Without Derrick Washington, Missouri Has to Rally Past Illinois

It was a rough week for Missouri. Star running back Derrick Washington, who scored 10 touchdowns for the Tigers a year ago, was dismissed from the team this week amid sexual assault allegations.

Without their leading rusher, the Tigers certainly struggled to run the ball against Illinois. However, Blaine Gabbert (right) found a way to use his right arm to bring Missouri back from a 10-point halftime deficit.

Gabbert threw two second-half touchdowns, and Missouri held Illinois off the scoreboard in the final 30 minutes, and it picked up a season-opening 23-13 win in St. Louis.

The Illini started well on defense, in large part because of Missouri's struggles to maintain any kind of ground game. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, making his first collegiate start, threw a second-quarter touchdown pass to A.J. Jenkins.

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However, Scheelhaase had a rough time throwing the ball. He hit just eight other passes on the afternoon (out of 23 total attempts), and he was held well under 100 yards passing. He ran well and moved around in the backfield a lot, buying himself time to make throws. But he was shaky throwing the ball, tossing three interceptions.

Gabbert, meanwhile, was pretty sharp, hitting 34 of 48 throws. T.J. Moe caught 13 passes, while Michael Egnew picked up 10 catches. Each scored a touchdown, and Gabbert didn't throw an interception.

The run game was a struggle without Washington. De'Vion Moore ran for 78 yards on 16 carries, a respectable average, but the Tigers really had problems getting any kind of consistency running the ball. Most of their best runs came off end-arounds, and while their spread offense means those plays will be viable throughout the season, they need to find a way to develop a back who can carry the ball, especially in short-yardage situations.

Given the fact that Washington spent most of the spring and summer working with the team, it's not surprising that Missouri would struggle out of the gates without him. With McNeese State, San Diego State, and Miami (Ohio) all visiting Columbia before its Big 12 opener, coach Gary Pinkel has plenty of time to figure that part of his offense out.