Columbia, Mo. ? A Missouri offense that has put up some staggering numbers this season picked an inopportune time to stall.

Losing to Kansas University never plays well in Columbia. A 13-3 loss on Saturday was especially disheartening for the Tigers, who were trying to maintain a share of the Big 12 North lead.

But Missouri (5-3 overall, 3-2 Big 12 Conference) could muster only 180 yards of total offense and averaged just 2.6 yards per play in losing to the Jayhawks.

The loss came a week after the Tigers ripped Nebraska for 523 yards of total offense — 480 of it by quarterback Brad Smith. Against Kansas, Smith gained just 38 yards on 20 carries and completed 14 of 37 passes for 141 yards and an interception.

“We know we didn’t do our job,” said Smith, who leads the Big 12 in rushing. “We know what we should have done, what we could have done, but the fact is we didn’t and we have to move on and not let it happen again.”

Still, he was at a loss for an explanation.

Didn’t make plays

“We just didn’t make plays, clearly,” Smith said. “We didn’t get into a rhythm. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

Wide receiver Sean Coffey said there was plenty of blame to go around.

Missouri quarterback Brad Smith forces past Nebraska's Blake Tiedtke (25) to score on a four-yard run.

“Everybody, including myself, took their turn hurting the offense and the stalling was because of all of us,” Coffey said. “It’s real frustrating because you know you’re better than that.”

Despite the loss, Missouri controls its own destiny in trying to win the Big 12 North.

If the Tigers win today at Colorado (6-2, 4-1), beat Baylor at home and end the regular season with a victory at Kansas State, they would win the North on a tiebreaker over Colorado.

Coach Gary Pinkel said he wanted to get the tailbacks more touches. Against Kansas, tailbacks Marcus Woods, Tony Temple and Jimmy Jackson combined for 20 yards on seven carries. The trio has a combined 32 carries over the past three games.

“Without question, we know they’re good football players, so we want to get them the ball more, and we will do that,” Pinkel said, calling 20 an ideal number of carries for the tailbacks.

Some factors worked against that goal against Kansas. The Tigers had nine penalties for 92 yards and an errant snap that resulted in a 21-yard loss.

“We had a lot of long-yardage plays and situations where we had to do some things like throwing every down at the end of the game,” Pinkel said. “The execution on offense, I’m really disappointed with.”

Passing so-so

The passing game also has left some players out of the picture, particularly tight ends Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman, who have a combined four catches for 52 yards in the past two games. In the Tigers’ five previous games, the duo averaged more than 80 yards and seven receptions.

“Down the line, we’re going to need them, and hopefully we can find ways to get it to them,” Smith said.