Between the 11 players to register a reception for Missouri football against Buffalo, the Tigers had 263 yards of offense through the air.

Between the eight players to take a carry in the 38-0 win over the Bulls on Saturday in Columbia, the Tigers had a near-identical 262 yards of forward progress.

Tally it all up and that's 535 yards of offense. Mizzou had five games with 500+ yards last season.

Still, it feels like there’s kinks for the Tigers’ coaches to work out by the time No.6/8-ranked Mizzou runs into a top-25 Boston College team Saturday on Faurot Field.

Here is what worked well for Missouri, and what needs cleaned up by this coming Saturday:

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All systems go on the ground for Missouri football

It wasn’t Brady Cook. It wasn’t Luther Burden III, who has been a frequent flier in wildcat looks over his years in Columbia.

No, it was Nate Noel taking the direct snap.

And, man, did he make a nice play, following a path carved from a heavy offensive set to bundle across the goal line.

That was the second time Noel went wildcat against the Bulls, after following lead blocker right tackle Armand Membou and some nifty nudging from tight end Tyler Stephens on a first-quarter, first-down carry on a play that moved the chains.

It’s a new and interesting wrinkle in Kirby Moore’s offense.

Don’t get caught up in the eye candy, though. The tried-and-tested stuff on the ground was working just fine, too.

Noel’s best runs Saturday appeared to come on Cody Schrader’s bread and butter play — kicking outside on an off-tackle run. It helps that left tackle Marcus Bryant and right tackle Armand Membou are blocking lights out through two games. By day’s end, Noel had 73 yards and a second straight game with a touchdown.

The Tigers are using Marcus Carroll’s size and strength expertly. With less than five yards to go to the line to gain, Carroll took six carries Saturday. He converted for a first down, often right up the middle, on all but one of those carries. He converted on the next play on the lone exception.

Oh, and there’s some great misdirection, too. On Burden’s carry into the end zone, the entire offensive blocked right. Burden took the end-around left and was wide open until he lowered the shoulder on the safety at the goal line.

The run game is working.

Are Missouri’s multiple penalties worrying?

It was first and goal in the third quarter from the 5-yard line, and Noel took a handoff, took off running right and tumbled across the goal line.

Touchdown … until a face mask violation on fill-in right guard Mitchell Walters. It was the eighth — yes, eighth — offensive penalty on Missouri of the day. The Tigers had two more by the time the game ended.

Ten offensive penalties, costing them 80 yards.

It didn’t hurt Mizzou against Buffalo. Not even on Noel’s nullified touchdown, as he rushed home three plays later.

You could make a case that a penalty cost Missouri points on its opening drive, when a false start on Connor Tollison turned a third-and-1 into third-and-6 that turned into a field goal, but that was about the lone drive-breaker.

Will it work against Boston College?

Plenty can be chalked up to early season rustiness. There were two ineligible receiver downfield penalties and an illegal formation call that ought to clean up as the Tigers’ rep-count grows.

But the four holding penalties?

Far be it from us to assume Eli Drinkwitz’s tongue was firmly in his cheek when he said: “The common denominator was — we were the only team holding tonight. (Buffalo) didn't get any penalties called on them.”

Whether Missouri was the only team holding or not, they were called ... and they can be drive-killers. MU’s staff has to make sure they're not called as better competition comes to town.

No Burden, no problem for efficient Missouri

Missouri didn’t bite the hand that was feeding it.

Even as Burden left the game with an illness, Drinkwitz said, that had ailed the receiver in the week leading up to the Buffalo contest, the Tigers didn’t really skip a beat.

Theo Wease Jr. had a career-high 13 catches for 149 yards, taking exactly what the Bulls defense gave him. Literally. Most of those throws found him in acres of space as he was offered the easy-access routes, and he was making the most of it with some productive yards after the catch.

“They were giving us a lot of access on the outside and playing over the top of our receivers,” Cook said postgame Saturday. “So, we were dinking and dumping a lot of different passes. And I mean, (Wease) made the most of it. Whether it was a 10-yard stop, 12-yard stop, a hitch, a quick out, I mean, he was taking it and he was running with it.”

The short passing game was firing. Cook noted that when backup Drew Pyne entered the game, he was hitting Marquis Johnson, Daniel Blood and Mekhi Miller with the same throws.

The lingering question, if in a nitpicking mood, is when will the offense light the sky on fire? With Burden presumably back next week and Marquis Johnson always an explosive-play threat to defenses, it seems inevitable.

But the Tigers took exactly what Buffalo’s defense offered. Even if it’s not taking your breath away, it was a sign of a mature outfit and somewhat similar to the productive Oregon offense last season.

Mizzou has averaged 503.5 yards of offense so far. That puts it No. 19 in the nation. Cook’s 71.6% completion rate ranks 20th. Even against overmatched opponents, that’s a productive start to the season.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's what worked, and what needs fixed, on Missouri football's offense