COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Joe Moore III was running free and right at the quarterback.
The Missouri defensive end charged into every pass rusher鈥檚 dream: a free shot at a quarterback who was admitting defeat by hunching over the ball with the knowledge that a sack was coming and coming soon.
Moore tackled South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler on a third down in the first quarter of the No. 16 Tigers鈥 34-12 win over the Gamecocks, a play that set the tone for the rest of the game. Mizzou ended up with four third-down sacks as its defense settled into a familiar, dominant form by keeping South Carolina out of the end zone.
Defensive success appeared in quarterback pressure 鈥 the Tigers registered six total sacks, a season high 鈥 and a stifling run defense that conceded just 2.4 yards per rush to the Gamecocks.
鈥淵ou stop the run, you have some fun,鈥 rhymed MU coach Eli Drinkwitz after the game. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of those things that our defensive thought process is. That鈥檚 why we try to create havoc on first and second down, and it creates opportunities for us to get into our 鈥榩rowler鈥 package and create a variety of stunts and penetrators.鈥
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Havoc plays 鈥 a key highlight of Missouri鈥檚 previous impressive defensive performance against Kentucky 鈥 include sacks, tackles for a loss, pass breakups and takeaways. When they happen on early downs, they logically make third downs a lot more difficult to convert. South Carolina moved the chains on just three of 13 third downs, in part because it averaged 6.7 yards to go on third down. The Gamecocks had only four third-and-short (defined as less than 4 yards to gain) opportunities.
Third down is where MU defensive coordinator Blake Baker likes to go by the Blitzin鈥 part of his alliterative nickname 鈥 sometimes by bringing out the prowler package Drinkwitz referred to.
It鈥檚 a defensive grouping championed by current Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. Baker coached under Diaz at Miami, which is where their defensive philosophies briefly blended.
Diaz鈥檚 prowler package at Penn State often involves bringing seven defensive backs onto the field. (Four or five 鈥 two cornerbacks, two safeties and potentially a nickleback or slot defender 鈥 is more of the norm in traditional defensive setups.)
Baker鈥檚 prowler set involves six defensive backs, one linebacker and four defensive linemen. He rolled out that grouping for two key third-down sacks against South Carolina. On one, just before the five-minute point of the first quarter, Baker deployed six defensive backs and sent six pass rushers at Rattler. With the pocket clogged up by one-on-one matchups, several players were in position to snag the sack that went to linebacker Triston Newson.
The prowler package is ideal for third-and-long plays when an offense is more likely to pass out of necessity 鈥 the influx of defensive backs means better coverage near the sticks even as more players rush the quarterback.
What also opens up on lengthy third downs is Baker鈥檚 pass-rush creativity, including the stunts that Drinkwitz mentioned. Moore鈥檚 clean sack came as the defensive end rushed up the middle of the offensive line 鈥 not exactly his usual position. His stunt, or curved rush path that took him into a different gap from the one in which he lined up, paid off with a free shot at Rattler.
The free-flowing pass rush is an upgrade for a defense that underwhelmed through the first few games of the 2023 season.
鈥淲e want to be the best in the country,鈥 Baker said before the start of preseason camp. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 everybody鈥檚 goal going into the season. We have to prove it.鈥
Even as Missouri played weaker opponents than its recent run of Southeastern Conference foes, the weight of struggling to meet those high expectations seemed to almost burden the defense. That looks to be changing.
鈥淓arly in the year, we had a lot of pressure, probably self-infused pressure, of trying to be something,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淣ow, I think we just are embracing who we are and trying to get better each week, and I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 really the expectation or pressure that we put on us. We鈥檙e just going out there and playing free.鈥
The Tigers defense has progressed back to posting numbers in alignment with what it assembled during last year鈥檚 breakout campaign. Missouri is 55th in the nation with 23.3 points allowed per game, similar to last season鈥檚 25.2 PPG and No. 56 ranking. It鈥檚 a similar story with yards allowed per game 鈥 339.3 in 2022, 337.3 in 2023 鈥 and first downs allowed per game 鈥 18.6 last season, 18.8 this year.
The reclaimed defensive identity is appearing in games but, true to every football coaching cliche, started with a deliberate change in Mizzou鈥檚 practices.
鈥淲e practice better. Our defense is practicing a lot better,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淐redit to the defensive staff for creating new ways for us to practice and being attentive to details, but those guys really picked it up in practice.鈥
There鈥檚 been a player-driven shift, too.
鈥淵ou can see more guys in the film room,鈥 defensive tackle Kristian Williams said. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 just doing extra after practice. You can see it within our day-to-day routine: Everybody鈥檚 just starting to sacrifice more.鈥