For the first time since 2011, Texas is coming to play on Faurot Field.
And the stakes are incredibly high for what will be a top-20 matchup when No. 19-ranked Missouri football hosts the No. 9/10 Longhorns on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Columbia, where the winner will stay in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff.Mizzou (6-2, 3-2 SEC) is coming off of a 34-10 road win at Arkansas, while the Longhorns (6-2, 3-2) beat Mississippi State 31-3 in Austin, Texas.
Here’s what Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said about the game and Missouri football Monday, Nov. 2, during his weekly press conference:
Longhorns banged up ahead of visit to Columbia
Five starters left Texas’ win over Mississippi State.
Starting wideouts Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, who each have more than 400 receiving yards and combined for 11 touchdowns, and rotational running back Hollywood Smothers, the Longhorns’ second-leading rusher, played but did not finish the game.
On defense, nickel Graceson Littleton and corner Kade Phillips, who have played the fifth- and sixth-most defensive snaps for the Longhorns this season, respectively, also left the game.
The Longhorns also are dealing with injuries to starting offensive tackle Trevor Goosby, who has been ruled out for the year, and star defensive end Colin Simmons, who has not played since Oct. 17.
Sarkisian didn’t provide specific updates on any of the players listed above. A report from Anwar Richardson at Orange Bloods indicated Smothers and Littleton could be out for the year, Phillips may miss 2-4 weeks and Coleman and Wingo are either questionable or need further testing.
“Obviously, we’ll be undermanned Saturday,” Sarkisian said, “but I have no doubt in my mind that the group that will take the field Saturday 11 a.m. will be ready to play.”
On Mizzou’s run game: ‘Excellent wide zone football team’
Mizzou was able to get Ahmad Hardy back on the field this vs. Arkansas, making his season debut with two carries for five yards.
Time will tell if Mizzou increases Hardy’s workload or sticks with Jamal Roberts in a workhorse capacity. Whatever Missouri’s backfield looks like, Sarkisian will be paying attention.
“Excellent wide zone football team. They’re committed to it, and Eli has been committed to it, and he’s done a great job with that. He’s had different coordinators come through, but at the end of the day, the outside zone running scheme is something that they hang their hat on, and they’re very good at it.”
Roberts became the first SEC running back to cross the 1,000-yard mark this season in MU’s win over Arkansas, as he ran for 138 yards and scored two touchdowns. Hardy broke Mizzou’s single-season rushing record last season, running for 1,649 yards over 13 games.
“Different style runners of who Jamal is as opposed to, kind of, who Ahmad is. But, at the end of the day, it’s the scheme, and then you’ve got to know the runner and how they run it,” Sarkisian said. “Ahmad can break a ton of tackles. He’s elite at it. Roberts is a little bit shiftier that way. Maybe not always looking and hunting the contact, but can make you miss. But they’re both tough, hard-nosed runners, and they’re committed to the scheme.”
On Eli Drinkwitz
“Eli’s a very good friend of mine, and I have a ton of respect for Eli for the job that he’s done at Missouri,” Sarkisian said. “And you just think about the sustained success that they’ve had — I think one thing that he’s done is he’s always evolved to the people that he’s had. And I will say this: He believes in running the ball, and that hasn’t changed. Whoever the quarterback’s been, whoever the coordinator’s been, they believe in running the ball. He’s had different defensive coordinators. He’s had different offensive coordinators. At the end of the day, they run the ball, and they’re a tough football team. And this team’s no different.
“They play tough defensive football. It’s not about one guy. They do it in totality. They’ve got a new quarterback, he’s throwing the ball around; they’re throwing the ball this year better than they have in years past. But I think at the end of the day, it all comes back to Eli’s leadership. I really do, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a good friend, but I have a lot of respect for the job that he’s done at Missouri.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Texas may be ‘undermanned’ for top-20 matchup at Missouri football
