Sports
Tigers hope Gabbert can lead the way
Published Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 08:52 PM
Heading into this season the Missouri Tigers are picked to finish second in the Big 12 north to Nebraska. Coach Gary Pinkel played a number of younger players last year and he hopes that leads to more success this season. Last year 29 of Missouri's top 44 players were no older than sophomores. Despite being that young, Missouri still managed to finish 8-5 but lost to Navy in the Texas bowl. The big gun for the Tigers is junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert who played well last year in his first season as the starter. Gabbert passed for over 3,500 yards and 24 tds. He has a talented offensive line in front of him that brings back 4 starters. Missouri gave up just 20 sacks a year ago. The big hole to fill is that of wide out Danario Alexander who caught 113 passes last season. On defense, Missouri was still suspect last year giving up 25 ppg. Gone is all conference linebacker Sean Alexander who was the leader of that group. Overall the Tigers bring back 7 starters from last season on defense. An improved pass defense would help the Tigers cause. Over the course of the last two years Missouri has picked off just 8 passes. In a league that is dominated by spread offenses that is a number that must improve. Missouri begins the season against Illinois on September 4th.
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