Mizzou defense redeems itself in home opener
Mizzou defense dominated West Virginia a week after a poor showing at Wyoming.
The Tiger defense looked completely different at home against West Virginia. Just a week after giving up 297 rushing yards to Wyoming, they only allowed 30 yards on the ground to the Mountaineers.
This is the defense that Missouri fans expected to see in Week 1. A dominant defense that gives their offense extra opportunities.
The defense played four full quarters of good football. On West Virginia’s first three drives of the game, they punted and threw two interceptions.
In the second half, the Tigers forced four punts and returned a third interception for a touchdown.
Two of those interceptions, including the pick-6, came from Nick Bolton whose performance energized the whole team and earned him SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Cale Garrett impressed again with seven total tackles and a sack. Chris Turner and Kobie Whiteside also recorded sacks in what was a balanced effort from a stout Missouri defense.
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There are a still a few areas of concern, however. Mizzou had 10 penalties that surrendered 100 yards, many of those being offsides calls on the defense. Though, this is something that can easily be cleaned in practice.
The primary concern for the squad is Jordan Elliot, who hasn’t yet made the impact many had been hoping for. Elliot has four tackles and zero sacks in two games this year. While the defensive line as a whole hasn’t been consistent in two games, their leader in Elliott has yet to make his mark on a game.
As a whole, the Tiger defense shows promise. If they continue to force turnovers and make open-field tackles in the run game, they could be a solid defense in the SEC. If the line can step up and Elliott begins meeting his expectations, they could become dangerous.
Missouri still has a home game against Southeast Missouri State to figure things out before SEC play begins.