SPRINGFIELD — Through two weeks, one thing has been apparent with Missouri State football. The Bears have been aggressive on offense.
Missouri State has won the coin toss in its first two games and elected to receive the ball first each time.
The decision is based upon analytics, according to head coach Casey Woods.
“The team that scores the first in the NFL, at that time, won like 78% of their games,” Woods said. “It’s something that we believe in, if you can draw first blood.”
Here are the facts: According to FanIQ Research, teams which scored a touchdown first in the NFL went on to win 68.5% of the games. Albeit a short sample size, Football Scoop wrotecollege football teams had a winning percentage of 78.4% when scoring first through the opening
two weeks of the 2021 season.
Against Texas A&M, Missouri State elected for eight straight pass plays. The offense continued with this theme against Lindenwood. The Bears opened with four pass plays out of their first seven snaps.
This aggressiveness is all due to the coaching staff’s confidence in quarterback Skyler Locklear and the rest of the unit.
“If you don’t have confidence, what do you have,” offensive coordinator Mark Cala said. “Our guys believe in one another and we’ve put a good plan in. Last week, you were able to see what that looks like.”
Missouri State’s philosophy on going offense first is not definitive for the rest of the season, though. Woods says that the team elevates the pros and cons of each way before a game.
“Every week is a little bit different depending on the opponent and how good your playing defensively,” Woods said. “But, we like an aggressive mindset.”
Missouri State hosts Marshall at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Liam Keating covers high school sports and Missouri State athletics for The Springfield News-Leader. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Analytics, instinct behind Missouri State football desire to 'draw first blood'
