Missouri has trouble against the run at Wyoming
Missouri tried to rally in its season-opening game Saturday vs. Wyoming. But why the Tigers got behind in the first place had plenty to do with their run defense.
In a game where Wyoming quarterback Sean Chambers’ arm was mostly a non-factor (six for 16, 92 yards passing), the Cowboys’ rushing attack had a field day in their 37-31 win.
Three different Wyoming rushers ran for touchdowns, and the group as a whole went for 297 yards on the ground.
Two of those touchdowns were long scores that were directly a part of Wyoming’s 27-point second quarter, the frame which spurred the Cowboys to a 34-3 scoring run. First was a 61-yard run from running back Xazavian Valladay. Then came a 75-yard score from Chambers on the very next drive.
Missouri’s defensive players said that they felt well prepared for Wyoming’s run game: Wyoming had the 26th-best rushing offense in FBS and had more average rushing than passing yards per game last season. So Wyoming’s run-heavy offense could not have been a surprise.
Why the Cowboys had the game they did, according to Missouri senior linebacker Cale Garrett, was mainly due to a lack of execution.
“I think a couple of times, there was maybe a miscue or a guy doesn’t do his job, and we get bit for it,” Garrett, a defensive captain, said of the Tigers’ troubles stopping the run. “We just missed assignments (and) missed tackles ... you saw that one I missed on the quarterback. That was all on me.”
What was perhaps more surprising was how sudden Missouri’s control of the Wyoming run changed, which correlated with the game’s momentum swings.
In a first quarter where the Tigers quickly sprinted out to a 14-0 lead with quick drives and limiting the Cowboys on offense, Wyoming was held to 28 yards on the ground. By the end of the first half, that number had risen to a total of 162 yards, and Wyoming was ahead 27-17.
“Credit to them guys. I don’t feel like we got caught, they just came out with a great game plan and punched us right in the mouth, simple as that,” MU junior cornerback DeMarkus Acy said. “I felt like we could’ve did more as far as technique and other coaching points ... but) they came out ready to play.”
Thanks to two fourth-quarter touchdowns, all of the defensive missteps the Tigers made in the first half were almost forgiven. Quarterback Kelly Bryant led that Tigers on some late drives, and they gave Missouri a glimmer of hope — before the Tigers came up short in the red zone on the final push downfield.
But Missouri head coach Barry Odom felt there were multiple opportunities before the final quarter to make up lost ground.
“We didn’t respond enough defensively there to get a stop when we needed to,” Odom said. “And then when we did, we weren’t able to convert enough to get the lead back.
“I don’t want to put it on just one guy or one gap, it’s team defense. We’ve got to be able to do enough to withstand ... and get in a position where we have some success.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 12:26 AM.