COLUMBIA - Drew Lock got two opportunities to make an impact in Missouri's 2015 game against Connecticut as Maty Mauk's backup. The drives he led resulted in a missed field goal early in the second quarter and a turnover on downs midway through the fourth quarter. Lock finished the game 6-for-9 passing for 40 yards.
The junior quarterback, then a true freshman, figured he'd only get one shot from Gary Pinkel.
"I was not prepared to go in," Lock said Tuesday. "I was thinking, 'No way. I got my one series right when the second quarter started off, there's barely any time left in this game, we're only up by three points.' I'm thinking there's no way in the world I'm getting put in right now, but they put me in."
This year, the Huskies (3-4) will focus on stopping a high-powered Missouri offense that, with Lock under center and weapons at every skill position, has shown it can be very dangerous.
The Tigers (2-5, 0-4 SEC) snapped a five-game losing streak a week ago against Idaho, and will travel to East Hartford, Conn. looking for their first road win and first winning streak under Barry Odom. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Things have changed since that September afternoon two years ago. Missouri's offense averaged 13.6 points per game in 2015, but its defense held opponents to 16 points per game. This season, the Tigers are scoring 33 points a game, but their opponents are scoring 39.
It's a similar story for Connecticut, a team that scored 17 and allowed 19.5 points per game under Bob Diaco now scores 27 points per game under Randy Edsall, but gives up 36.6, on average.
The change will come as a relief to the viewing public after the dreadful 9-6 Missouri win in Columbia that featured no field goals. This game could be a higher-scoring affair.
And it's no wonder: the Tigers and Huskies are eighth and ninth, respectively, in yards per pass attempt nationally. Both Lock and Bryant Shirreffs, who was Connecticut's starter in the previous matchup, have a quarterback rating of 160 through seven games, and they'll each be going against one of the worst pass defenses in the country.
The Huskies allow opposing quarterbacks to throw for 8.4 yards per attempt, 373 yards per game and complete two-thirds of their attempts. Missouri's defense allows the same completion percentage and yards per attempt numbers but concedes 265 yards per game through the air. This game has every outward appearance of a shootout.
The Tigers will have to make do without running back Damarea Crockett, who hurt his shoulder against Georgia and did not play against Idaho. Odom said he had a right shoulder arthroscopic surgery last weekend.
"Fingers crossed that he might be able to make it back later on in this season," Odom said. "But we've also got to make sure we prepare like he's not going to be available."
Crockett currently has 80 rushes for 481 yards and two touchdowns, and was ahead of his production a year ago before his injury. Through six games a year ago, his freshman season, he had 54 rushes for 390 yards and three scores. Middle Tennessee was his breakout game, and Crockett finished three of his last five games with more than 150 yards rushing before serving a one-game suspension in the season finale against Arkansas.
Missouri's rush offense has been balanced this year. Ish Witter has 65 carries for 348 yards and freshman Larry Rountree III has 43 carries for 226 yards. Each of the Tigers' featured backs averages more than five yards per carry thus far.
A large part of the Tigers' early success against Idaho was in its passing game, and how the Vandals chose to match up. J'Mon Moore and Emanuel Hall were such threats on the edges that Albert Okwuegbunam caught three touchdown passes of at least 10 yards in the flat and went into the end zone untouched on all of them.
Missouri needs to apply that kind of pressure to Connecticut's defense, and get some defensive pressure of its own, to have success against the Huskies on the road.