COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 There鈥檚 Missouri, up near the top of the Southeastern Conference with the likes of Alabama and Louisiana State.
It鈥檚 not in standings nor poll ranking, though No. 6 Mizzou is up there in that kind of stature too.
It鈥檚 in penalties 鈥 one of the rare statistics where a spot lower on the table is better.
Through every SEC team鈥檚 first two games, the Crimson Tide have the dishonorable distinction of a lead in infractions committed: 20 of them. MU and LSU are level with the second-most penalties so far, with 17 apiece.
In Missouri鈥檚 case, those 17 fouls are interesting.
First, there have actually been 18 flags thrown against the Tigers through their comfortable victories against Murray State and Buffalo, though one 鈥 a holding penalty 鈥 was declined because it occurred moments before an interception.
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And interestingly, all of them have been on Mizzou鈥檚 offense. There are two sides to that coin, of course.
It鈥檚 a definite positive that the Tigers defense, in its first two games under a new coordinator, is penalty-free 鈥 no early jumps across the line of scrimmage, no overly handsy pass coverage, no illegal tackles, no disconcerting signals.
On the other side, 18 offensive reasons for officials to throw flags is less than optimal.
Five of those penalties have been for false starts, eight 鈥 including one declined penalty 鈥 have been for holding, three were related to illegal formations, one was a facemask infraction and one was a delay of game.
鈥淭he frustrating thing for us, offensively, was we weren鈥檛 able to sustain drives because of penalties,鈥 coach Eli Drinkwitz said after MU beat Buffalo. 鈥淲e had two punts and two missed field goals (because of them).鈥
Even though those fruitless possessions didn鈥檛 keep the Tigers from scoring plenty of points against the Bulls, the flags did threaten drives at key moments and key spots on the field.
On three occasions 鈥 one ineligible receiver downfield call, a false start and a holding penalty 鈥 infractions moved the Mizzou offense from Buffalo鈥檚 side of the field back to midfield or MU territory. Two penalties popped up when Missouri was on the goal line, including one that pulled back a touchdown.
Given that the Tigers averaged 6.2 yards per play against Buffalo, making up for yards lost to penalties wasn鈥檛 much of a concern. That kind of offensive success likely isn鈥檛 sustainable against tougher defenses, though, which means the number of flags could be more costly in conference games.
Asked about penalties in the immediate aftermath of MU鈥檚 second win of the season, Drinkwitz didn鈥檛 seem overly concerned. His mind was on the calls, not the infractions themselves, given a disparity between flags against Missouri and flags against Buffalo.
鈥淐ommon denominator was we were the only team holding tonight,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 get any penalties called on them. I think it was 10 to two. Got to go back and look at it to see the tape, to see exactly what (the officials鈥) emphasis was. I don鈥檛 know. I couldn鈥檛 see them on the field, live, but I鈥檓 sure after I go back and watch the tape, I鈥檒l see that we got to do a better job of not holding.鈥
His count was correct. The only time the Bulls were flagged for holding was a defensive hold 鈥 their offense didn鈥檛 pick up a single penalty.
The point, especially at this stage of the season, is not to litigate penalties from nonconference blowouts after the fact. The calls are the calls.
New left guard Cayden Green, a transfer from Oklahoma, has the most individual penalties, with three. Right tackle Armand Membou, Green鈥檚 high school teammate, has two. Reserve linemen Jayven Richardson and Logan Reichert have a pair apiece as well.
Center Connor Tollison has picked up one, as have Cam鈥橰on Johnson and Mitchell Walters, who each have started a game at right guard.
The only Mizzou offensive line starter not to be called for a penalty yet is left tackle Marcus Bryant.
Missed kicks
On the missed field goals Drinkwitz mentioned while lamenting the timing of offensive penalties: Kicker Blake Craig is now 4 for 6 on field goal attempts in his career.
Across his first two games as Missouri鈥檚 starter, he has converted from 22, 27, 39 and 51 yards away with misses from 49 and 52 yards out. Craig is a perfect 11 for 11 on extra points.
After the Buffalo game, Drinkwitz said both of the missed field goals were a matter of 鈥減oor execution.鈥