Missouri Tigers: Near the bottom of the SEC
By Matt Green
There are 49 days till college football season, and today we focus on a team that had one of the worst scoring defenses in the SEC.
The Missouri Tigers’ offense is well-advertised. Drew Lock has a cannon for an arm, while J’Mon Moore and Damarea Crockett are two of the SEC’s best playmakers. But defensively, they have some work to do.
And that leads us to no. 49 on the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.
Missouri Tigers allowed 49 touchdowns in 2016
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The 49 touchdowns that Missouri allowed last season were the fifth most in the SEC, as in fifth worst, and 90th in the nation. Missouri allowed 31.5 points per game in 2016, which ranked 12th in the conference.
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Missouri allowed 40+ points four different times last season. In their eight losses in 2016, they allowed 39.5 points per game. The Tigers did win two of their final three games, including a comeback win over Arkansas.
One positive for the Tigers is that they were sixth in the SEC with 27 sacks. The only problem is that their best pass rusher was Charles Harris, and he’ll be playing on Sundays this fall. Harris was tied for second in the SEC with 9 sacks last season.
Barry Odom got the job at Missouri because of his defensive mentality. He served as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for one season before getting the head coaching job.
If he can get this team playing respectable defense, they could be very dangerous this season.