The Extra Point: Week 5 vs. Central Florida

Some extra notes from Missouri?s 21-16 victory over Central Florida Saturday afternoon.

James Franklin answers critics

Days after admitting his injured right shoulder had lowered his confidence and impacted what throws he makes, the junior quarterback showed no ill-effects in Missouri?s third victory of the season.

Playing behind an anemic offensive line and with the injured throwing shoulder, Franklin recently came under fire for a lack of deep passes. He stretched the field vertically against the Knights with regularity, and was successful in doing so.

The Corinth, Texas, native was assertive throughout the game, standing tall in the often-collapsing pocket while putting zip on his throws that had been missing in his prior three starts. He also kept numerous plays alive with his feet, showing his mobility while not taking many unnecessary hits.

Franklin finished the day 19-of-30 for 257 yards with a touchdown and interception.

It wasn?t an eye-popping performance, but given the circumstances and importance of Saturday?s result, it was his best performance of the year and should put to rest any calling for redshirt freshman Corbin Berkstresser to take over as the signal caller.

Richardson dominates

Coming into Saturday, junior defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was Missouri?s second-leading tackler and led all Southeastern Conference interior linemen in tackles.

Plenty of NFL hype has been heaped upon the freakishly athletic former five-star recruit, and rightfully so, but Richardson seemed to disappear for extended periods of time after a couple superb series.

That was not the case in Orlando.

Richardson was a force to be reckoned with for four quarters, finishing with nine tackles, good for third-most on the team. He also had two quarterback hurries, two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery near the end of the game that put away any hope of the Knights reclaiming the lead in their last possession.

Lawrence makes impact

Senior tailback Kendial Lawrence, averaging 6.1 yards per carry coming into Saturday, touched the ball once in the first half. The Tiger offense had become stagnant as the Knights took a 10-7 lead into the break.

The senior whom teammates call one the fastest players on the team was incorporated into the offense early and often in the second half. Lawrence touched the ball six times for 54 yards on Missouri?s first possession of the third quarter.

Lawrence finished the day with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to go along with 50 yards on four receptions. The senior served as Franklin?s safety valve in the passing game and kept the UCF defense off balance.

Lawrence has added another gear this season and is running more downhill, and is having plenty of success in doing so. Given the struggles of the offensive line?s pass protection, Lawrence appears to be as dangerous as anyone on the Tiger offense. He needs to get more touches.

Air defenseless

A week after South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw completed 20 consecutive passes en route to the Gaemcocks finishing 21-of-23 through the air, UCF quarterback Blake Bortles had 12 straight completions at one point.

Corners Kip Edwards, E.J. Gaines and Randy Ponder were all chasing receivers around the field in the first half as it was beginning to look like Missouri?s departure from the pass-happy Big 12 Conference was a blessing in disguise for the Tiger secondary.

The defense did tighten up in the second half as Bortles finished 29-of-43 with 267 yards. However, this marked the third consecutive week that a previously unheralded quarterback looked outstanding for long periods of time against the Tigers, something that needs shoring up.

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Hashmarks

--Senior left tackle and co-captain Elvis Fisher may return for next week?s game against Vanderbilt, and his presence is needed badly. The grouping up front of Justin Britt, Evan Boehm, Mitch Morse, Max Copeland and Jack Meiners is just not getting the job done. UCF had six sacks in three games coming into Saturday but got to Franklin four times in addition to hurrying him on numerous other occasions. It?d be hard for any quarterback to have much success behind this unit.

--In his fifth collegiate game, uber blue-chip recruit Dorial Green-Beckham recorded his first touchdown. Green-Beckham caught a downfield toss from Franklin, made one defender miss and ran to the end zone for the 80-yard score. He dropped the ball the only other time he touched the ball, but both throws were vertical looks, which Green-Beckham had not seen many of previously. DGB is not to blame for his less-than-staggering numbers thus far as he hasn?t been targeted often, but that should change soon.

--One way to flourish despite having major issues along the offensive line? Return a punt for a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Murphy did just that Saturday, for the third time this season. His 66-yard housing of a third quarter punt put the Tigers on top for good and set a Tiger single-season record.

-Richardson has been outstanding this year, but the Tigers have gotten absolutely nothing out of the other interior line spot. Redshirt sophomore Matt Hoch hasn?t made much of an impact. Fellow redshirt sophomore Lucas Vincent had a solid second half, knocking Bortles down on one occasion. Vincent, finally healthy, will likely see increased playing time next week.

--It seemed like senior linebacker Will Ebner was around the ball at the end of every play Saturday. After suffering numerous injuries the past couple seasons, Ebner is healthy and quietly having an outstanding senior campaign. Ebner was second on the team with 12 tackles, three of which were for loss. His consistent production has been a bright spot for what has been an up-and-down unit this year.

Source: http://www.themaneater.com/blogs/sports/2012/9/30/extra-point-week-5-vs-central-florida/

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