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Tigers need to find invisible running game
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Mizzou's offense will need more moments like this from running back Derrick Washington. Washington carried the ball 14 times for 139 yards in the Tigers' 52-17 drubbing of Nebraska in Lincoln on Oct. 4. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
The Missouri Tigers need to run the football, and offensive coordinator Dave Christensen more than knows it.
The mad architect of MU’s often imitated spread scheme, Christensen takes pride in the pass-happy mentality of his offense, but he acknowledges the fact that the feats of his aerial designs hinge largely on the success of the Tiger ground game and its leading rusher.
“We certainly want to run Derrick Washington because that takes a lot of pressure off Chase Daniel,” Christensen told The Columbia Daily Tribune earlier this week.
Who?
Oh, that Derrick Washington. The Derrick Washington who at one time led the nation in scoring. Derrick Washington, the first-year starting running back who serves as the relatively plain but rock-steady backfield presence that allows Daniel and Co.’s fire-and-brimstone, high-wire act to operate at optimal efficiency.
Yeah, Derrick Washington. Where’s he been lately?
Frankly, he’s been non-existent. Over the course of their five-game unbeaten streak to open the season, the Tigers were thriving off the ability to keep opposing defenses guessing with a wickedly balanced offensive outfit. As a result, Christensen’s boys were lighting up scoreboards to the tune of nearly 53 points per game and giving defensive coordinators fits. And in this early-season barrage, Washington was key, scampering for 500 yards and a FBS-leading 12 TDs. Averaging 7.8 yards per carry, Washington, a 5’11”, 215 lb. sophomore from Peculiar, Mo., who is just as effective catching passes, added a welcomed wrinkle to Christensen’s multi-faceted attack.
But then the Big 12 South came calling---and Washington pulled a virtual disappearing act.
In Mizzou’s defeats to Oklahoma State and Texas, Washington’s workload was severely lightened and, not coincidentally, Christensen’s offense suffered. Albeit against tougher competition with defenses more adept at keeping up with the frantic pace of the spread offense, Mizzou’s recent struggles on offense can be partially attributed to the fact that Christensen and head coach Gary Pinkel decidedly abandoned the running game. Against the Cowboys, the man they call D-Wash was a non-factor in the Tigers’ 28-23 upset loss, carrying the ball only eight times for 11 yards. A week later in Austin, Washington’s absence, though slightly more excusable considering Missouri’s 32-point halftime deficit, was still noticeable: 17 yards on seven carries. Eeeeek!
So, thus, the ineffectiveness of the running game caused the very problem Christensen has worked to avoid. With OSU and Texas’ athletic defenses spending little time worrying about Washington in the backfield, each was able to gun for Daniel, who was constantly running for his life under pressure from heavy pass rushes. The result was a one-dimensional gameplan, forced throws by Daniel, uncharacteristic sloppiness and a sluggish offensive squad that for two consecutive weeks looked somewhat pedestrian, managing just over half of its average scoring output.
Whether you believe that the run sets up the pass, or vice versa, the idea that an offense can thrive without keeping a defense honest and off-balance is preposterous. And since Christensen’s schemes are predicated upon winging the ball all over the field to a plethora of game-breaking receivers, Washington’s ability to find holes in the defense becomes all the more essential, especially when opponents are aligning to defend the pass.
If the Tigers are to run the table, win the Big 12 North and return to the championship game, they will need to restore the balance they displayed early in the season, regardless of whether that means Washington or a committee of ball-carriers is getting the job done. And it starts this Saturday, when the Colorado Buffaloes will likely dare Mizzou to jumpstart its ground game. If they plan on beginning to restore the luster to a season gone awry the past two weeks, Christensen and his offense had better oblige.
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