COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Watching No. 9 Missouri鈥檚 seasoning-opening demolition of Murray State provided plenty of opportunities for observing the game鈥檚 minutiae.
For all intents and purposes, the result was secured in roughly five minutes of game time. The Tigers鈥 first touchdown was the game winner, after all.
Among the details that were present from the very start of the game: On some third downs, Mizzou鈥檚 defense was subbing a lot of defensive backs onto the field.
Normally, MU plays a 4-2-5 defense. There are four down linemen 鈥 two defensive tackles, a field end and a joker, or boundary end. There are two linebackers, one in the middle, one on the outside. There are two cornerbacks. There are three safeties 鈥 one on the field side, one on the boundary side, one hybrid safety, called the STAR, tucked closer to the box.
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But on these third downs, which came in situations where the Racers had quite a ways to go for a first down, the defense was much tougher to define. A positional count would call it a 3-1-7.
A Murray State third-and-9 with 6:34 on the clock in the first quarter is a clear example. Missouri only had one down defensive lineman 鈥 a tackle lined up either head-on with the center or in the left A gap. The joker stood in a two-point stance on the edge closest to the sideline. The field end crouched in a two-point stance on the opposite edge.
Khalil Jacobs, who isn鈥檛 a starter but has the skill set that defensive coordinator Corey Batoon wants for this package, was the lone linebacker, pressed up close to the line of scrimmage between the tackle and the joker. Safety Sidney Williams Sr., playing a role similar to the STAR, was positioned like Jacobs but on the other side.
Daylan Carnell, the usual STAR, fell back into a boundary safety position. A typical field safety, Joseph Charleston, stood on the opposite hash marks. Tre鈥橵ez Johnson occupied the empty space between the line and the high safeties on the boundary side.
Interestingly, Mizzou deployed three cornerbacks: Dreyden Norwood and Nicholas Deloach Jr. split out to either side, but Deloach followed a receiver in motion across the formation, suggesting he was in man coverage. Toriano Pride Jr. lined up across from an interior receiver.
Three linemen, one linebacker, four safeties, three cornerbacks. That鈥檚 something interesting 鈥 but not entirely unique.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a carryover from the package we鈥檝e had in the past,鈥 coach Eli Drinkwitz said. 鈥淥bviously, we鈥檝e got some new fingerprints to it, but it鈥檚 something that our guys are familiar with. It was the base third-down package that we carried the past two years, and then Corey (Batoon) and the rest of the defensive staff have added their fingerprints to it.鈥
There鈥檚 a tactical purpose to swapping one linebacker and one defensive lineman for a bonus safety and extra cornerback.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way to utilize the most speed and also versatility that we can get on the field 鈥 also with our pass rush,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
Mizzou leveraged a similar look last year at times under defensive coordinator Blake Baker, also on third-and-long plays 鈥 those where an opponent is likely to pass, adding to the benefit of extra defensive backs in the game.
Manny Diaz repped it at Penn State, crediting the NFL鈥檚 Detroit Lions for the moniker 鈥減rowler package鈥 to refer to the seven-defensive-back personnel grouping. Trying to stop Joe Burrow and a juggernaut 2019 Louisiana State offense, Auburn used the 3-1-7 as a curveball that slowed that unit.
One of the more compelling elements of Mizzou鈥檚 3-1-7 is the strength of the Tigers鈥 three cornerbacks. While replacing two starters makes that position a question mark this early in the 2024 season, MU feels confident enough in its top three corners to use all of them in the seven-DB package.
鈥淚t allows you to play man to man and put somebody on the slot, which typically when your (opponent lines someone up in the) slot, the position they match up on is a safety who鈥檚 not used to playing man to man quite as well,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淪o for us, we slide Daylan back to the boundary safety and move Toriano into the slot.鈥
Pride, a Clemson transfer who enjoys a physical style of play, practiced both out wide and in the slot with the orange-and-purple Tigers, so he鈥檚 comfortable sliding inside at times for his new team.
鈥淪lot鈥檚 different than corner,鈥 Pride said. 鈥淵ou got to have a lot different technique for it.鈥
Having versatile enough cornerbacks to make the prowler package work is now a routine point of emphasis for Missouri鈥檚 defensive assistants.
鈥淐oach (Al) Pogue has done a really good job of training up those corners in order for us to have confidence in it,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
Tigers move into AP Poll top 10
A 1-0 start to the 2024 season proven quite lucrative for Missouri, which moved up to No. 9 in the first AP Poll released after games have been played.
With the Tigers鈥 51-0 victory over Murray State, they jumped up two spots in the poll from their preseason position of 11th.
Mizzou moved past Florida State, which went from No. 10 to not receiving a single vote in the wake of back-to-back losses to start the season, and defending national champion Michigan, which beat Fresno State by just 20 points in its opener.
Further down MU鈥檚 schedule, Texas A&M dropped out of the Top 25 after losing at home to No. 5 Notre Dame but remained the first team out of the poll. Boston College, which beat Florida State and visits Columbia on Sept. 14, is the second team out.
Vanderbilt, one of the surprises of Week 1 with an upset win over Virginia Tech, received a smattering of votes alongside Auburn and Arkansas, two other teams Missouri will host this season.
Alabama, at No. 5, and Oklahoma, at No. 15, remain Mizzou鈥檚 highest-ranked opponents on the schedule.