The Achilles heel of this offense bit them a number of times against Oklahoma, and the Tigers were forced to adjust and they did so.

Few things stifle an offense quite as much as bad offensive line play, and the offensive line play specifically from the trio of Cayden Green, Connor Tollison, and Cam’Ron Johnson burnt the Tigers against Oklahoma. The issue has persisted all season, and it was even more apparent with a less-mobile Drew Pyne at the helm of the offense.

Look, this article could be about Drew Pyne not being that good in the first half or the offensive play calling being extremely conservative in that half against the Sooners, but the reality is no offense or quarterback can succeed throwing in the pocket with the kind of up the middle pressure Missouri gives up.

Leading up to the game, the interior of the offensive line had allowed half of Missouri’s pressures this season which is uncharacteristic of an offense. Typically, the tackles allow the brunt of pressures since most pressure in football comes from edge rushers.

Connor Tollison came into the game second in the team in pressures allowed, behind left tackle Marcus Bryant. Tollison is bottom five amongst centers in the SEC in pressures allowed, blocking efficiency, and pass blocking grade. Looking at 2023, Tollison wasn’t bottom five in any of those categories but a lot of that can be attributed to Tollison sharing the interior with Xavier Delgado.

Tollison suffered a lower-body injury in the middle of the game and was seen on crutches in the second half, and Drake Heismeyer came in for him as a replacement. Heismeyer did an excellent job and I actually noticed that less pressure came up the middle when he came in.

Both of Missouri’s starting guards, Johnson and Green are in the bottom half of the SEC’s guards in pressures, efficiency, and pass blocking grade. Johnson ranks 21st out 29 guards in efficiency while Green ranks 16th. The former also ranks 22nd in pass blocking grade and 19th in pressures allowed. Funnily enough, Delgado and Johnson actually ranked in the bottom five of the SEC in both of those stats last season, but I guess the middle of the line being poor at pass protection is masked by a mobile quarterback like Brady Cook.

This isn’t to say that I’m being a Drew Pyne truther here either, he was bad in the first half. He was antsy in the pocket and was consistently making bad reads, but it’s hard to do the latter when there’s consistently pressure right up your grill. He completely flipped that script in the second half, and credit to him.

The offensive playcalling this season showcased a lot of boot legs to the right for Brady Cook, to try and utilize this offensive line’s strength which is Armand Membou. Membou has only allowed four pressures in total this season.

Usually when a team runs that many bootlegs, it means they are trying to mask inadequacy on a certain area of the offensive line whether it be one of the tackles or the interior of the line. There are no numbers as far as bootleg action frequency goes, but I’d have to imagine Missouri would be up there if there was.

So what’s the diagnosis, why is this happening? The proof is really in the film. It’s an abundance of missed blocking assignments that a running back just can’t pick up in pass protection. Plays like this where Cook pretty much has to surrender himself for a sack are not uncommon for this team, and they are absolute drive killers. In this play not only was there a wide open lane practically begging an Alabama player to sack Brady Cook, but Green got beat by his man almost immediately.

Akin to Cook this season, a less mobile Pyne was forced to resort to bootlegs and screens to navigate around the pressure up the middle. After zero drives were positive in EPA in the first half, the Tigers picked up three offensive touchdowns in the second half behind some decent throws from the aforementioned Pyne.

“I won’t be able to get you a 50-yard touchdown,” Pyne said. “But I can get you a first down.”

The adaptation of the offense didn’t just come in the form of the passing game, but in the rushing game as well. Missouri found some success with quarterback draws which created holes in the middle of the line, and running outside the tackles as well.

Pyne’s mobility in this game was a surprising surge, as he hadn’t displayed that ability really at all prior to this. Pyne gained 23 yards in the game which doesn’t seem like much, but when you factor in two of those carries were for drive-extending first downs, it means a lot.

“None of us knew he could do that,” wideout Theo Wease Jr. said. “That he could extend plays like that with his legs. He’s a true warrior.”

The surge of the offense is even more impressive considering the opponent, as Oklahoma boasted one of the most stout defenses in the country and yet the Tigers were able to crack the code in the fourth quarter. Missouri was 11 of 19 on third down in the game, and had a success rate of 57% on third down in the game. A stark contrast to the 38.8% average allowed by Oklahoma prior to this game.

“He was just excellent,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Pushing up in the pocket, making big time throws.”

Drinkwitz said that the way Missouri played in the first half was calculated, and they wanted to establish the run game so they could open up the pass game in the second half. Do I believe that was the way they wanted things to go? I have a hard time believing it, but the fact is the offense did exactly that. Despite a boatload of pressure coming up the middle, Drew Pyne and the Missouri offense adapted and were a key asset to a thriller under the lights at Faurot Field on Saturday.