instead, Missouri may have been the first team to get called for roughing the kicker after a snap sailed over a punter's head.

2. Bad call or not, special teams has to be cognizant of the protective rules.

Like I said before, you cannot fault Norris. He was just trying to make a play in a situation where the rules aren't really specific and it could go either way.

“It could have happened to anybody,” linebacker Chad Bailey said. “At first I thought once the punter fumbled it would be a live ball. Like I said, It could have happened to anybody.”

But, situational football always calls for a clear understanding of the rules.

It's hard to practice a broken play like that. How many times does it happen in a season? But, every time a kicker or quarterback is on the field, they're protected a little extra by the rules.

I know the Tigers will keep that in mind now, but it's difficult to not keep that in mind in one of the most pivotal plays of the game, which could end up being one of the most pivotal plays of the season.

I'm willing to bet Goodfellow had no idea that a tackle box extends forever and ever until the end of time, but I'm also willing to bet he knows there's a penalty tailored specifically to protect his position.

As I mentioned about the extreme gray area for what the act of kicking is, and what it looks like when a player re-establishes themselves, but there's no gray area on roughing the kicker. Excessive contact with a player that's already protected has a good chance of resulting in a flag unless a player gets a hand on the kick.

You can't control the referees. You can control how many times you give the referees an opportunity to make a split-second judgment call.

3. Penalty aside, the offense can't take three quarters to move the ball.

We've established the roughing the punter call was at least worth a discussion. It was a judgment call by the referees.

Getting the wrong side of a judgment-call penalty does sting. But, Missouri put itself in a position to get stung with an afternoon of struggles.

Having 19 passing yards at halftime is not going to get you wins in the SEC, let alone most college football games in the present day where coaches can scheme ways to get receivers open and the talent levels fluctuate.

Having even one sustained drive in the second quarter would have, at the very least, resulted in a field goal. That's a 21-20 score in the final minutes, where you can put more pressure on the defense when MU has one of the best distance kickers in college football.

But, the offense only mustered points when it was do-or-die. At this point, the second quarter needs to become a do-or-die situation. MU has only lost one game this season when leading at halftime, and that was against Georgia.

The team couldn't get it done against the No. 1 team in the nation, which is OK. Georgia was No. 1 for a reason and is No. 1 again for the same reason.

But, for as much as the first-half turnovers doom this team, so does a stagnant offense that struggles to move the ball at all for entire quarters at a time.

The confusion and anger directed at the roughing the kicker call is justified. But, the offense played a part in that being the game's most pivotal call.

"Doesn't change the fact that we were two for 13 on third down," Drinkwitz said.

4. The confidence that led to Drinkwitz's extension cannot be understated.

Two hours before game time, Drinkwitz's contract was extended an extra two years. Now, it runs until 2027.

This was before a 21-17 loss to a very beatable Kentucky team, but it was after three other SEC games where Missouri should have won.

The confidence in Drinkwitz from MU Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois cannot be understated here.

This is her athletic department. Jim Sterk hired Drinkwitz in 2019. Reed-Francois just made her first major hire in Dennis Gates last March to lead the men's basketball program. She has every right to shape Missouri athletics into what she wants.

Drinkwitz, in the span of a year, convinced her that he is the correct leader.

“Our football team is on the right trajectory, and we are seeing results in recruiting and on the field," Reed-Francois said in a written statement. "Coach Drinkwitz is a dynamic leader who brings people together and we believe in our football staff's combined commitment to excellence in the classroom and in the community. We are looking forward to him continuing to lead our program into the future.”

It's pretty clear Reed-Francois is looking at everything but the Tigers' record this year. Their 4-5 record should be 6-3, but it's not. In the release announcing his extension, it noted four specific Drinkwitz's successes.

• Drinkwitz has led Missouri to bowl appearances in each of his first two seasons. Only the late former head coach Warren Powers had done that prior to Drinkwitz.

• Drinkwitz has won nearly 71% of his home games. The release says that achievement is the best winning percentage at home since Dan Devine's 73%. The release also says that Devine earned that percentage between 1958-70, which is a much more impressive span of time than Drinkwitz's 2020 to half of 2022.

• Rightfully noted, Drinkwitz and friends signed MU's highest-ranked classes ever. That was the No. 19 overall class in 2022 and the No. 20 class in 2021.

• Lastly, Drinkwitz ushered in a 2.92 team grade point average in Spring 2022. That was the football team’s highest in 18 years, excluding the spring 2020 pass-fail period. That might earn a few eye rolls, but MU's players do have "student" before "athlete." Failing to take care of business in the classroom leads to ineligible players.

Currently, Drinkwitz owns a 15-17 record at MU. He'll add to that record before the end of this season with a buy-game against New Mexico State in November. Sixteen wins in his first three seasons are better than the first three seasons for Al Onofrio, Bob Stull and Larry Smith.

Keep in mind Drinkwitz can still win two more games beyond the New Mexico State game: Arkansas on Nov. 25 and a bowl game that would come after that. Even at 5-7 MU's APR score should net it a bowl game if Drinkwitz accepts.

But, that's this year. Drinkwitz could lose out and he's still coming back next year. Reed-Francois is banking on the future to be the turning point record-wise.

5. Patience is key. Look at the past, and around the SEC.

Standing at the podium after Saturday's loss, Drinkwitz's extension allowed him to make a guarantee.

"The results will come," Drinkwitz said. "We're still heading in the right direction. We got to keep everybody pulling in the right direction and, we got three games left and we've got a lot of opportunities ahead of us."

That guarantee is easier said than done. He needs to take the recruiting talent he got in 2021 and 2022, and translate that to production on the field and into wins.

Granted, with the collection of four-star players, and the five-star talent in Luther Burden, it comes down to just putting players in the right scenarios to make the plays they were recruited to make.

No player is more important than quarterback Sam Horn, the four-star quarterback from Collins Hill High School and Drinkwitz's plan for him requires patience.

Waiting for the right player is hard for a fan base to do, especially one that just watched Missouri lose games it should have won with someone else instead of Horn under center. But, I'm going to use a very loose Alabama comparison.

Bryce Young was a highly heralded five-star quarterback before he was a Heisman Trophy winner for the Tide. Even he needed time behind Mac Jones in 2020. Obviously, this is loose because Missouri doesn't have the same supporting cast that Alabama does.

But, Drinkwitz does have next year. Next year, Drinkwitz will have had an entire offseason to bring Horn up to speed and scour the transfer portal to find additions for immediate fixes on the offensive line and elsewhere.

Like I said after the bye week, the big picture of Drinkwitz's tenure never came down to this year. It comes down to how he utilizes the 2021 and 2022 recruiting classes. That comes to fruition next year.

Besides, Mark Stoops only won 12 games in his first three years at Kentucky. Patience pays off if a program has the right guy. That revelation is coming soon.

6. Baker's extension was easy. Now, the hard part.

Since the Georgia game, defensive coordinator Blake Baker has been in line for an extension. He got that extension this past week.

His raise makes him one of the top-paid assistants in college football, according to the data available to USA Today. I use that qualifier because USA Today doesn't have salary data for all assistants in college football.

Now, however, comes the hard part.

There are now nine head coach openings in college football after Jeff Scott was fired by South Florida: Arizona State, Auburn, Charlotte, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, South Florida, UAB and Wisconsin. How many of those smaller programs, like Charlotte or UAB, would come to Baker with the offer to run their program?

What about if Auburn, Arizona State or Wisconsin hire their respective coaches, and offer Baker even more money to run their defenses?

It's just speculation, but Baker has turned MU from a defense that ranked 106th in FBS in yards allowed per game to 19th in the nation. I'll say it, that's basically a miracle.

7. The offensive line is nearly out of solutions.

Offensive guard EJ Ndoma-Ogar left the loss to Kentucky with a left leg injury where he could barely put any weight on his left foot.

Ndoma-Ogar earned a start in an attempt to spark some success in the offensive line at guard after struggles from Mitchell Walters and Connor Wood.

After the game, Drinkwitz said Ndoma-Ogar will “definitely be out for a while" as he nurses his injury. That comes after Zeke Powell's season-ending injury against Auburn.

Now what for the offensive line?

The Tigers have shuffled starters nearly every week. Walters most likely slides back into his old starting spot, but Ndoma-Ogar's injury now affects the depth of the team.

Armand Membou has gotten more involvement, perhaps he gets a nod somewhere? Luke Griffin was behind Xavier Delgado at left guard and started against Abilene Christian. On last week's depth chart, he was also listed at right guard. Maybe he gets a chance for redemption?

Either way, the offensive line, which has struggled to find a working group of starters this season. Ndoma-Ogar's injury just makes it more difficult in the most pivotal stretch of the year.

8. Ennis Rakestraw could give MU two NFL-caliber corners in a few years.

Kris Abrams-Draine is rightfully getting attention as a top-rated cornerback for MU. Rakestraw is building himself up in the other side quite well.

Teams picked on him early on in the name of avoiding Abrams-Draine. Now, Rakestraw is showing he can make teams pay for trying him.

When Missouri trailed 14-10 in the fourth, the defense needed to get the offense the ball back. Kentucky went three-and-out, with three plays having Rakestraw's handiwork all over them.

The first play was Rakestraw tackling Barion Brown for a loss of one. Next, he recorded a pass breakup on a play where he recovered nicely and swatted the ball before Dane Key could make the catch. On third down, Will Levis was sacked by Trajan Jeffcoat, but the pass rush doesn't get there if MU's defensive backs don't cover the UK receivers for just long enough.

I tweeted after this series that Rakestraw, who clawed his way back into a starting spot after tearing his ACL last year, earned himself some NFL money. Rakestraw replied, saying "I wish the NFL was watching me."

Missouri has had three defensive backs drafted under Drinkwitz: Akayleb Evans last year, plus Joshua Bledsoe and Tyree Gillespie in 2021.

If recent history proves anything, it's that Missouri defensive backs will get a shot at the NFL. Abrams-Draine will get one. Rakestraw will too, the way he's been playing.

9. What Mevis offers Mizzou, compared to other kickers.

It's easy to have some frustrations with Harrison Mevis. He's supposed to be your All-American. He can't be missing field goals from 26 yards or closer.

On Saturday, he only kicked one field goal. But, he had some help showing how valuable he is.

Kentucky kicker Matt Ruffolo was not having a good time. He missed field goals from 47-yard and 43-yard out. The 43-yard kick was very wide right, and the 47-yard kick was short of the crossbar.

Meanwhile, Mevis banged through a 45-yard shot that looked like it would have been good from about 50 or longer.

The chip-shot misses are difficult to watch. They're probably maddening for Mevis to think about. But, through all the mental gymnastics a kicker endures and the blustery weather Mevis brushed off effortlessly, remember that he's giving Missouri a chance to add points from most spots on the plus side of the field.

With MU's offense struggling to score points as much as it is, that's a big comfort.

10. Tennessee, and the opportunity of the defense's season.

We all remember last year's loss to Tennessee. If you forgot, good for you.

The 62-24 final score on paper didn't match what it looked like in person. It was over after the first quarter. It got even worse.

There's no better place to prove things are different than to have an outing against the team that forced change on you the year before.

Missouri took Georgia to the wire. If one or two plays go Missouri's way, the Tigers are remembered for upsetting the Bulldogs. Those same Bulldogs clobbered Tennessee out of its No. 1 ranking last Saturday.

Missouri has a chance, albeit a slim one, if it can just grind out possessions, keep the ball out of the Volunteer offense's hands and avoid crippling mistakes. But, if anyone can prove the most, it's the defense that got run over.

The players have to remember that game, even if Baker has preached that last year is meaningless. The defense has a chance to prove it can stop one of the most potent offenses in college football.

That would mean Missouri has one of the best defenses the program has seen in, well, fill in the blank.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 10 thoughts on Missouri football's loss to Kentucky