When the going gets tough, Missouri’s offense has struggled to get going.
In the Tigers’ two losses this season where they entered the final quarter of action either tied or ahead, they’ve been outscored 14-0 over the final 15 minutes of both matchups.
Late game struggles first struck Mizzou on the road against Mississippi State back in September. Facing another tight battle, the issue reappeared Saturday as MU entered the fourth quarter tied 20-20 against Texas.
The Tigers had four offensive drives
in the final quarter. They ended in a pair of punts, a game-sealing fumble and a late turnover on downs.
“It didn’t come down to officials, it didn’t come down to reviews, it came down to the opportunities that we had as a team. And ultimately that’s on me as the head coach,” Eli Drinkwitz said.
MU has put itself in position to win (outside of a blowout loss to Ole Miss) in all but one game this season through a shutdown defense and an explosive but inconsistent offense. But this year has shown the Tigers that getting into a position to win the game and achieving that end objective are two vastly different things.
The final four minutes against the Longhorns provided a clear example.
Following a three-and-out by the Mizzou offense, Corey Batoon’s defense forced a quick punt, setting the Tigers up with the ball at their own 43 yard-line trailing by one score.
A Jamal Roberts rush for five yards led into the two-minute timeout, then Simmons missed just high with his pass to Cayden Lee on a potential chunk. Simmons went back to his favorite target on third down, but Lee was crushed almost immediately on a tackle by Warren Roberson and the ball popped into the air.
Graceson Littlejohn snagged the loose ball and returned it all the way to the Tigers’ 6 yard-line, erasing any possibility of a late rally. Texas extended its lead to 14 three plays later on a Raleek Brown rushing touchdown.
Lee was also shaken up on the play and had to be helped off the field by trainers. Drinkwitz was not able to provide an update on Lee after the game.
The Longhorns batted down multiple passes and impacted Simmons consistently throughout the final quarter.
“The tipped balls were the biggest issue. They were able to take away pass lanes by tipping the ball,” Drinkwitz said. “They were doing a good job of getting their hands up and creating havoc.”
MU’s offense also become one dimensional as the game went on, relying heavily on the passing attack. The Tigers finished with just 84 rushing yards, something Drinkwitz pointed to after the game.
“We’ve just got to get on the same page on some plays. Other plays, we’ve just got to execute,” left tackle Cayden Green said when asked about the late offensive struggles. “It starts with us up front.”
Simmons also had to exit the game for part of the team’s second drive of the fourth quarter after getting tackled from behind when he went to take off with his legs. He was able to return at the start of the next drive, which ended in the fumble.
“Physically I’m fine. Mentally this sucks, of course, losing in that type of way,” Simmons said, “I think I’ve just got to do better, especially from a form standpoint and also from a mental standpoint I’ve got to do better. I can prepare myself better for moments like this, of course, and really just come in the clutch.”
Drinkwitz defended Simmons and praised his resilience to return after getting banged up.
“He’s taking a lot on his shoulders, and it’s all of us,” he said when asked about his quarterback, “Like I told him, at the end of the day I’m responsible as a head coach to make sure that we put a better product out there today and take advantage of the opportunities that we had, and we didn’t do it. So it’s not his fault.”
The comments of Drinkwitz and his players, each taking responsibility, make it clear that the burden for the offense’s fourth quarter struggles are not on any one individual: the group has fallen short collectively, both in individual moments and as a unit.
For a program that has so consistently found itself in tight battles later in games over the past few seasons, fourth quarter execution becomes make or break. That execution — or a failure to execute — has been a key piece holding the Tigers back from joining the victors Saturday in the top echelon of the sport.
