Kirby Moore’s offensive unit took a step back from his first season on the job at Mizzou. How did he grade out in 2024?
It’s report card season for the Mizzou coaching staff and this week we switch over to the offensive side of the ball. I’ve already graded out defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s first season with the Tigers as well as the individual defensive staff, so take a look at those too if you haven’t.
Kirby Moore entered his second season at Mizzou in 2024 as one of the hottest names in the business. As the first offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz had ever hired as a head coach, Kirby hit the ground running in 2023, producing a running back who finished in the top eight for the Heisman Trophy as well as a diverse passing game which found ways to feature several talented receivers on the roster.
Moore’s first season at Mizzou was so successful, in fact, that many Tiger fans were worried Drinkwitz would lose Moore to the siren song of Alabama when his former boss Kalen DeBoer took over for Nick Saban. That anxiety was ill-founded as Moore stayed put in Columbia for a second season; a season which saw his unit returning eight starters, including a fifth-year senior quarterback and future first round draft pick wide receiver. All the pieces were in place for Moore to field an elite offensive unit in 2024. The Tiger offense fell short of that mark, but let’s take a look at how Kirby graded out overall after the season. For this report card, we’ll break his performance into three areas: running game, passing game and total offense.
Missouri running back Nate Noel (8) runs, dragged down by Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock (2) during the first half of a game against Buffalo on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at Faurot Field in Columbia. (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)
Running game
Entering 2024, Mizzou was looking to replace perhaps the best single-season running back performance the program had ever seen. Losing Cody Schrader, who put up a Mizzou-record 1,627 yards and 14 touchdowns, was never going to be easy. Add to that the loss of NFL draft pick left tackle Javon Foster and fifth-year senior guard Xavier Delgado and the running game was almost assuredly going to take some kind of a step back.
The Mizzou coaches, instead of trying to catch lightning in a bottle with one guy like Schrader, instead opted to go with a two-headed monster approach when the brought in transfers Marcus Carroll and Nate Noel. Let’s see how it worked compared to 2023:
While top to bottom the numbers in 2024 are worse than 2023, remarkably they are still very similar despite the loss of Schrader. By piecing together a run game with two new linemen and two lead backs rather than one, Moore was able to all but equal the production on the ground he achieved in 2023.
The one area that was down more than the others was the efficiency in which Mizzou ran the ball. They did run three more times per game than in 2023, but ran for 0.3 yards less per attempt than the previous year. I chalk that up, more than anything, to Cody Schrader’s uncanny ability to never lose yards. Carroll and Noel were both good and hitting the hole and getting what yardage was available, but they also could be stuffed for a loss every once and a while. Losing two yards every 10 carries will ultimately effect your yards per rush in a tangible way, which is one of the reasons Cody Schrader was so special in a Tiger uniform.
All in all, considering the amount of production and experience Moore lost off the 2023 squad, the area of the offense where he succeeded is definitely the running game. Putting up 164 yards a game on the ground only amounted to 59th nationally, but by staying relatively balanced run vs. pass in terms of total plays (the Tigers ran it 55% of the time) middle of the pack in terms of ypg is about where you’d like to see Mizzou land.
Grade: B+
(CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Passing game
While Moore was busy figuring out how to replace one of the best running backs in school history, the returning passing game for the Tigers looked to be in an excellent spot. The Tigers returned their quarterback for his third year as a starter, their stud wide receiver, two more senior receivers and a sophomore tight end who looked poised to break out as one of the top at his position in the SEC.
For as pleasantly surprising as Moore’s running game turned out to be in 2024 considering the loss in production, Moore’s passing game proved to be equally disappointing. The Tigers’ passing game took a significant downturn in just about every important statistic in 2024 despite no major losses in terms of talent.
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to parse out if the steep decline in production through the air is due to a Brady Cook regression, a play design problem by Moore, or some combination of the two, but it’s safe to say that the Tigers lost three games in 2024 due in some part to a worse passing game.
The most alarming decline in these passing numbers isn’t necessarily the nearly 50 yards per game fewer that the offense compiled, but rather the decline in yards per attempt and yards per completion. Going from an offense in 2023 that thrived throwing the ball down field often and to great affect to a much more dink and dunk design that rarely saw the ball travel more than 15 yards in the air was certainly a stark contrast. Especially since the sack numbers for Cook did not get significantly worse in 2024 (2.2 per game vs. 2.0 in 2023).
Cook had the same amount of time to throw as he did in 2023 and was throwing to the same high-caliber receivers as he did in 2023, yet the ball didn’t not get pushed downfield. For completion percentage, which took a 5% hit from 2023, I am partial to blaming a Cook regression. He clearly did not play as well in 2024 as he did in 2023. However when it comes to play design and pushing the ball down field, Moore can take the larger share of the blame pie.
2024 saw fewer slot fades to Burden and deep shots to Marquis Johnson (who, to be fair, was banged up for much of the year.) 2024 also saw way more two-yard out routes and short crossers which netted little through the air. It almost seemed like Moore was content to let his play makers do their damage after the catch entirely. When you have a Luther Burden on your team, that approach makes some sense, but Moore could have done a better job of making it a bit easier on his play makers by getting them the ball farther down field to begin with. If Moore’s offense is going to stay effective at all in 2025 with the loss of talent at quarterback and receiver, he’s going to have to find creative ways to push the ball downfield.
Grade: C+
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook (12) hands the ball off to running back Marcus Carroll (9) in the first half of a game against Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Total offense
Taking a look at the running game or the passing game in a vacuum isn’t a great way to evaluate an entire offense holistically, as both aspects work together to form a complete picture. Let’s take a look at some total offensive numbers from 2024 in comparison to 2023 to see how they stack up in the areas that actually matter:
As can be expected based on the numbers we’ve already discussed, 2024 saw a significant decrease in yards per game and yards per play. Similarly, the 2024 team scored fewer points and fewer touchdowns per game as well. What does stick out, however, is how Kirby Moore’s offense seemed to switch styles to a more ball-control offense from 2024 to 2023. This past year’s team held the ball for two more minutes a game, ranking an excellent 8th in the country for time of possession.
Contributing to this great time of possession is the improvement in third down conversion percentage, from 40% in 2023 to 45% in 2024. Whether by design or by accident, Kirby Moore’s 2024 unit was very good at holding onto the ball and (slowly) moving it up and down the field. Unfortunately they weren’t as good at finishing drives with points, as the team only scored on 90% of their red zone opportunities. Much of that can be blamed on a freshman kicker missing a few field goals that Harrison Mevis made in 2023, but you’d like to see such an experienced offense finish more red zone attemps with touchdowns in the first place.
Grade: C+
Missouri wide receivers Theo Wease (1,) Luther Burden III (3,) and Joshua Manning (0) celebrate Burden’s touchdown during the first half of a game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, at Faurot Field. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Final Grade
Coming into 2024, Tigers fans thought they new exactly what to expect from a Kirby Moore offense returning eight starters, a quarterback and a star receiver. Unfortunately, we were all wrong when what we saw on the field turned out to be a much more pallid, less explosive version of previous Tiger offenses.
Kirby Moore does get credit for piecing together a credible running game with multiple replacement backs, as well as pivoting to a more ball-control style offense. That type of complementary football ultimately worked well enough for Mizzou to win 10 games, which is a mark that only a handful of Tiger teams can claim, even if the product on the field was less than thrilling.
Far be it for me to give a poor grade to any coach who coordinated a Mizzou team to 10 wins, even if the end result wasn’t what I was expecting. Overall, Kirby Moore passes the test, but his job will only get more difficult next year when he has to break in a new quarterback, three offensive linemen and multiple new receivers.