Drinkwitz calls out O-line, coaching ahead of ‘College GameDay’ clash vs. Vandy

Fifteenth-ranked Missouri captured a gutsy double-overtime win against Auburn last weekend. The defense was able to generate big stops when it mattered most and that helped pave the way for the Tigers to win their first road game.

But the victory wasn’t perfect. And Mizzou will be away from Faurot Field once again in a battle with No. 10 Vanderbilt in Nashville, the setting for ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday.

The Tigers have a lot to clean up in preparation for a game with many potential ramifications.

The blocking from the offensive line and tight ends was the obvious area of improvement for the Tigers to address. The Auburn defense constantly threw blitzes when Mizzou looked to pass the ball, and the line struggled to give quarterback Beau Pribula any sort of protection throughout the night.

Left tackle Cayden Green (69.7) — the Lee’s Summit North High School product — was the only member of the unit to grade over 60, according to PFF.

At his weekly media availability on Tuesday, Drinkwitz cited the need for the offensive line to improve its footwork and second step. He called for the tight ends to stay square. The Tigers will face a Commodores defense that has the highest non-blitz pressure rate in the country (42%), so protecting Pribula in the pocket will be as important as ever.

“We just need to be better,” right tackle Keagen Trost said. “We need to play more physical (and) make sure we’re all on the same page.”

On the flip side, Pribula has to improve his decision making when under pressure. The signal-caller took three sacks, and not all of the three were necessary. His turnover struggles continued with another two interceptions. It was the fifth consecutive game in which he has thrown at least one.

Although the Missouri defense brought home many of the highlights from Auburn, it wasn’t perfect. The unit picked up three penalties that each cost 15 yards, including an avoidable personal foul on linebacker Nick Rodriguez.

The Tigers also let up a fair share of explosive run plays despite the front seven holding up well. Auburn won the rushing yardage battle 150-91, which included a huge 41-yard gain from running back Jeremiah Cobb. Against an elite rusher in Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, that issue could get exploited if Mizzou can’t hold him.

Drinkwitz took accountability himself for the coaching in late-game drives and the lack of a fast pace in recent games.

“As a coaching staff, we have to take the gray out so we can play faster,” Drinkwitz said. “I think when you watch, there’s some timidness. We’re not firing off the ball, confident this is our target. ... we have to eliminate that.”

As Drinkwitz has said before, he doesn’t want to put the blame on any individual player. It’s up to him and his coaching staff to get the Tigers ready for Vanderbilt, and they’ll do it as a team.

“I’m taking ownership of it’s got to get better,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s not fair as coaches to get up here and illustrate and push all the blame to the player. At the end of the day, it’s my job. We get paid a hell of a lot of money to put these guys in the right positions. We got to do it.”

Getting the run game back

Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy was limited to just 58 rushing yards on 24 carries, which amounted to just 2.4 yards per carry. Though he scored two touchdowns, the majority of rushing attempts weren’t successful.

Despite Missouri being able to return to Columbia with a win, having such poor production in the run game could be costly down the road.

“If you’re going to win on the road, you’re going to need to be able to run the football,” Drinkwitz said. “I didn’t think our pad level was right. Didn’t think our footwork was very good.

“We weren’t staying square, we were crossing over, so our second step wasn’t where it needed to be. Our hands weren’t in the right placements. We looked timid, like we weren’t sure why we were running certain plays.”

The offensive line’s inability to block was equally problematic. There wasn’t a snap where Hardy didn’t have to face immediate contact; his 65 yards after contact were more than his pure rushing total.

The counter scheme was one of the few plays the Tigers got to work on the ground, but they moved away from it as the night progressed. That is a decision that Drinkwitz wants to avoid moving forward.

“I think it’s a combination of making sure that we come back to plays that work, and it’s a combination of making sure that our offensive line and tight ends are playing aggressive and they aren’t overthinking it, playing with better fundamentals,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s on our coaching staff to get corrected.”]

With some adjustments, Mizzou’s run game might be able to get back to what it was at the start of the year.

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