Burden of perfection doesn’t grate on Missouri’s defense

Missouri’s offense didn’t really give the defense a chance Oct. 10 in a homecoming loss against Florida.

The Tigers, who host Mississippi State at 8 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Stadium on ESPN, managed a field goal on the opening drive against the Gators and were shut out the rest of the way.

Freshman quarterback Drew Lock threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the 21-3 loss, so nothing Missouri’s defense did — short of scoring itself — would have been enough.

The Tigers’ offense then managed six points Oct. 17 in a loss at Georgia and only three points Oct. 24 in a loss at Vanderbilt.

It has created an incredibly small margin for error even for the nation’s No. 3 scoring defense at 12.5 points per game and No. 6 total defense at 282.1 yards per game.

Basically, Missouri’s offensive struggles have painted the defense into a corner that demands perfection — a tall order for any unit, even one that ranks sixth in the country against the pass and 24th against the run.

The Tigers’ defense welcomes the burden and insists that its standard doesn’t ebb or flow with the offense in times of plenty or during the ongoing 40-drive stretch without an offensive touchdown.

“I don’t feel like we have to be perfect, but we want to be perfect,” linebacker Michael Scherer said. “We know we’ve got to keep it low most of the time, but I don’t think there’s any pressure of being perfect. I think we put the pressure on ourselves more than anything else.”

Missouri’s offense realizes it’s putting the defense in a terrible spot, but optimism abounds despite the fact that the last offensive touchdown came with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter Oct. 3 in a 24-10 win against South Carolina.

“I don’t necessarily think we’re all standing around here saying, ‘(Crud), we haven’t scored in 40 drives,’ ” Lock said. “We’re thinking, ‘We’re going to score on the 41st drive.’ ”

The Tigers’ offense understands that the three-game skid, the program’s first since 2009, largely falls on their shoulders.

“It frustrates us and motivates us as well,” senior wide receiver Wesley Leftwich said. “You can’t dwell on the past, but it definitely sparks us up, because the defense is doing their job and giving it their all. We’re not really holding up our side of the bargain, so it fires us up. We have to get in the end zone if we want to win games.”

Rather than point fingers, Missouri’s defense professes faith.

“The need for us to score defensively has risen,” senior safety and captain Ian Simon said. “We go out there with the mindset, ‘Hey, let’s get a touchdown,’ but I still have the utmost confidence in my offense every time they hit the field. … I believe in those guys just like they believe in us.”

Lock said that “we definitely found some things” during the bye week that should help the offense generate more touchdowns down the stretch.

Missouri, 4-4 overall and 1-4 in conference, needs to more win to become bowl eligible for the 10th time in 11 seasons.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Burden of perfection doesn’t grate on Missouri’s defense."