After losing running back Tony Temple to injury on its third possession, MU turned to its passing offense.
Plain and simple, Missouri’s offense struggled in Saturday’s 26-10 loss to Oklahoma. Most of those struggles can be blamed on the lack of a legitimate ground attack.
From the onset of the game, starting running back Tony Temple struggled to gain any yardage. Oklahoma defenders penetrated the offensive line and were in the backfield before plays had a chance to develop.
On Missouri’s third offensive possession, Temple came around the tackle and was turning upfield when Oklahoma defensive back Darien Williams nailed him, jarring the ball loose.
It was the last time Temple would be in the game. He strained his left shoulder on the play, and though he would have been able to play, he was on the sideline for the rest of the game.
“Losing (Temple) was tough,” tackle Tyler Luellen said. “It slowed down the tempo that we had going.”
Backup Earl Goldsmith, who has been in games almost as often as Temple this season, came in. The Sooners’ defense, however, started keying in on the pass.
“They put a little more edge on their pass rush,” Luellen said. “Every defense is hard to go against. We didn’t pick (the rush) up well today. Their interior linemen were stunting and they were hitting gaps with their linebackers.”
With Temple out, coach Gary Pinkel said the offense tried to switch things up and go with a faster tempo. It didn’t seem to phase Oklahoma’s defense, which continued to apply pressure after an early second-half touchdown by Missouri’s offense.
“Defensive discipline, the way we tackled, the effort was just outstanding,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “Across the board, we got the secondary and the back covered so well.”
Early on, Missouri was able to air things out, with quarterback Chase Daniel hitting receiver Greg Bracey for a long catch, the first of his career.
Bracey, one of the top sprinters on the Missouri track team, flew up the west sideline and past corner Marcus Walker.
“Oh man, I felt like I had peg legs waiting for it to come down,” Bracey said. “That catch woulda been better if I didn’t quote-unquote step out of bounds.”
Despite putting up strong performances in Missouri’s late-summer practices, Bracey hasn’t been on the field much in games. He wanted his performance today reminded people of what he can do out there.
“I feel like I’ve been sitting on a shelf hoping people don’t forget about me,” Bracey said. “I haven’t been on the field that much, so there’s not even really any film on me.”
After some early success in the vertical passing game, the Sooners shut down the Tigers deep and limited the number of long plays.
“They stepped it up with more pass rush,” Luellen said. “We have to step up to the challenge when things like that happen. I wouldn’t say (we were unfocused). I guess we didn’t play our best.”
After the loss, Daniel was taking responsibility for the offense’s lack of production. He was 23-44 for 284 yards passing and rushed 20 times for 75 yards and a touchdown as well. In fact, he gained all but one of Missouri’s offensive yards, but he was insistent on needing to improve.
“The offense rests on my shoulders,” Daniel said. “I’ve got to do a better job.”
Tight end Martin Rucker said that he thought this was Missouri’s worst game on offense this season.
“We scored our fewest points and made a bunch of mistakes and turned the ball over, so yeah, I think this might have been it.”