Defense holds its own against Huskers
The Tigers limited Nebraska to only six points.
Published Oct. 9, 2007
Through the first four games of the season, the fault Missouri had was that it had a struggling defense at best. And through those first four games, the defense did little to challenge that reputation.
But after a thoroughly dominating performance Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the defense hopes it at least hushed the critics, even if it didn't completely silence them.
"I think we made a statement," senior defensive lineman Ziggy Hood said. "After how hard we worked the last two weeks preparing for this game, it feels great."
The Tigers kept Nebraska out of the end zone all game and allowed just two field goals. It marked the first time the Huskers hadn't scored a touchdown in a game since 2003 and the first time against MU since 1958.
MU still let the Huskers rack up 300 yards on offense, but they got stops when they needed to. The last four Husker drives all ended in Missouri territory, but they resulted in two punts, an interception and a turnover on downs.
Senior defensive lineman Lorenzo Williams said the defense was unified unlike ever before, and it showed in the results.
"That's what happens when everyone on the defense plays together," he said. "We made plays when they came to us."
Maybe the most stunning statistic of all was that the same run defense that looked aimless against Illinois and Mississippi held Nebraska sophomore Marlon Lucky, the Big 12's leading rusher, to just 67 yards.
"We just knew where he was at all the time tonight," sophomore linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. "I can't even explain it. We just kept him in check. That's all I know."
MU football coach Gary Pinkel said having the extra week of preparation helped his team, but the defense is also steadily getting better.
"Our defense is a lot better than it was three weeks ago," he said. "I knew they were capable of a performance like this."
The Tiger defense managed to shut down the Huskers despite sacking senior quarterback Sam Keller twice. Pinkel credited the secondary, which also struggled mightily at the beginning of the season, with stepping up.
"We knew they wanted to run," he said. "But when we got ahead, they had to pass to catch up, and the defensive backs stopped that before it even started."
Keller's longest pass of the day was just 18 yards.
The key for the defense now is to prove that Saturday night's performance was the norm rather than the exception. Williams said the only thing they can do is use Saturday as motivation and build off of it as the team heads into the game at Oklahoma on Saturday.
"There's nothing magical to it," he said. "We just got to keep grinding."
Weatherspoon said for one week at least, it's nice to have a break from the constant questioning of the defense.
"This is such a relief," he said. "Everyone can get off our backs for once."