Mizzou offense struggles, has no answer for Alabama loss

Slow starts on offense have been a common theme for the No. 21 Missouri Tigers. No life was found on that side of the ball against the No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide, resulting in a 34-0 road win.

For the entire first half, the Missouri offense was unable to move the ball down the field, regardless of who was assigned at quarterback. Starting quarterback Brady Cook, who was by no means healthy at kickoff, only completed one pass of more than three yards in the first half. Tight end Brett Norfleet secured the victory with a third-down conversion attempt, which was unsuccessful.

That finish for Norfleet didn't come until the first quarter and it didn't get any better. Cook struggled to find his receivers on the field and the ground game was nonexistent, especially without leading rusher Nate Noel.

Part of the lack of offense could certainly be attributed to the locked Crimson Tide defense. The Crimson Tide's pass rush was intense and didn't give the Tiger quarterback any time to breathe. They recorded just one sack the entire game and allowed Cook to roll out four more runs than he would have liked in the first half.

Alabama's pass protection also made it nearly impossible to get short or mid-range completions. The Crimson cornerback duo of Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown and the safety pair of Malachi Moore and Bray Hubbard only allowed 13 quarterback completions the entire game. Alabama's defense was rock solid throughout the game.

Backup quarterback Drew Pyne threw the Tigers' second interception of the season to safety Malachi Moore, setting up the Crimson Tide for their first touchdown on offense. To call it momentum is an understatement, as it marked a turning point in the game toward the end of the second quarter.

“He's trying to put us in a position to get back in the game, and I understand that, but we just can't get the ball into double coverage in those situations,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

The absence of Cook for the remainder of the game increased frustration with the Tiger offense, leaving the second half in the hands of Pyne.

Against Texas A&M and even the Auburn Tigers, Missouri's offense struggled to find its rhythm offensively. The Aggies completely shut down the Tigers on offense in every way. Cook couldn't string the passes together and the running game never materialized. When Pyne faced Auburn last week, it looked like the same offense for about two quarters. The comparisons between the two end results are striking, even if it may be difficult to admit it.

“It was nothing like Texas A&M when we were down 13 points at halftime because of an interception,” Drinkwitz said. “We resisted any other entertainment other than this ridiculousness.”

The injury to the starting quarterback did the offense no favors. It is obvious that Pyne is not suited to success in the Tigers offense and is a reason for the lack of production. Even when Cook was injured in the final quarter against Auburn, he managed to get the team down.

Things got worse for the Tiger offense in the second half. Pyne threw two more interceptions in the scoring portion of the game and appeared to make it for the Crimson Tide. Like the other two quarters, the Tigers struggled to get the ball back into the game.

At the end of the game, Marcus Carroll and Jamal Roberts finished the game with a nice total of rushing yards. Carroll finished with 80 and Roberts with 71. That was a career high for Roberts, who earned his playing time in Noel's absence.

“I thought Marcus (Carroll) and Jamal (Roberts) did as good a job as they could,” Drinkwitz said. “I thought they were really strong at the end of the game.”

Pyne finished the game with 42 passing yards on six completions and three turnovers. When Cook was in the game, he wasn't more effective, rushing for 30 yards on seven completions.

The future of the Tigers offense looks very clear if Brady Cook isn't the Missouri starting quarterback of the future. Pyne has not yet shown any ability to move the ball around the field through the air, despite first team training reps the week before.

What this means for the Tiger offense, Cook really needs to get healthy for more big success. Unless Noel, Carroll and Roberts have the willpower to push the offense over the edge and win their games, the Tiger offense is missing a key area of ​​offensive production.