The difference with the defense and my play of the day: 10 thoughts on Mizzou's season-opening win

Missouri football started the season 1-0 after trouncing Louisiana Tech 52-24. The defense and offense made plays, and the college football world was introduced to Luther Burden.

Here are 10 thoughts after MU's win:

1. There is a difference with this team, and it starts with the defense's ability to adjust quicker

At the end of camp, Eli Drinkwitz mentioned how the defense needed to improve by getting takeaways.

On Thursday, the unit got three in a half. Not even Drinkwitz knew where that outburst came from.

"No idea, but they did it," Drinkwitz said. "It's great."

I attribute that to Blake Baker's defense. Specifically, I attribute that to Baker. The former defensive coordinator at Miami and Louisiana Tech has the experience from past gigs to adjust.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it was, especially since there's no other film or stats to compare to prior to Thursday, but they showed they can adjust to give the team what it needs.

Louisiana Tech's first two drives totaled 18 plays. After that, the Bulldogs' next four drives were 14 plays combined. The Tigers bent but never broke.

More: Three takeaways from Missouri's opening-night win against Louisiana Tech

The Tiger defense recorded three interceptions in the first half, which was something MU last did in the 1982 season opener against Colorado State. The last time Missouri had three interceptions in a game was against West Virginia in 2019.

One major observation was how MU had an answer for offensive plays that worked. Last season, even early on, there just wasn’t an answer for stopping the run until midway through the season. Short-yardage plays and screen plays that worked once Thursday were snuffed out the next time.

The big plays were concerning, especially since some first-team players were among those who got beat for long scores, but those plays came after MU reined in a large lead and never threatened the final outcome with some reserves on the field.

Contrast this to a year ago when the first-team defense struggled to put away Central Michigan, and it's hard not to feel better about the defense.

"What a difference a year makes," Drinkwitz said.

You can say that again.

2. If there's been a miss in the transfer additions, we've yet to see it

Of all the additions this offseason, Drinkwitz pointed to how the transfer additions were players added at key positions

"That’s what the transfer portal was designed to do," Drinkwitz said.

Some players who made plays Thursday were safety Joseph Charleston, defensive tackle Kristian Williams, linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper and defensive end Jayden Jernigan. All transfers.

Granted, this is how college football is now. The portal offers teams a chance to immediately fix an ailing part of a team, but it's not always that simple.

Drinkwitz and the staff needed to find players, but they also needed to make sure they fit. After Thursday, it feels like Drinkwitz is batting 1.000 on transfer additions.

"It feels good," Charleston said. "It's a testament to the coaches and the game plan putting us in the right position."

Charleston intercepted a pass a returned it for a score. His son, Dakota, was there to watch. Hopper led the team in tackles and tackles for loss. Jernigan recorded a sack. Williams tipped a pass that led to Charleston's pick-six.

After last year's defense got smacked around early on, it felt like the transfers brought the experience to ensure that wouldn't happen. That feeling was spot on through one game.

"We definitely felt like the transfers and the new people that came in definitely was going to be a good piece," Charleston said.

3. My play of the day was in the second quarter

Luther Burden did a lot of cool things. He scored his first touchdown after catching a ball at the 7 and shedding three tackles to get anywhere near the end zone.

Some of his plays were so good, some members in the press box said "oh my" in unison a couple of times.

The one play that captivated me was in the second quarter. Cook threw an out route to Burden that's officially kept in the statistics as a 16-yard catch to the LA Tech 26-yard line.

On this play, Cook put too much air on his out route and the ball sailed toward the sidelines. The Bulldogs defender could have, and really should have, intercepted the ball and returned it for a score.

He didn't. Burden didn't give him the opportunity.

Burden worked back toward the ball and used his strength to bull the defender out of the way, make the catch, stay on his feet and run for 16 yards.

Had the defender made the interception, it might have gone for six. That would've made it a 14-10 ballgame, which would've changed the complexion of the first half.

Would the Bulldogs have won? Probably not. We don't get a chance to go down that road because of Burden.

4. On Luther Burden, who proved with a few simple plays that he's ready for stardom.

Everyone talked about it. Everyone waited for it. We were kept waiting for an offensive drive. The first chance we got was a wildcat snap that went for 17 yards.

Compare Burden's debut to Jeremy Maclin and Dorial Green-Beckham's debuts in 2007 and 2012, respectively.

Green-Beckham didn't score a touchdown, just catching three passes for 32 yards. Maclin scored two touchdowns against Illinois, catching one and returning a punt for his second.

Those two were NFL players. Burden looked like he was playing in his 10th game instead of his first. It tells me Burden is ahead of his time.

More: What Eli Drinkwitz said about the defense and more after Mizzou beat Louisiana Tech

Drinkwitz may have tried his best to downplay some of the expectations for Burden in game one, and that's fair. The fan base might have wanted a 200-yard game, but how likely is that with MU's deep receiver room?

What I and the fans saw was a player that can affect the game in a myriad of ways and from any position on the offense.

He's the real deal, folks.

"We got some pieces," Drinkwitz said. "Now it's our job to build and execute on a higher level."

5. Cook doesn't need to reinvent the position but needs to be sharper

New starting quarterback Brady Cook wasn't bad Thursday. Don't take these next few paragraphs as me saying otherwise.

Cook managed the offense well and led the Tigers to a 17-point second quarter, once you factor out Charleston's interception touchdown, which was the defense's achievement to note.

But it's the smaller things that need fine-tuning.

Cook underthrew two passes to Burden on Thursday. One was on target in the end zone, but Burden couldn't haul in the pass as it was a tad underthrown. The other was what I just mentioned earlier, which was a step away from getting intercepted.

Vertically, there wasn't much Missouri did that affected the game. Cook vowed the remedy that.

“It's right there," Cook said. "We're going to hit them."

The other end of the spectrum was Cook leading a last-minute drive with just 24 seconds left in the half to set up a Harrison Mevis field goal. Cook had 24 seconds and used just 20. The efficiency and understanding of the situation showed a heightened football IQ.

He needs to make better decisions and be more accurate, but Cook understood that. He was critical of himself after the game. That's all you can ask for out of a leader at times.

There is no real way to achieve perfection in football. Having someone hold himself accountable as Cook did is a way of leadership. That was a consistent theme postgame on Thursday.

If that lead is any indication, we'll see a better Cook in Manhattan against Kansas State.

6. The running back room is better if Schrader and Peat share the rock

The battle for Missouri's running back room stops with Peat and Schrader. They're the first two names on the coaching staff's mind when discussing who gets handoffs.

Elijah Young has a good burst and is effective in the passing game, but it's clear the coaches prefer Schrader and Peat based on how the two got the most carries.

The duo combined for 142 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. They're leading the running back room. They also showed two separate styles of running.

Schrader is a very north-south runner. He runs with some power behind him, which showed in how he powered through some holes. Peat is shifty, but he can shed tacklers too. Both scored touchdowns Thursday.

It would be easy to just whittle it down to one runner. But Peat's style complements Schrader's style and vice versa. It's much better off if MU has the thunder of a tough Schrader run that can be offset by the lightning of a shifty Peat scamper.

To be clear, it's a good problem to have. I'm not going to say it's better than having a Tyler Badie, because that would be an incorrect assessment, but the two certainly offer more versatility as two entities instead of one if they're sharing the ball.

Now, it's on the coaching staff to use that complement to the best of its ability in future games.

7. Kristian Williams stood out to me the most

Of all the transfers on the defensive line, Jayden Jernigan got the start. Williams, in a reserve role, affected the game as one of the best defenders.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Williams played in 29 snaps on 68 offensive plays from Louisiana Tech. That was fifth-most among all defensive linemen.

Williams created pressure, earning a quarterback hurry, made a tackle for no gain on a short pass and most importantly tipped a pass that was intercepted by Charleston for a touchdown.

The Oregon transfer played with a quick edge, which was most likely a result of the defense's ability to rotate linemen out. That's the depth at play.

Williams doesn't need to provide stellar play like that every single week; there are enough defensive linemen who are capable of stellar play. But that depth is important.

More: How Missouri's newcomers carried the torch in opening-night victory over Louisiana Tech

8. The St. Louis base of players carried MU and have to in the games to come

Cook, Schrader, Lovett and Burden, all St. Louisans, carried the Tigers' offense.

Lovett had a standout game, leading MU in receptions and yards. Burden scored twice. Schrader scored the game's first touchdown. Cook plays the most important position on the field.

Those players showed out. They'll have to next week.

These are arguably the most talented players on Missouri's roster right now. Together, they have the ability to change a game, starting with Cook throwing the ball to either Lovett or Burden, or Schrader carrying the ball.

There are more St. Louis players on the MU roster, and those players will have a chance to make their own stamp on the Tigers' season.

"That was one of my main reasons coming to Mizzou," Burden said. "A lot of St. Louis guys can come up here with me and turn the program around."

9. The bottom line is simple: Kansas State will require more ... everything

The Kansas State game could be the biggest moment of Drinkwitz's Missouri tenure. Like Kurt Russell recites in the movie "Miracle": "Great moments are born from great opportunity."

Granted, this isn't Team USA vs. the Soviets, Craig Bohl isn't exactly Viktor Tikhonov and Drinkwitz isn't Herb Brooks. But this is perhaps the game that will tell us what to expect out of Missouri for the rest of the season.

Kansas State is expected to be good. The Wildcats have an AP first-team player in Deuce Vaughn and are expecting to crack the top half, if not the top five, of the Big 12.

Missouri's run defense held Louisiana Tech to just 11 rushing yards, which is impressive, but the Bulldogs' air raid offense didn't really run the ball. Kansas State will.

10. Greg Sankey, in attendance, told reporters Mizzou will never get the boot

Meeting with media prior to the game, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was asked if Missouri would ever get kicked out of the SEC.

"The absurdity of that knows no bounds," he reportedly said.

It's a question that might come off as one that paints MU as a depreciated program instead of an SEC member, but it's a fair question.

Who knows what college football will look like in three years now after so much change in the last two years? If conferences can handpick which schools they want, and which they don't want, that's the end of conferences as a whole, right?

Take Sankey at his word.

10a. A night game at Faurot was fun, but not as fun as the audio workers blasting Narco by Blasterjaxx close to every third down. Otherwise known as Edwin Diaz's entrance music. It even brought a smile to Hopper's face when asked. I can't get the tune out of my head. How do Mets fans do it?

10b. My thoughts go out to wide receiver Chance Luper and his family after Drinkwitz told the media Luper is in the hospital and will be out for two months. I hope he's recovering. No one deserves to go through that, including Chance's dad, Curtis Luper, the running backs coach for the Tigers.

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 10 thoughts on Mizzou's season-opening win over Louisiana Tech