How the mother of all bad starts can dismantle a football team

Oct 5, 2024 | Uncategorized

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A look at what went into the start that had the Mizzou faithful thinking Drink’s squad was still in the bye week

24-0.

:15 left in the first half.

The entire college football world is wondering, can things get worse for the soon-to-not-be No. 9 Missouri Tigers in a heated road tilt against the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies? Then, a booming punt from the Aggies’ Tyler White rolls out at the Tigers own one-inch line.

That play couldn’t have summed up a shocking first half for the Tigers any better, as head coach Eli Drinkwitz’s group was outclassed and outmanned by a Texas A&M team that looked better in all facets of the game.

“It starts with me and I want to apologize to our fans,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s my responsibility for us to be better.”

Things kicked off on the right foot for the Tigers as Brady Cook completed a 27-yard pass to Luther Burden III to get Missouri into Aggie territory on the opening drive. Unbeknownst to anyone, this would end up being the largest play from scrimmage for the Tigers in the half.

After being listed as a game-time decision, the Aggies’ season opening starter Connor Weigman got the nod. Making the most of his opportunity, Weigman’s offense jumped out to a quick nine-play, 60 yard drive that concluded with a touchdown in a mere three minutes and 38 seconds. The theme of quick scoring drives proved to be recurring to the dismay of Missouri defensive coordinator Corey Batoon and his defense.

Removing a late drive that was primarily for killing clock, the Aggies had scoring drives of 3:38, 2:49, 4:21, and 5:31 in the half with those drives averaging just under nine plays per. Quick drives usually can be attributed to big plays, but these drives were methodical and filled with a healthy amount of plays. These drives were powered by chunk plays and conversions on third downs, with the Aggies being five-of-six from third down in the first half.

Defensively, the issues were highlighted across the board as a lack of pressure on the signal caller mixed with being overmatched in coverage was the perfect concoction for disaster. Texas A&M’s offensive line had a banner day which couldn’t have gone any better.

“They are a great unit,” defensive lineman Kristian Williams said. “We gotta attack our leverages more, utilize our blitzes and stunts more and win our one-on-ones.”

Le’Veon Moss and the Aggie offensive line had their way with the Tiger defensive front, as gaps were plentiful. The Aggie run game as a whole produced 112 rushing yards in the first half at 5.6 yards per carry, with Moss’ patience being a key factor.

In the passing game, Weigman carved up the defense as whatever the Tigers threw at him was no object. Texas A&M’s wideout group as a whole had 10 different players pick up a reception in the game. Specifically in zone coverage, the amount of time Weigman had to throw allowed the wideouts to find the soft spots in Missouri’s zone defense. This development made it virtually impossible to disrupt Weigman’s rhythm in the key phases of the game. Weigman was 15-of-19 for 192 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the first half, but more importantly no sacks against.

“Great player…did a great job scrambling and threw the football really well,” Drinkwitz said. “We weren’t ever able to make him uncomfortable.”

As far as what went wrong in the first half goes, that piece could be 2000 words or higher if need be. The real pressing question, is just how detrimental a half like that can be to a team’s odds to win a game. While the saying “it isn’t over till the clock hits zeroes” is prevalent in the sport, it’s hard to hold true in a half like the one seen on Saturday. This season, teams down 24 or more after the half are winless.

Our own Quentin Corpuel talked about how important the trenches were going to be in this game, specifically the matchup of the Aggies’ highly touted defensive line vs the Tigers offensive line. That debate was quickly silenced as Mel Kiper’s number-one rated edge rusher Nic Scourton and the Aggies regularly found themselves in the backfield. The regularity carried through not just the pass game, but the run game as well.

In stark contrast to the opposition, all of Missouri’s drives in the first half failed to eclipse the four and a half minute mark and that is not thanks to bustling chunk plays. The Tigers had four punts, three of them coming on third and outs and an opening drive turnover on downs. Missouri executed 23 plays in comparison to Texas A&M’s 41 in the half. Missouri was zero-for-six from third down in the first half.

“Not being able to convert third downs and not being able to stop third downs,” Drinkwitz said. “That was ultimately the difference in this game.”

Missouri ran for 16 yards on 12 attempts in the first half, a stark contrast to the ol’ reliable standard that has been set by the running group in games prior. The reasoning? It really comes down to the outside zone being neutralized, even on the usually effective right side the gaps were plugged immediately.

Expectedly, the terrible first half proved the difference in the game as the Tigers lost 41-10 to the Aggies in an abysmal showing.

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