Air attack must step up for Mizzou to have a chance at Florida
ST. LOUIS -- Before this season began, Missouri wide receiver Darius White and several other Tigers insisted the passing game wouldn't suffer despite losing its top three receivers and starting a quarterback who completed barely 50 percent of his passes in 2013.
For three weeks, it looked like they might be right thanks to the playmaking of White and fellow seniors Jimmie Hunt and Bud Sasser, combined with impressive leadership from sophomore Maty Mauk. Cracks in the foundation began to show in a 31-27 home loss to Indiana, and after two weeks of SEC play, Mizzou's air attack has shattered.
Offensive coordinator Josh Henson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the struggles start at quarterback with Mauk's tendency to leave the pocket too early and not make the right reads in finding his receivers. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who threw for an SEC-best 12 touchdowns in his first three games, two ahead of Chase Daniel's school-record-setting pace in 2008.
But putting all the blame on Mauk for his four interceptions against Georgia and 21-for-55 passing the last two weeks simply isn't fair. A group of receivers sorely lacking in depth made some major contributions.
Mauk didn't make perfect passes to all-purpose back Marcus Murphy and Jimmie Hunt in last Saturday's 34-0 blowout. But two that were quite catchable wouldn't have turned into interceptions had they not bounced off the hands of the two Mizzou seniors.
Things got worse from there for the Tigers, who have only seven combined catches this season from junior Wesley Leftwich and freshmen J'Mon Moore and Lawrence Lee, the receivers expected to step into secondary roles behind Sasser, Hunt and White. To add insult to injury, Leftwich dropped a Hail Mary near the end zone at the end of the first half, although a holding penalty would have negated the play.
"That's a pathetic job by our offense. Period," Bud Sasser told the Columbia Tribune after the game mercifully ended with just 147 total yards for Mizzou. "We should never play that bad. Ever. It showed on the scoreboard."
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He started his second straight game last Saturday thanks to an injury to White, and Hunt may not have been back to full strength after missing Mizzou's 21-20 win at South Carolina. Those two might not have the consistency of leading receiver Sasser, but their absence left a gaping hole at the wideout position.
All of those problems, along with an unreliable running attack, came together at the worst time against the SEC East's best team. Only Kentucky has a better pass defense efficiency in the division, although that's not necessarily a positive indication.
The good news for the Missouri offense is it likely won't face a great defense all season, beginning with Saturday's game at Florida. The Gators are ranked 11th out of 14 SEC teams in pass defense efficiency and have given up nine passing touchdowns, although opponents have just one the past two weeks.
Mauk threw for 295 yards and a touchdown in his first career start against the Gators last season, leading his team to a 36-17 victory. But even though Hunt caught three passes for 69 yards and Sasser pulled in the touchdown, it's worth noting two-thirds of Mauk's 18 completions and nearly the same amount of his yards went to departed receivers L'Damian Washington, Marcus Lucas and Dorial Green-Beckham.
In hindsight, some of Mizzou's woes were evident early in the season, if you looked closely enough. Mauk's targets were somewhat limited and the offense often stalled when they couldn't convert big plays, even in the opener against South Dakota State.
For the second straight week, coaches expect White to return from his groin injury, which could provide a much-needed boost. Mauk has promised he'll be better than he was a week ago, and it would be difficult for him to be worse.
But don't expect this offense to reach the level of last season, when Hunt, Sasser and White all dutifully served their roles as reliable backups, often in big situations. It's telling that the freshmen haven't earned that kind of trust from coaches except when necessitated by injury, even though all three have shown flashes of potential.
The fact that Pinkel says he never even considered putting redshirt freshman Eddie Printz in for Mauk indicates depth doesn't exist at quarterback, and a similar situation has developed at tailback. Russell Hansbrough and Murphy have shown some improvement in taking over the carries of Henry Josey, but no one has stepped up behind them.
Even the offensive line saw a noticeable drop in its level of play following a season-ending injury to Anthony Gatti, although the new group appears to have things mostly sorted out. Missouri's lack of depth on offense is now threatening to derail a once-promising season, and an inefficient air attack deserves much of the blame.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
