Five notable stats from Mizzou football’s loss to Tennessee, and looking ahead to LSU
The Missouri Tigers are just 20% into their 10-game, SEC-only schedule, but some trends are already apparent through two games.
First-year Mizzou coach Eliah Drinkwitz has installed a brand new “pro-tempo” offense, which has shown bits of explosiveness when players click on execution and chemistry. Consistency is lacking, which prompted Drinkwitz to say that starts with him.
The defense, considered a potential strength of this team coming into the season, has struggled in multiple facets. The unit was gashed by Tennessee’s ground game in a 35-12 loss last weekend. The Tigers’ pass rush — which struggled last year — hasn’t gotten to the quarterback to create pressure as much as it needs to.
Mizzou has no time to waste in correcting those mistakes as, unless Hurricane Delta alters these plans, the Tigers travel to face No. 17 LSU at 8 p.m. Saturday. It’s the third straight ranked opponent for an MU team still looking for its first victory under Drinkwitz.
Here are five noteworthy stats from Mizzou’s loss to Tennessee.
Bazelak threw for 16.8 yards per completion
When quarterback Connor Bazelak took over for Shawn Robinson in the second quarter, he immediately made an impact and played the rest of the game. Bazelak threw an interception, and the Tigers didn’t get into the end zone enough, but Drinkwitz said he was impressed with Bazelak’s relief performance — he racked up 218 yards.
There appeared to be a direct change in play calls with Bazelak that focused more on the vertical passing game. With Robinson in, MU ran more option plays to utilize his legs, attacking horizontally and at the boundaries.
Bazelak averaged 16.8 yards on his 13 completions, while Robinson was at a 9.74 yards-per-completion mark against Alabama, according to secstatcat.com. While Robinson had a higher completion percentage (76%) against the Tide than Bazelak did against the Vols (61.9%), Bazelak threw farther downfield. The stat showcases how the Tigers attacked more through the air with Bazelak.
As a bonus, here’s another stat that displays the differences between Bazelak and Robinson: average depth of target. It measures how far downfield each target was on every throw. The stat better encompasses how far downfield each quarterback threw because it doesn’t account for yards after the catch, which is more on the pass-catcher than the quarterback.
Bazelak’s targets were 13.9 yards downfield vs. Tennessee, while Robinson was at 4.12 yards per target against the Tide. That’s a massive difference — Bazelak’s throws went farther than those from Robinson, who relied heavily on short passes in the season opener.
While Drinkwitz said there wasn’t a change in the game plan, there appeared to be a difference in play calls based on each quarterback’s strengths.
Robinson’s negative-39 rushing yards
Coming into the season, Robinson’s legs as a dual-threat quarterback figured to be a major weapon for the Tigers. Robinson was highly recruited coming out of high school partly because of his athleticism, so using his legs in Drinkwitz’s offense was discussed often during preseason camp.
But that hasn’t been the case through two games. Robinson has 11 rushes for minus-39 yards, which includes traditional carries and sacks. He had three carries for negative-four yards against the Vols in his two drives.
While the Tigers are giving him multiple chances on option plays, it hasn’t yielded the results they need to be able to move the ball.
“Maybe they’re keying on it,” Drinkwitz said of Robinson’s struggles. “Just hasn’t been what we need it to be. We gotta continue to find ways forward to be that way.”
Tennessee 4-for-4 on fourth down
Every time the Vols went for it on fourth down, they converted. And that was mainly off the efforts of their quarterback, Jarrett Guarantano. He converted four quarterback sneaks on fourth-and-1 to pick up first downs almost at will. Guarantano even scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, one of those coming on a fourth down to ice the game.
It’s troubling that the Mizzou defensive front has struggled to get stops on short-yardage downs. Linebacker Nick Bolton, who had 17 tackles against Tennessee, said it came down to gap integrity and staying disciplined. But Tennessee ran it well even when it wasn’t in short-down packages.
The Tigers truly only got three stops on Tennessee’s eight drives (excluding end-of-half drives), forcing a missed 39-yard field goal attempt and two punts. The Vols’ other five drives ended in touchdowns.
Five drops by wide receivers
Mizzou’s wide receivers were able to get open, but they dropped five passes Saturday. The one that hurt most was when Dominic Gicinto dropped what could’ve been an 86-yard touchdown catch — he had beaten the coverage. It would’ve been a momentum-swinging play as the Tigers looked to get back into the game down 14-3.
There were also some drops by other receivers on third downs that would’ve moved the chains.
Drinkwitz said this is an area MU must address going forward. While Bazelak wasn’t perfect Saturday, his wide receivers didn’t help him out much as drives fizzled before reaching the end zone.
Defense records just two sacks
While the Vols attacked the MU front with rushes, the Tigers struggled to generate pressure on Guarantano. Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire picked up a sack apiece — the only two times the Vols lost yards on a play.
Missouri’s defensive line is filled with seniors like Tre Williams, Chris Turner and Kobie Whiteside. It’s clear this unit needs to make some improvements.
If there is a relative bright spot, though, Bama and Tennessee each featured what could end up being the best offensive lines the Tigers will play all season.