Missouri stuck to the run game against Arkansas and it paid off on the final drive

Dec 1, 2024 | Uncategorized

Written By

Missouri running back Marcus Carroll (9) rushes downfield for a first down on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 at Faurot Field in Columbia. (MICHAEL BANIEWICZ/ROCK M NATION)

Missouri averaged just under 4.5 yards a play in every quarter, until they averaged over 10 in the final frame.

When snow hits the gridiron, the average football fan knows what comes next. A gritty game filled with lots of running and a lot less passing. This expectation was apparent for Mizzou as their offensive game plan saw them rush the ball 47 times as opposed to passing the ball 27 times. For their rivals Arkansas on the other hand, the approach was clear.

“We prefer our guys to play great complementary football, as they have done all year,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “In the snow it’s hard to run routes, hard to grip the ball.”

The Razorbacks utilized the threat of their dual threat quarterback Taylen Green, and ran a variety of short passing plays to pick up chunk yardage in key moments. Arkansas’ attack was perfectly balanced with 35 passing plays and 35 rushing plays.

So how could a team, that is playing a more balanced attack lose to a team that was seemingly one dimensional? I mean, even with the passing game, 141 of Brady Cook’s 168 passing yards came after the catch. Realistically, that meant only 17 of Mizzou’s 361 total yards were through the air.

The reality of it is is that Missouri stayed true to their game and eventually it broke the Razorbacks down enough to cause cracks in their defense. Missouri had just 10 points going into the fourth quarter, and picked up 18 in the fourth because they actually abandoned the run when they needed to.

“I was hoping we were going to flip [the switch]…that’s been one of our things this year,” Cook said. “We’ve had a tendency to start slow in a lot of games. It’s never what you want obviously, but it shows we have grit.”

In the first half, 22 of Missouri’s 29 ran plays were runs in some shape or fashion and this led to an overload of Arkansas players crowding the box. To continue that trend in the second half, on Missouri’s run of four straight scoring drives to end the game 25 of their 37 offensive plays ran were runs. What is the significance of that? It leads you to the real amazing stat, not a single Missouri drive had more than one pass completion for positive yardage until the game-winning drive which had three.

That’s what I’m zoning on, those three completions. An 11-yard pass to Luther Burden, an 18-yard completion to Brett Norfleet, and a 10-yard completion to Theo Wease Jr. All of these plays just flat out don’t happen, without the emphasis on the run earlier in the game.


The first, the third-down 11-yard pass to Luther Burden featured 11 air-yards which was 65% of the air yards Mizzou had in the entire game. The setting was third-and-nine and this was a play where if incomplete, the likelihood that the Tigers punt and lose the game is pretty high. Instead Luther— who had a crucial drop earlier in the game— came up large in this instance.


The second, an 18-yard catch and run by Brett Norfleet. This one is exceptional because Arkansas got this exact look in the first quarter and were fooled by it again later on in the game. They sell out so hard for the run because it was a first down situation and in 16 out of their 23 first down situations in the game up to this point they ran. So what better than to have it look like a running set and instead dump it off to your tight end for the check down with big yards after catch.


The final play was a 10-yard hitch route with Theo Wease Jr.. This was a play that I especially loved because I had actually pointed out on our forums on RockM+ that hitch routes were having great effectiveness because defenders can’t react to the cut in the slippery conditions, thus making it a wide open play.

Even better, a play later a quarterback draw from Brady Cook happens. This play, doesn’t happen without those three passes. The defense went from selling for the run like they did all game to selling for the pass in one drive, it was a masterclass of play-calling from Kirby Moore.

It was truly a sight to see in Faurot, and it’s just puzzling. This level of play-calling genius if applied to a full game, would win national championships. The defense was turned inside out for the entire quarter. Instead, it’s slow starts that are the reason this team isn’t more than a 9-3 record and a trip to a bowl game.

You Might Also Like

Injuries, obstacles mounting for Mizzou Wrestling

Injuries, obstacles mounting for Mizzou Wrestling

Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation The Tigers are currently without their three expected key contributors, two gone for the rest of the season For the second straight year, Mizzou Wrestling has begun its season with high hopes and expectations before seeing the year take a...

read more
Commute: Who is declaring for the NFL draft?

Commute: Who is declaring for the NFL draft?

The Morning Commute for Friday, January 3rd, 2024. Welcome to the Morning Commute We all need our moment, right? That’s the benefit of social media, it allows every one to play the title role in their own script. With that said I’m not sure I fully understand...

read more
Defending champs blow out Mizzou WBB

Defending champs blow out Mizzou WBB

Karen Steger Action Photography Tigers fall to South Carolina 83-52 Mizzou WBB (11-5, 0-1 SEC) competed early on with No. 2 South Carolina (13-1, 1-0 SEC), but faltered in the second half as the talent discrepancy showed. South Carolina ended the first quarter ahead...

read more

0 Comments