The alleged strength of the Missouri offense, a robust running game, was supposed to be the engine that kept the Tigers humming while their wunderkind quarterback found his footing in September.

Not so much.

More often than not, Missouri’s perceived strength has been a rusty anchor — along for the ride but clumsily dragging behind.

As No. 24 Missouri (4-0) prepares for Thursday night’s visit from No. 21 Nebraska (3-1), the league’s 10th-ranked running game became the impossible-to-ignore pimple on the Tigers’ otherwise clear complexion.

“It’s frustrating, but I know we can fix it,” tailback Derrick Washington said. “During two-a-days, we worked too hard for it not to be working like I know it can.”

Admission, there’s the first step.

Despite fulfilling a preseason commitment to running the ball more often, Missouri is lagging behind last year’s production. Through four nonconference games last year, the Tigers averaged 5.8 yards on 131 carries, scored 11 rushing touchdowns and produced 191.3 rushing yards per game.

With a healthy Washington back — he ran for 1,036 yards and 17 touchdowns last season on a damaged knee — along with three starters on the offensive line, Missouri has stuck with its pledge to keep running, racking up 151 carries, five more per game than last season’s nonconference stretch.

But the return on that investment has been muddled. The Tigers are averaging fewer yards per carry (3.8) and fewer yards per game (143.0), struggles that become magnified closer to the goal line. MU has the Big 12’s lowest touchdown percentage in the red zone, with just seven touchdowns in 15 opportunities. The Tigers counter those red-zone struggles with an explosive passing game that’s scored eight touchdowns from beyond the 20-yard line and a kicker in Grant Ressel who has made all seven field-goal tries in the red zone.

Still, something’s amiss with the run. Discussing the topic on Sunday, Gary Pinkel and his players offered few direct explanations for the struggles. Causes range from poor blocking, missteps by the tailbacks, plodding adjustments to offseason scheme changes and mismatches across the line of scrimmage.

“It’s just a timing thing,” said Washington, who’s averaging 4.4 yards per carry, only 19th-best among Big 12 backs with 20 carries. “Up front, we need to time it up with the linemen. Our steps, it’s just a patience thing for the running backs. We’ve got to let our blocks develop and then go. Sometimes, we’re rushing our steps and going too fast. That can easily be fixed.”

Pinkel has suggested that Missouri’s reluctance to lean too heavily on Gabbert and the passing game explains some of the struggles. Against front-loaded defensive fronts that beg the Tigers to pass, they’ve sometimes elected to run.

“When we had Chase Daniel” at quarterback, “if they would overload it on the run, we just wouldn’t run it,” Pinkel said last week. “We’d throw it 15 times in a row until they backed out.”

Missouri has run the ball on 51 percent of its snaps from scrimmage, up from 42 percent last year — a philosophy that could evolve as Gabbert develops and defenses adjust accordingly. But Pinkel said Missouri will continue to push for balance.

“We’re not going to throw the ball 70 percent of the time,” he said. “We’re just not going to do that.”

“Some people are saying teams are keying on our run game so they can make Blaine throw it because he’s new,” Washington added. “I don’t know what it is. But regardless, we need to get it going. It’s frustrating as a running back to not produce as well as you think you can.”

Another factor: Pinkel touched on subtle offseason adjustments made in the wake of offseason staff turnover. After coordinator/line coach Dave Christensen left for the head-coaching job at Wyoming, Bruce Walker and staff newcomer Josh Henson took over the line duties and tinkered with the zone blocking scheme. Pinkel declined to spell out the changes — his assistant coaches were not made available for interviews the last two weeks — but it’s clear the Tigers have narrowed the once-gaping splits between linemen on some plays.

“Transition wise, it’s taking a little more time,” Pinkel said.

Those changes, plus the incorporation of first-year starters Austin Wuebbels at left guard and Dan Hoch at right tackle, could give pause to the preseason projections for a sturdy, established offensive line.

“Chemistry’s always important,” said right guard Kurtis Gregory, one of the three returning starters up front, along with center Tim Barnes and left tackle Elvis Fisher. “If you go back to two-a-days, we’re going into our third month of the season now. We’ve had that much time next to each other. And we’re getting there.”

Time isn’t on the Tigers’ side. Nebraska has the country’s No. 1 scoring defense (7.0 points per game) and features a defensive line anchored by an elite player in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Huskers’ leader in tackles, sacks and pass deflections.

That hasn’t diminished Missouri’s hope this week, hope in the sputtering engine that could.

“It’s going to happen sooner or later,” Washington said. “We’re going to come out and have a big breakout game and be back where we’re supposed to be.”

Reach Dave Matter at 573-815-1781 or e-mail dmatter@columbiatribune.com.

• Comment
• Blog about this
• E-mail to a friend
• Share
  • Share on Facebook
  • ColumbiaTribune.com: Running woes dragging Tigers down some Tweet this
  • Submit to Digg
  • Bookmark this on Delicious
  • Close