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From quarterback suspensions to racial tension on campus and a coaching change, the Missouri Tigers had a rocky 2015 season. After winning back-to-back SEC East titles, the Tigers failed to win six games for just the second time since 2005.
Here are five areas Missouri needs to improve to be relevant in the SEC East again in 2016.
1. Passing game: Nearly all the areas that Missouri needs to improve are on offense. First, the passing game was awful. The Tigers averaged 165.5 passing yards per game, which was dead last in the SEC and 113th in the nation. Only three teams had fewer yards per pass attempt (5.3) than Missouri did. Without solid protection or capable receivers, it was hard to tell how much of the blame should go to quarterbacks Maty Mauk and Drew Lock, who both struggled to find open receivers. The freshman Lock, forced to take over when Mauk was suspended, threw for more than 150 yards only twice and had eight interceptions and only four TD touchdowns.
2. Blocking up front: The offensive line certainly didn’t help the quarterbacks. Missouri allowed an average of 2.5 sacks per game and only rushed for about 115 yards per contest. Overall, the Tigers finished the year ranked 125th in offense and 127th in scoring out of 128 teams, behind only Kent State.
3. Third-down offense: While scoring a combined 12 points in losses to Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt, Missouri converted just 3-of-41 third-down attempts. It wasn’t much better the rest of the season. The Tigers finished last in the SEC and 122nd in the country in third-down efficiency. Only six teams were worse than Missouri’s 30.3 percent success rate on third down.
4. Red zone offense: Missouri didn’t get into the red zone often, but when the Tigers did, they struggled to score TDs. The Tigers had the nation’s worst red zone offense, scoring TDs on just 32.3 percent of its red zone opportunities.
5. Forcing turnovers: Considering how poorly the Missouri offense played, the Tigers defense was outstanding. However, it could improve in creating turnovers. The Tigers finished with a minus-1 turnover margin despite only 17 giveaways. That’s because Missouri was 13th in the SEC with 16 takeaways. Only Mississippi State had fewer.
Dave covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
