How much of Derek Dooley’s playbook was on display in Missouri’s blowout win on Saturday? Not much
Derek Dooley’s debut as offensive coordinator went so well on Saturday, that Missouri was scoring touchdowns by accident.
And the Tigers didn’t even show off a fraction of their whole playbook in their 51-14 win over Tennessee-Martin.
When Drew Lock found Emanuel Hall for a 34-yard touchdown in the first quarter, the Missouri quarterback wasn’t expecting to find his fellow senior wide open in the end zone.
Lock was supposed to find Hall on a quick pass but didn’t feel comfortable getting rid of the ball so quick, with a safety playing so low near Hall.
Missouri’s offensive line bought Lock time, and he eventually hit Hall on a post route, one that Hall had found on his own.
“That wasn’t supposed to be a post,” Hall said. “It was more that I found open grass.”
Dooley’s pro-style offense looked a lot different from his predecessor Josh Heupel — who is now the head coach at Central Florida — as the Tigers were constantly changing formations and utilizing different personnel. Heupel ran a air raid-spread hybrid offense.
And the tempo on Saturday wasn’t as fast-paced, which didn’t result in 45-second series’ like it had did under Heupel.
“Defense was pumped about it,” Lock joked.
At times, Missouri had formations that called for three tight ends on the field as part of a short-yard package and five receivers when Missouri needed more out of the air.
Sophomore tight end Albert Okwuegbunam lined up as a single receiver against the Skyhawks, and often Dooley had two tight ends attached as linemen in order to put Hall and fellow senior Nate Brown on opposite sides of the field in one-on-one matchups.
“People are going to have to prep for a lot of different formations against us,” Lock said. “It’s going to be different. We’re not just going to go fast in similar formations. We’re going to throw a lot at you.”
Lock said in Heupel’s system, Missouri tended to stick toward the same formations, while going at the same tempo, which allowed defense’s to figure the Tigers’ offense out quicker.
Under Dooley, Missouri can change the tempo at will and force defenses into following along.
And the Skyhawks didn’t even see the whole show.
Hall said Missouri made the decision to use only a part of the playbook because it wouldn’t need it’s whole arsenal to beat an FCS opponent.
Hall, a 6-foot-3 wideout, was his usual self against the Skyhawks, catching four passes for two touchdowns and a career-high 171 yards.
“Dooley’s really versatile in what he’s doing,” Hall said. “Today, we didn’t really run our offense.”
Odom said the Skyhawks defense aligned in ways where the offense usually would have pulled the ball and thrown it more, but he wanted to utilize the run game more to keep things simple.
Saturday marked the first time that Lock had running backs Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III healthy at the same time.
The two backs had a near-even share of carries, with Rountree getting 14 to Crockett’s 12, but the two combined for 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Crockett’s first-quarter touchdown to open the scoring was his first rushing touchdown in 364 days, after missing the second half of last season to a shoulder injury.
Lock said the run game is going to be crucial to the team’s success this season, especially with Wyoming coming to town next Saturday.
The Cowboys led the nation in turnover margin during the 2017 season, which means Missouri might need to rely on the run game more than its receivers for points.
Lock isn’t worried.
“Watching Larry come off the field and (Crockett)’s running on, I’m like, ‘Holy cow,’” Lock said. “It’s going to be something vicious.”
Alex Schiffer
Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.
This story was originally published September 1, 2018 at 9:44 PM.