COLUMBIA, Mo. - After a relatively slow start to the season, Missouri's ground game has come into its own. It could not have come at a better time.
The Tigers may lean on the run game a little more in the coming weeks as receiver Emanuel Hall works his way back from a groin injury, receiver Richaud Floyd does the same after a broken bone in his right leg during fall camp, and quarterback Drew Lock continues to build chemistry with the fresh faces on the depth chart.
"Getting into the health of our team, I think you get into, here, the next couple of days into Saturday, I think we'll have everyone except Emanuel Hall," Missouri coach Barry Odom said Tuesday. "I still don't anticipate him being at a speed that he will be able to play yet. I'd like to tell you when that's going to be, but it's not because of a lack of effort from Emanuel or our sports medicine staff."
Hall and fellow senior wide receiver Nate Brown did not make the trip to Columbia, S.C., last weekend and were both in red no-contact jerseys Tuesday at practice.
In preparation to face No. 1 Alabama (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bryant-Denney Stadium, the loss of Hall complicates things for Missouri. The Tigers have gone 10 quarters - since the second quarter of the Purdue game - without a passing touchdown. Hall was shaken up in the first quarter against the Boilermakers and played, though clearly not at 100 percent, against Georgia.
Lock's passer rating has suffered without Hall: an average QB rating of 178 in his first three games has dropped to just better than 82 in his last two. The last two games have also been against conference opponents and better defenses. Missouri's record has, too. In the last two seasons, the Tigers are 9-3 in games in which Hall catches at least one pass and 1-5 in games in which he does not or doesn't play.
Despite these issues, Missouri (3-2, 0-2 SEC) has had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter in its two losses, which offensive coordinator Derek Dooley said was one of the team's goals entering the season. A lot of that has had to do with the run game.
The Tigers rushed for 164 yards on 44 carries to start the season against Tennessee-Martin, and have increased that yardage output with almost the same number of carries in three of their four games since. The exception came against Georgia, in which the offense put itself in a hole early and tried to dig out of it, but in the three other games this season, Missouri has gained 203 yards on the ground against Wyoming, 233 at Purdue and 286 at South Carolina, each with 46 carries, which resulted in 4.4, 5.1 and 6.2 yards per rush, respectively.
It might be for the best Hall doesn't play against Alabama, regardless of his health. It hurt the Tigers to not have him against South Carolina, where one more big play or another dangerous receiving threat in the red zone could have changed the outcome of that game.
But the Crimson Tide are as good as or better than the Tigers from a talent standpoint at every position on the depth chart. Hall likely would not be the difference between a program-defining upset and any other result that ends in a loss. It's in his best interest, and the team's, to use the week to continue his recovery.
The task for the Tigers is not letting the opponent or the venue get to their heads.
"I feel like it'll be tough, man," running back Damarea Crockett said, "but everybody's, you know, 'Ohh oh my gosh man, we play Alabama.' Hey, take a deep breath, it's another game. It's a football game.
"They're human. They're not cyborgs, Terminators, you know, they definitely are a great football team, disciplined, they execute very well. And they're not going to make very many mistakes, so we've just got to make sure we do the same thing."
The phrase "margin of error" is common among coaches and players, and for Missouri it's true that margin is narrower than it is elsewhere in the SEC. In no order, the Tigers' mistakes against South Carolina were many. The major ones include two interceptions, including a pick-six Lock should have thrown away when he instead tried to force when running back fell down on a designed screen; the series after Crockett's touchdown was called back that saw several penalties, backed Missouri out of field goal range and ended in a dropped punt snap; a missed field goal from 25 yards; an onside kick that wasn't called and a blown coverage up the middle of the field with under a minute left to put the Gamecocks in field goal range.
The Tigers probably would have beat South Carolina without one of those mistakes, and would have won by double digits without any of them. Similar things could be said about the Georgia game. But in order to have a chance, Missouri really will have to play perfect football for 60 minutes to have a chance at upsetting Alabama.
"They make up for themselves because of how athletic they are if they do mess up," Lock said. "So if they do mess up, it's like, 'Heck yeah, they messed up, here's seven yards,' instead of, 'Heck yeah, they messed up, here's 70 yards and a touchdown,' which some teams let you have."
Missouri will have to take whatever Alabama gives it, which could end up being some good opportunities. The Crimson Tide aren't the run-stifling behemoth of the last few years, and gave up 31 points to struggling Arkansas a week ago, though partly because their offense threw 65 on the board and Saban sent the second- and third-string defense into the game. This game shows every indication of hitting the over on the wagering total. Missouri has gone over in four of five games and pushed against Wyoming, and Alabama gone over the total in four of its six games with a push against Louisiana-Lafayette.