Despite Three-Straight SEC Losses, Missouri's Defense Pulling Their Weight
It's been a tough few weeks for the Missouri Tigers.
Three straight conference losses by a combined 14 points have Missouri thinking about how to get over the hump. They're going into the bye week and then they'll face Vanderbilt the weekend after that, giving them time to make any necessary changes.
One thing that won't need much adjusting though is the Tigers' defense. After holding juggernaut Georgia to just 26 points, well below the Bulldogs' 40-point-per-game average, they pitched another impressive performance against Florida holding them to just 17 points on offense. The Gators ended with 24 in total, but seven of those came on a Florida defensive score.
The secondary looked especially good against the Gators, posting an interception and four passes defended. They also held Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson to only 66 yards passing on 8 for 14 passing. Ennis Rakestraw Jr. led the way with two of those deflections and also had five solo tackles on the day.
Although they only totaled one sack on the day, the defensive front did a solid job pressuring Richardson. The Tigers also added four tackles for loss on the day. Unfortunately, they did give up 231 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Still, allowing only two touchdowns should have set Mizzou up to win.
But head coach Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers' offense could only muster two touchdowns of their own. They've only scored five touchdowns across the last three games, and that's been their downfall. The only team that's scored less than Mizzou over the last three weeks is Vanderbilt, who had a bye week in the middle of that stretch.
To make matters worse, the offense constantly puts the defense in a position where they have to defend a short field, resulting in easy points for any opponent. Even if Missouri can't start putting up 30 points per game, they need to win the field position and turnover battle or risk wasting this talented defense.
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