What’s lacking for the Mizzou offense ... and how the Tigers hope to fix those issues
The Missouri Tigers glided into Tennessee territory almost at will Saturday. They picked up yards in bunches, stringing together promising plays on drives that appeared destined for touchdowns.
But punching the ball into what’s becoming an elusive end zone proved difficult for an MU program still seeking its first win. The Tigers dropped their second straight game in as many tries Saturday, downed 35-12 by No. 21 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.
A similar script unfolded in the Tigers’ season-opening loss to Alabama. Mizzou had little trouble picking up yards and first downs once backup Connor Bazelak took the reins at quarterback in the second quarter. But whenever the Tigers inched toward the red zone, execution failed them.
As was the case vs. the Vols, they finished that game with just one touchdown.
“You gotta have some pride in yourself and grab your nuts and know that you’re going to score,” MU running back Larry Rountree III said. “We came down in the red zone, we gotta finish. … I can count how many times we were in the red zone today and we didn’t. We only scored once. That’s not good enough.”
Bazelak again took over for starter Shawn Robinson for the first drive of the second quarter. Robinson had struggled to that point, picking up only one first down through two drives.
Once Bazelak touched the field, he made an immediate difference. The redshirt freshman completed 13 of 21 attempts for 218 yards and one interception, spinning nice passes throughout the game. His numbers were hampered by his pass-catching targets, who recorded five drops — some on crucial plays.
With Bazelak at quarterback, the Tigers traveled into Vols territory on five of six drives, excluding their end-of-half possession. Bazelak’s shortest drive went for 37 yards, when he threw the interception that extinguished Mizzou’s shot at a comeback.
Despite racking up 344 total yards, the Tigers produced a mere 12 points.
“I thought there were some ups and downs,” Bazelak said of his performance. “In the end, we’ve got to put up points in the red zone. That’s what we focused on all week. Three points isn’t enough down in the red zone. We gotta throw touchdowns.”
Drinkwitz said after the game he’s not making a final decision about his quarterbacks at this point, indicating he’ll instead stick with some sort of rotation for MU’s next game at LSU. Robinson had his moments in the season opener, when he threw for 185 yards and a touchdown against the Tide.
The first-year coach said he could see “flashes” when his offense functioned at a high level. Drinkwitz doubles as offensive coordinator and play-caller for the Tigers.
“There’s just not the consistency right now,” Drinkwitz said. “I’ve got to take a look in the mirror first.”
Rountree said “self-inflicted wounds” bogged down the Tigers’ offense. Those drops from the receivers stood out; they had four last week against Alabama.
Wide receiver Jalen Knox dropped two crucial passes on third down, both times on plays that would’ve been long enough to move the chains. Dominic Gicinto had a game-changing slip-up in the second quarter. After he’d outrun the coverage on a ball slightly underthrown, Gicinto let Bazelak’s pass fall to the turf.
The Tigers scored their touchdown when they went for it on fourth down: Bazelak pitched the ball to Rountree, who scampered into the end zone.
There were other positives, Drinkwitz said, including the play of Damon Hazelton, who caught four passes for 66 yards.
But execution lacking was a general theme for the Tigers, who are averaging 15.5 points per game through the first two games of the Drinkwitz era.
“Close is not good enough,” Rountree said. “In this business, there is no close. It’s either you won or you lost. Obviously, every game is not perfect. But right now, we’ve just got to focus on not self-inflicting wounds.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 5:16 PM.