Where is the state of Missouri’s defense heading into West Virginia on Saturday?
Of all the glaring issues that stemmed from Missouri’s loss at Wyoming, maybe none were more surprising than the Tigers’ inability to stop the run.
In 2018, MU ranked No. 22 nationally in run defense and was able to contain star tailbacks such as Kentucky’s Benny Snell and Memphis’ Darrell Henderson.
But on Saturday, the Tigers gave up nearly 300 yards on the ground to Wyoming, which made it difficult for MU to make up for it on offense in a 37-31 loss. The Tigers had numerous missed tackles and botched coverages, which gave Wyoming plenty of open field.
Both of Wyoming’s rushing touchdowns, which were for 61 and 75 yards, respectively, came on plays where MU was in position to make a tackle, but either overpursued or missed the first tackle, causing the defense to overcompensate.
“If you look at the tape, we had the one long run all it takes is one (miss),” said Ryan Walters, MU’s defensive coordinator. “The other quarterback got out and he’s a really good athlete. Gotta tackle better, have our eyes in the right spot.
“Those two plays accounted for half their yards,” he added. “Give up those two plays and they don’t have a lot of yards.”
No part of Missouri’s defense stood out, with the defensive line struggling to touch Wyoming quarterback Sean Chambers and sophomore Nick Bolton struggling to diagnose plays in his first college start.
During Missouri’s fall camp, coach Barry Odom said the team didn’t tackle as much in scrimmages and drills in order to keep the team healthy. When asked if the lack of preseason tackling made MU rusty on Saturday, the Tigers dismissed it.
“It’s easy to make that excuse,” said linebacker Cale Garrett. “But it’s what comes with the job.”
Walters said MU made tackling an emphasis during its Tuesday practice and is optimistic about fixing its defense for Saturday’s home opener against West Virginia.
Odom said he’s spent the week watching a lot of film on West Virginia coach Neal Brown’s teams from Troy to get better insight and added that WVU quarterback Austin Kendall could be a running threat to MU despite being more of a pocket passer.
The Mountaineers ran for just 34 yards on 24 carries in their 20-13 season-opening win against FCS powerhouse James Madison and could be without tailback Leddie Brown.
“We did not block well at all,” Brown said on Monday’s Big 12 teleconference.
Despite Saturday’s performance, Odom assured the media on Monday that he had full confidence in Walters and the rest of his defensive staff and didn’t plan to interfere with their game-planning for Saturday.
Odom took away play-calling duties from former defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross in 2016 before eventually firing him the following season. Missouri’s coach indicated that actions like that aren’t on the table.
“I’ve got a lot of trust in those guys. ... The thing they don’t need now is me stepping in saying this is what I think,” Odom said. “Because I don’t have all the answers.”
Walters isn’t concerned that some of his more established veterans such as Garrett and defensive end Jordan Elliott were part of MU’s poor play and added it’s too early to determine if issues are temporary or worse.
“I don’t want to overreact over one outing,” Walters said. “I have to believe what my eyes have been telling me since the spring.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 5:00 AM.