How significant was Saturday's win? 7 thoughts on Missouri football's win over Kentucky

Missouri football had struggled to beat Kentucky across the past decade. Last Saturday, the Tigers figured out how to fold the Wildcats.

Here are seven thoughts on Missouri's upset win over Kentucky, which shook a monkey off the Tigers' back.

Now THAT is the Missouri defense we remember

Last weekend, LSU figured out Missouri's defense. LSU coach Brian Kelly said quarterback Jayden Daniels figured out some of Missouri's pressures and checked into different plays because of it.

After last week, Missouri desperately needed to turn out a good performance. That came in the form of Saturday.

Aside from the first quarter where the Wildcats rushed for 111 yards, Kentucky rushed for 68 rushing yards the rest of the way.

Devin Leary, heralded as one of the top quarterback transfers this offseason, threw for 120 yards and two interceptions. He averaged 4.4 yards per pass attempt. That was because Missouri was abe to consistently rush Leary with just four pass rushers.

"We were getting after them, we just got to set the edges," Drinkwitz said. "I thought (defensive coordinator Blake) Baker did an unbelievable job of mixing man and zone, and taking away the boots and play action pass."

That resulted in three turnovers, six tackles for loss and four sacks.

The stats don't tell you how impressive the offense's night was

Missouri had 324 yards of offense. Thirty-nine of those yards came on Luke Bauer's fake punt that went for a touchdown.

The Tigers averaged 3.1 yards per carry as a team and Brady threw for his lowest passing yardage output this season. He threw his third interception of the season. Luther Burden was held in check for just two catches for 15 yards,

MU still won by 17.

"I'll be honest man, it's surreal right now," Drinkwitz said. "It was 14-0 and we looked like dog in the first quarter. Now, we're talking about a 38-21 win."

The Tigers made the plays they needed to. Missouri ran 68 plays and got 19 first downs. Missouri got 12 of those 19 first downs on its scoring drives.

It would be better to be a consistent team and break the 40-point mark, but it's hard to argue with the results. Missouri shook the Kentucky-sized monkey off its back.

All of that was sparked by Bauer's fake punt touchdown. Sometimes, all it takes is one play.

"We just needed something to believe in and that's what good football teams find a way to do," Drinkwitz said.

Missouri played against the worst version of itself

In Missouri's losses and one-score games this season, there was a common denominator: self-inflicted wounds.

Against LSU, Missouri committed 11 penalties and two turnovers in the 49-39 loss.

It seemed a little familiar this past weekend. Especially how, on Saturday, Kentucky committed 13 penalties and three turnovers on the night. It wasn't a pretty game by any stretch, but for Missouri it allowed the Tigers to shake off a dismal first quarter that much easier.

For the first time in a while, Missouri wasn't beating itself. It was the one taking advantage of the miscues, and MU did that pretty well.

The Tigers turned one of the three turnovers into a touchdown, although the third turnover was MU tying a bow on its win.

One team was consistently making mistakes on Saturday. It wasn't Missouri.

Two postgame moments illustrate why it's all working this year

Darius Robinson could have gone pro after the 2022 season. He would've been drafted and would be playing in the NFL right now.

He stayed. He'll still get drafted, but he came back with the idea of what this could all be. Robinson is living that idea.

“When I really thought about coming back to college, this is what I envisioned," Robinson said. "I envisioned us being a team that can start fast and win games early and get good momentum."

Drinkwitz got the right guys to believe. That would be Robinson, plus Ty'Ron Hopper and Kris Abrams-Draine, all players who could have left but did not.

Abrams-Draine, specifically, means plenty to this team. To Drinkwitz, he means more.

"He's one of those guys who believed in me before anybody else," Drinkwitz said.

Drinkwitz's staff transitioned Abrams-Draine from receiver to cornerback. Abrams-Draine had to trust Drinkwitz's decision. In having Abrams-Draine return, Drinkwitz didn't want to misplace that trust.

"He's exactly who I'm trying to prove it to every day that it was the right decision," Drinkwitz said. "He's proving it to us that he's worth everything we've ever given him."

My biggest question: Why don't we see more Nate Peat?

I admire Cody Schrader's toughness. He's battling out an injury that should sideline him for at least a game.

He still wore down Kentucky's defense for four quarters.

Schrader's 19-yard score in the fourth quarter iced the game. His 20 carries led the team, but I'm still wondering why Nate Peat doesn't see more opportunities to run the ball. Peat got only four carries against Kentucky.

If Schrader is injured, splitting the carry load 15-10 in favor of Schrader would allow him to rest more and play to Peat's strengths.

Missouri runs a stretch running play where Schrader runs off tackle through the B Gap, or between the tackle and guard. It's what Schrader scored on in the fourth quarter. A play like that fits Peat's quickness, especially considering how Schrader is fighting off an injury.

Why not run him a few more times to take some of the workload off Schrader? Earlier in the season, Drinkwitz said getting Peat more involved was something the team needed to do.

Doing so would give the offense a chance to use Peat's top speed.

One of Drinkwitz's best moves: sitting Darius Robinson against Vanderbilt

There might not have been a better defensive player on Saturday than Darius Robinson. He was everywhere, but he was mainly in UK's backfield.

Robinson's six tackles, two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss were enough to land him SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. It's hard to argue with that, too.

This stems from a tough decision Drinkwitz made after the win over Memphis.

The coaches needed to decide if Robinson's calf injury was bad enough that a tweak would end Robinson's day. It happened in the first quarter against Memphis, and that led to Drinkwitz mentioning it might lead to Robinson getting shut down.

MU did exactly that against Vanderbilt and it paid off.

Robinson played the whole game against Kentucky, and it showed how dominant he could be with a fully recovered calf. In a season where Drinkwitz needed to make the right decisions, this was one of the big ones.

This win was so significant, it sets up even bigger moments down the line

This was not a game I thought Missouri would win. Simply because Kentucky had the advantage of playing at home, with a stout run game and efficient passing offense, after MU's defense struggled majorly the week prior.

That thought was vindicated for one quarter when Kentucky led 14-0, but props to Drinkwitz for adjusting and getting the Tigers to turn it around.

It's one thing to turn around the 14-0 hole but it's another to do it on the road against a team that historically has beaten Missouri in the most disheartening ways. This Missouri team is reversing some of that bad fortune

Now, at 6-1, Missouri is in a position to play itself into one of the best bowl games in the bowl season.

MU would need to keep winning, namely finish the regular season with no less than a 10-2 record and a second-place finish in the SEC East. That would have Missouri in the running for the Capital One Orange Bowl, the New Year's Six bowl game with an SEC tie-in.

That would involve beating one of either Georgia or Tennessee. It's a tall task, but the opportunity is still there for Missouri thanks to the win over Kentucky.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 7 thoughts on Missouri football's win over Kentucky