Eli Hoff | Post-Dispatch
Mizzou athletics beat writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Undefeated but with its most difficult games still ahead, Missouri football spent its first bye week of the 2025 season focused on three things.
鈥淪harpen our edge, improvement and recovery,鈥 Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz explained.
What kind of progress No. 14 Mizzou made toward all three goals will show quickly and clearly during Saturday鈥檚 high-profile showdown with No. 8 Alabama. The first of the priorities to take the stage will be recovery, particularly as it relates to one of MU鈥檚 most important offensive players.
Left tackle Cayden Green will be questionable for Saturday鈥檚 game, Drinkwitz said, with his undisclosed lower-leg injury.
Green participated in some 鈥渞ehab reps鈥 during the Tigers鈥 Monday practice, and his mobility and comfort would be evaluated more Tuesday afternoon. Regardless, there鈥檚 likely to be a degree of uncertainty around Green鈥檚 status all the way until kickoff, so he鈥檚 likely to be listed as questionable on Missouri鈥檚 four Southeastern Conference-mandated injury reports leading up to Saturday.
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鈥淲on鈥檛 know for sure or for certain until the end of the week,鈥 Drinkwitz said, 鈥渟o follow along closely to the SEC availability report and (ESPN reporter) Pete Thamel鈥檚 tweets.鈥
Green has missed Mizzou鈥檚 past two games with the injury, which occurred during a Sept. 17 practice. He and the team opted for an unspecified 鈥減rocedure鈥 he underwent the day before MU played South Carolina, and he鈥檚 been wearing a walking boot on the sidelines since.
While it has not been and still isn鈥檛 a guarantee Green will be able to return against the Crimson Tide, this game against Alabama has been the optimistic target for his recovery.
Jayven Richardson started in Green鈥檚 place at left tackle against South Carolina and UMass and would do so again if Green winds up missing a third game.
In other injury news, starting cornerback Drey Norwood (soft tissue) and second tight end Jordon Harris (hand) are both 鈥渇ull go鈥 after their bye week recovery, Drinkwitz said. They鈥檇 been limited against UMass due to those injuries, which were considered fairly minor.
Different bye week from 2024
One of the more rightfully maligned moments of Missouri鈥檚 2024 season was its flop of a performance following the first bye week of that campaign, a 41-10 defeat at Texas A&M.
That gloomy return from a week off spiraled out of hand before the Tigers could even get into a flow on offense, and it proved costly.
MU spent its first idle week of this season differently than it did in 2024, Drinkwitz said, but not really because of the dud against the Aggies.
鈥淓ach bye week鈥檚 uniquely different based off the circumstances of the team, what the team needs in order to continue that season,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥... Last year 鈥 we鈥檝e already addressed it 鈥 it was a little bit more to do with the first road trip than necessarily the bye week plan.鈥
Tweaks Drinkwitz has made to the program鈥檚 preparation further confirm that feeling. Mizzou spent one fall camp weekend staying at a 最新杏吧原创 hotel and then scrimmaging at Lindenwood for a 鈥渕ock road game,鈥 hoping to give players a taste of what travel will look like before it鈥檚 really happening.
And this time, the Tigers are still at home after their bye.
How MU fares on the road will be tested after Saturday鈥檚 conclusion of a six-game homestand, the longest in the nation, when Missouri next plays at Auburn and at Vanderbilt.
As far as bye week lulls go, Drinkwitz noted that the Tigers performed well after their second bye of the 2024 season, when backup quarterback Drew Pyne led Mizzou to an eventful win against Oklahoma.
To stave off any rust that might鈥檝e formed during the bye, Missouri worked some 鈥済ood-on-good鈥 鈥 also known as starters versus starters 鈥 reps into its practice over the last week and will keep that going in the next day or two before the week ends with walkthroughs.
While the extra week ought to help Mizzou get ready for Alabama, the toughest team it will have seen yet this season, the Tigers also spent some time looking ahead to Auburn and Vanderbilt. These three games, after which MU will have its second bye week, are particularly pivotal for sorting out the program鈥檚 standing and trajectory within the SEC.
With that in mind, Drinkwitz tailored this bye week鈥檚 programming more toward what鈥檚 ahead of Missouri than what鈥檚 a year behind it.
鈥淚t was a different approach,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ut it was based off it being a different need for our team.鈥
