Owning the trenches: Tigers offensive line has led team's recent surge

While football was around before World War I, the birth of the NFL and the popularity of the sport was directly tied with returning American soldiers. As a result, the game borrowed plenty of language from battle, such as, "blitz," and, "formation." But perhaps the most famous idea is the trenches.

During The Great War, both the Allied Forces and Axis powers dug deep, zigzagged trenches along the Western Front for their soldiers to avoid machine-gun and artillery fire. At times, soldiers would stay in these trenches on the front line for four to six days at a time. It often was brutal, as soldiers suffered from illnesses like trench foot and trench fever, surrounded by oversized rats; not to mention the impending threat of enemy fire.

In football, the trenches refer to the area around the line of scrimmage, where the offensive and defensive lines clatter into one another and tussle for dominance. It’s often considered the most violent aspect of the game; injuries are common, with massive players colliding at frightening speeds. But the violence only adds to its importance. Physicality is a point of proud among players and coaches.

“Just having that physicality growing up. Just being in the trenches, grinding,” Mizzou running back Jamal Roberts said after a 27-6 win against Texas A&M. “Just having that dog in me. I love to see (contact).”

Roberts rushed for 222 yards on 34 carries plus a pair of touchdowns in Mizzou’s win over the Aggies. While the running back received most of the fanfare, those yards don’t happen without the stout work of the Tigers’ offensive line.

Mizzou has rolled out the same five offensive linemen in each of the last five games: Cayden Green, Tristan Wilson, Dominick Giudice, Curtis Peagler and Luke Work. In those games, the Tigers have totaled 161 points and 2,067 yards. In addition, quarterback and field general Austin Simmons has only been sacked five times.

"Hell, that offensive line’s kicking some ass," Drinkwitz said during Tiger Talk on Tuesday night.

What has made this Mizzou offensive line so successful? Well, there’s not just one answer, but there’s a few key points that have led to the Tigers’ success at the line of scrimmage.

Experience

All five starting offensive linemen are upperclassmen; three are fifth-year players. Giudice, Peagler and Green all played over 500 snaps in 2025. Wilson played on 155 snaps in eight games last year. Work, the lone transfer, played 11 games while starting eight games at Mississippi State.

“We get to provide a lot of different perspectives on things,” Green said. “Dom (Giudice) is the oldest in the group, so that experience from him at the center position. He always has us in the right spot.”

The linemen have been going against SEC-level talent for three-plus years every day in practice. While linemen are known for their overwhelming size and stature, there’s a level of technique that can’t be taught overnight.

“I don’t think you can put a true value on experience in the trenches in the SEC. To have that is invaluable, and I think it's a big reason why Missouri has been so successful,” ESPN play-by-play announcer Matt Schumacker said when asked about the Mizzou offensive line.

Schumacker is calling the Mizzou game against Ole Miss on Saturday. He was the play-by-play commentator for the Tigers’ loss on the road to Mississippi State. After rushing for 119 yards in the loss to the Bulldogs, Mizzou responded with back-to-back 200-plus yard performances.

Size

Linemen are scouted and molded largely on their large status. It’s simple math. The bigger a lineman is, the harder it is to work around them. The easier it is for these protectors to wrestle defenders to the ground.

Mizzou’s starting five are all 6-foot-3 or taller and listed at a combined 1,585 pounds — roughly the weight of a hippopotamus. These waterbound behemoths are one of the deadliest animals in the kingdom, responsible for roughly 500 deaths in Africa per year. The only thing the Mizzou offensive line kills is the hopes of defensive linemen, suffocating them into submission to control the line of scrimmage.

These initial pushes allow for Roberts and the rest of the running backs to break through gaps. The Tigers have created holes consistently, allowing them to wear down the opposing front seven.

“I think they’ve taken huge strides in the last two weeks,” Schumacker said. "The numbers that Jamal Roberts is putting up is pretty incredible.”

Durability

Mizzou has faced a plethora of injury issues this season, but the offensive line has been largely unaffected. Four starters have played in all six games. Green is the only outlier, missing the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He suffered a tear in his meniscus, needing to have part of the muscle trimmed to play in the Border War against Kansas.

Although Green has played in every game since missing the opener, he has dealt with lingering issues. He was considered questionable all week heading into Texas A&M. But he suited up, leading the offensive line to an outstanding performance where they allowed no sacks and led the Tigers to 252 rushing yards.

Green’s received individual recognition for his talent, being named to the midseason watchlist for the Lombardi award, given to the best offensive or defensive lineman in the country.

“I don't know that there's a better teammate on our team than Cayden Green,” Drinkwitz said after the game. “I don't know if it means more to anybody else on our team than Cayden Green. When you're a leader of your team, everybody knows that he's battling through injuries, that he's beat up, that he's got legitimate pain, and he will not come out (of the lineup). He refuses to make excuses. It raises everybody else's level, and that's who he is, man.”

One of the line’s biggest strengths is the ability to bring the physicality every play. In the past two weeks they have opened up massive holes to run through late in the game and allowed Roberts to burst through for three 50-plus yard runs.

“We're the offensive line. We like to run the ball,” Green said. “We do whatever's asked, but we really like to run the ball. At the end of the day, we're just doing our jobs. When you got a back like Jamal, it makes it really easy to do (our jobs) because if you open up even a small crease, he's gonna find it. So at the end of the day, we're just doing our jobs. We're just trying to move people.”

Showdown at The Grove

Mizzou’s run game will be a point of emphasis in a top-15 showdown with Ole Miss on Saturday. The Rebels rank dead-last in the Southeastern Conference in run defense, allowing 176.4 yards per game. The Tigers average 181.7 yards on the ground this year and are riding high follow a pair of conference wins.

“We have to do a really good job in the run game, make them one dimensional,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said.

Although this grind-it-out approach worked in the second half when Mizzou already had the lead, they can't afford to sit back and let Roberts do all the work against Ole Miss.

For us to be effective, we still have to be in the game,” Drinkwitz said. “The way they score points, I don't think we can sit in a bunker for the first three quarters.”

The Tigers travel to face the Rebels at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi. The game is available to watch on SEC Network.