Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve made it. The pigskin is yet again being unleashed, and man, it’s going to be an absolute scorcher outside tonight. The Tigers open up the season against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, looking to start the year off on the right foot. Whether they will win or not is necessarily not the question. To be honest, that’s essentially a given. But, the question is, can Mizzou dominate and play clean? Against an opponent of Pine-Bluff’s caliber, what can Mizzou do to make fans walk away happy? Here are three things that I believe can do that.

1. A dominant Austin Simmons performance:

I think it’s fair to say that you guys are excited to see Simmons take the field. Heck, I know I am. Simmons is a guy with upside the size of Everest, but with a very little sample size, it’s hard to know just what he is yet. One thing is for certain however: if Simmons can dominate and limit the turnovers, fans will be very excited heading into Lawrence.

What does that look like in practicality, or at least for numbers sake? In my opinion, 300 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 picks. Or, 4 touchdowns and just 1 pick would be fine. It looks like Simmons taking what the defense gives him, but also taking the risks that Missouri fans desperately have missed. Simmons has a heck of an arm, and he could get the crowd roaring with it quickly tonight.

2. Takeaways galore:

The defense has many, many questions. Eli Drinkwitz has said that himself in fall camp. Most of the defense this season is all new starters, if not all, so there’s a lot to be proven. One way that the defense can earn the trust of the fans early, is to get some early takeaways.

I’m really excited to see guys like Elijah Dotson, Trajen Greco, Kensley Louidor-Faustin, and Chris Graves Jr in the secondary. These are guys that obviously have talent, but just don’t have the snaps. The same goes for a majority of the defensive line, who now gets a chance to step up and make a name for themselves. I think an interception and/or a forced fumble would be a terrific start to the season.

3. Blake Craig the man that you are:

Let me get one thing straight: I don’t think there will be many kicking opportunities for Blake Craig this game. Missouri is going to get that beautiful ball in the end zone at a high clip. However, I do think there will be 2-3 opportunities for Craig to kick some field goals and I’d love to see him go perfect on the day.

I believe that a lot of Mizzou fans were quick to forget how detrimental losing Craig was last year. Now it’s time for Craig to show them what they were missing.

Truth be told, I don’t think much will be learned from this game. After all, it’s a weak opponent (no offense to my Pine-Bluff fans) and Missouri should win by 45 plus. But, it’s good to have this beautiful sport back and hopefully for your sanity, the Tigers look dominant.

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