Drew Lock and Mizzou do it all in blowout win over Wyoming
As Missouri entered the red zone for the first time on Saturday, quarterback Drew Lock had a trick up his sleeve.
On second down with his receivers covered, Lock took hold of the ball and ran. Dodging tackles left and right, the 6-foot-5 Missouri quarterback tiptoed into the end zone for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the day.
Lock and Missouri played a complete game in the Tigers’ 40-13 win over Wyoming on Saturday, as the Lee’s Summit native accounted for five touchdowns.
It’s the first time Missouri is 2-0 under third-year coach Barry Odom.
Missouri didn’t get into the end zone until there was 5:32 left in the first quarter. Wyoming coach Craig Bohl returned eight starters from a defense that ranked top-10 nationally in 2017. That Wyoming defense gave the Tigers fits for the most of the first quarter on Saturday.
Missouri first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters had his pass rushers live in Wyoming’s backfield, and his secondary was assignment-sound. Senior defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. had a pair of tackles-for-loss in the first quarter, and cornerback Adam Sparks dropped his man for a loss of 5 late in the quarter. Odom called the defense’s start, “exceptional.”
“They saved our butts many times,” offensive lineman Kevin Pendleton said.
Two of Missouri’s first three drives ended with field-goal attempts by Tucker McCann, the second of which was good from a career-long 50 yards with 4:08 left in the first quarter.
Bohl’s defense forced Missouri to run the ball more and prevented Lock from taking his usual shots downfield.
Lock’s rushing touchdown came in the second quarter and capped a 97-yard drive by the Tigers. Facing third down from the 7-yard line, Lock found Emanuel Hall for a 36-yard completion to get Missouri out of its own end zone. Seven plays later, Lock took it in himself.
Missouri added another touchdown just before halftime as Lock found tight end Albert Okwuegbunam over the middle for a 19-yard strike with 32 seconds left. Earlier in the drive, Lock had relied on his legs again to keep Mizzou on the field, as he rushed for 8 yards on third down to move the chains.
Lock ran his mouth at Wyoming’s defense after the first down, which he admitted is something he wouldn’t have done last year.
“It comes with confidence,” he said. “We hadn’t been playing up to our standard as far as finishing drives, so I needed to poke the bear. If it takes me talking some smack I’m going to do it.”
The Tigers missed the extra-point attempt from a bad snap that was later fumbled, but most of that play remains a mystery.
Fireworks from the Okwuegbunam’s score had left smoke that clouded both players’ and spectators’ views. The kick attempt started near Memorial Stadium’s north end zone and ended around midfield.
“I still don’t know what happened,” Odom said after the game.
“Apparently, we maybe need to get that under control,” Lock added.
Missouri defensive end Nate Anderson sacked Wyoming quarterback Tyler Vander Waal to end the first half and keep the score at 16-0. Walters’ pass rush kept Vander Waal under pressure for most of the day and held the Cowboys to 3 for 13 on third downs.
Walters got creative on third downs, using formations with six defensive backs or different looks out of the Tigers’ nickel package. Odom said after the game there’s plenty more still in the playbook.
“I think we were just playing a lot harder this week,” Anderson said. “It was a team that likes to run the ball a lot, and that’s something that we, other than rushing the passer, that’s something we take pride in: stopping the run. We’re a big run-stopping team.”
Lock picked up where he left off on Missouri’s first drive of the second half. He found senior receiver Nate Brown at midfield for a 27-yard completion and then leaned on running backs Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree to get Missouri back into scoring position.
With 10:16 left, Lock found Hall in the back of the end zone to extend Missouri’s lead to 23-0. Hall had another big day, hauling in a career-high 10 catches for 171 yards. Hall also had 171 yards in Missouri’s season opener against Tennessee-Martin.
Known for his ability to run go-routes with his speed, Hall caught passes on slants, screens and curls, dismissing the notion that he’s limited as a receiver. The Cowboys didn’t fully put Hall in man-on-man coverage, instead they had a safety roll on to him, but it wasn’t effective.
“I take it as arrogance,” Hall said. “You think you can beat me one-on-one, then show me.”
Lock found Kendall Blanton over the middle for a 12-yard score to extend Missouri’s lead to 30-3 at the end of the third quarter. He connected with Johnathon Johnson early in the fourth quarter for his final score of the day to extend Missouri’s lead to 40-10.
Lock finished the night 33 for 45 on passes with four touchdowns for 398 yards, in addition to the rushing TD. Lock’s 51 yards rushing were 12 off his career high, and had his teammates joking about him as a dual-threat quarterback.
Hall went as far as comparing him to former Heisman winner Lamar Jackson.
A knock on Lock has been that he hasn’t beaten winning teams, but Wyoming came in with a nationally known defense. A few of his teammates think this could be the first step in taking out a well-respected team.
“He knows what he is,” Pendleton said of Lock. “He takes over games.”
Alex Schiffer
Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.
This story was originally published September 9, 2018 at 12:26 AM.