Is Missouri Defense Evolving Into Elite Unit As Season Goes On?

The Tigers defense showed on Saturday against Vanderbilt that they are a borderline elite unit.

While it was far from pretty, the Missouri Tigers secured their first win in SEC play with a 17-14 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday. 

Of course, a win is a win and for a team that had lost three straight coming into the game, the Tigers will happily take the win by any means necessary. It may not have been a smooth four quarters but this game did reaffirm one thing we already knew about this Tigers team. 

The offense might struggle at times but the defense is borderline elite through seven games this season.

No, the Vanderbilt offense isn't world-beaters lighting up the scoreboard, but the Tigers' performance on Saturday defensively was impressive nonetheless. The Tigers held the Commodores to 14 total points on 300 yards of total offense, with 80 of those yards coming on one touchdown pass.

Take away that play and the Tigers held the Commodores to seven points on 220 yards of total offense. 

Outside of their ugly performance against the Kansas State Wildcats, in which they gave up 40 points, the Tigers' defense has held all of their opponents to under 30 points. Through four games in SEC play, they are only allowing 20 points and 324 yards of total offense. 

Despite their impressive defensive performance, the Tigers lost three straight games to start SEC play, with all three losses coming by a combined 11 points.

No, Missouri won't compete for an SEC championship this season. However, there is still plenty to be positive about looking at the rest of the season, at least on the defensive side of the ball. 

The Tigers' defense is borderline elite and has shown that they can keep Missouri in games. Whether or not Missouri wins three more games this season to earn a bowl game bid is yet to be seen, but the Tigers' defense will definitely keep them in games until the very end. 

---

You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

Hey Tiger fans! Want to catch Mizzou live? Get your Tigers game tickets from SI Tickets here!

Follow MizzouSportsTalk.com on Facebook and Twitter!

Want More Tigers News? Check Out The Latest In Mizzou Tigers News Here