COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Tigers are fresh off an ugly offensive win – but a win nonetheless – over Auburn in a double-overtime thriller. Mizzou is now 6-1 on the season and still No. 10 in the nation in both total yards (3,406) and offensive touchdowns (34).
Kirby Moore's offense has battled through different forms of adversity on a week-by-week basis, and the Tigers have revealed more about themselves as the games come and go.
Here's one thought for each offensive position group heading into Mizzou's Week 9 matchup against Vanderbilt.
Quarterbacks
Beau Pribula might be a complementary quarterback.
Mizzou's run game was shut down for the second week in a row, leaving the fate of the game in the hands of Pribula. He threw the game-ending interception against Alabama, and threw two costly picks against Auburn.
Mizzou scraped by an unranked Auburn squad, as Pribula threw for a season-high 40 passes. Pribula also completes just 57.8 percent of his passes against Southeastern Conference teams this season.
He's been efficient in a complementary role to Mizzou's run game, but might not be a guy to will Mizzou to victory against top contenders.
Running backs
Is the backfield shifting to a workhorse?
Ahmad Hardy tallied 79 carries through the first four games, and Jamal Roberts tallied 42. It's a significant gap, but both backs were still quite involved in the run game.
In the three games following, Hardy carried the ball 60 times compared to Roberts' 14. Roberts struggled against Auburn, rushing just three times for six yards, but was still running strong in the prior two games – 11 carries for 102 yards.
Roberts may not stack up to Hardy's unique talent, but he's been an above-average ball carrier in the Southeastern Conference. It's interesting to see his usage decline so sharply, and will be something to monitor in the coming weeks.
Wide receivers
The receiver room is more versatile than given credit for.
Mizzou's wide receiver room was largely viewed as a collective of deep threats surrounding Kevin Coleman Jr. as a short route, high volume target. Against Auburn, the rest of the group proved they're more than that.
Mizzou found ways to get the ball in its playmakers hands quick, allowing them to make plays with the ball in their hands rather than sprinting downfield on go routes. Josh Manning had a season-high 40 yards after the catch, Marquis Johnson had his second-highest mark of the season with 26 and Donovan Olugbode had a season second-highest mark of 32.
The short routes also help Pribula to get quicker looks and develop a better rhythm in the pass game – expect more of this going forward.
Offensive line
New week, same problems.
For the second week in a row, Mizzou rushed for more yards after contact than total yards.
Ahmad Hardy, Beau Pribula and Jamal Roberts combined for 92 rushing yards against Auburn, but 127 yards after contact. To put it bluntly, Mizzou's offensive line is giving them no chance to make plays, and it's killing the offense.
The Tigers finished with a season-worst 42.4 run blocking grade, and each of the three interior starters on the offensive line had a run blocking grade under 60. Hardy, Roberts and Pribula are dynamic threats on the ground, but they'll only be utilized if the offensive line does its job.
Tight ends
Need to step up the run blocking.
Most the weight of the run blocking should fall on the shoulders of the offensive line, but the tight end group should still be playing its part too.
Brett Norfleet (32) and Jordon Harris (27) played a total of 59 run blocking snaps, and were both poor overall. Harris posted a run blocking grade of 45.4, the second-lowest of his season, while Norfleet posted a run blocking grade of 44.1, also the second-lowest of his season.