Madeline Carter/Tribune-USA TODAY NETWORK
Where Can the Missouri Tigers Find Offense?
The Missouri Tigers started the 2022 season in explosive fashion, with a 52-24 win over LA Tech where their prized five-star freshman receiver Luther Burden III scored two touchdowns in his college debut.
It looked like head coach Eli Drinkwitz had hit his stride and that this Mizzou offense might be fairly potent this season. Just over a week later, after a resounding 40-12 defeat at Kansas State, many wonder if Drinkwitz should still be calling plays for the offense.
It's well known that Drinkwitz has forgone an offensive coordinator and has retained play-calling duties for the offense. But the Tigers were only 61st in scoring last year and this year looks significantly worse without 2021's running back, Tyler Badie, or quarterback, Connor Bazelak.
Sophomore quarterback Brady Cook had a rough outing, throwing two interceptions to no touchdowns. But Tigers fans shouldn't expect him to be benched anytime soon, as his backup Jack Abraham came into the game and threw a similar two interceptions in only three pass attempts.
Mizzou couldn't get their ground game going either. Tigers' running backs totaled 21 carries for just 32 yards on the day. To his credit, Cody Schrader scored on one of his carries, but that came as time expired. By the end of the game, their leading rusher was Cook, who gained 56 yards on 13 carries.
Many of these offensive woes can be attributed to the line, who gave up ten tackles for loss on the day. There will likely be at least some moving around up front for the Tiger as they try to shore up that leaky front five. But even with a solid O-Line, isn't it time for Drinkwitz to hire an offensive coordinator?
Mizzou has broken 35 points against a Power 5 opponent exactly once since December 5, 2020, and it was against Vanderbilt. Considering the top 20 offenses in the FBS all averaged over 35 points per game in 2021, it's clear the Tigers require some offensive innovation. Would a different offensive coordinator have allowed Burden, arguably the Tigers' most dynamic player, to only touch the ball twice?
Drinkwitz and his squad will have a chance to hopefully tune things up against (FCS) Abilene Christian at home. After that though, the road gets incredibly rocky. Weeks 4, 5, and 6 will see the Tigers play road games at Auburn (9/24) and Florida (10/8), as well as hosting defending national champs Georgia (10/1) in between.
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