Mizzou Defense Held Game Together in Their Win Over Auburn

Missouri's defense allowed the offense to go on a 18-0 run in their week 8 win.

Oct 19, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; The Missouri Tigers' defense runs off the field in celebration after recovering a turnover against the Auburn Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Missouri Tigers On SI

All of the attention may be on quarterback Brady Cook following Missouri's Homecoming win over Auburn, but the Missouri defense was the unsung hero against Auburn.

Missouri scored first with a field goal in the first few minutes of the game, but then were stalwart after Cook suffered an ankle injury. The offense fell flat. But the defense went to work and kept the game close.

The first quarter consisted of just nine plays on Auburn's part. Missouri recorded back-to-back three-and-outs, thanks to a sack from defensive end Zion Young and a broken up pass attempt from cornerback Nicholas DeLoach Jr. Any attempt at forward progress was quickly shut down and Auburn was just held to just 35 yards.

The second quarter was were the Missouri offense got stuck and it became much more important for the defense to stay on their game. Auburn managed to get within field goal range on the first drive of the quarter, but this task wasn't accomplished with ease.

The Tigers from the South attempted to rush the ball three times on the drive, but made it no more than five yards each time. It was only from the help of 18-yard pass that it seemed like Auburn would have any momentum, but defensive end Eddie Kelly Jr. recorded a quarterback hurry to force them to settle for a field goal.

A couple drives later, Auburn seemed to be building something once more. Enter Toriano Pride Jr. The cornerback recovered a fumble by Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne on a 1st-and-15.

Missouri's offense didn't score any points off the turnover, but it stopped Auburn from continuing its momentum as it drove through Missouri territory.

After one more drive in the quarter, it was still a manageable 3-3 at the end of the first half.

“Defense is keeping us in the game," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said to ESPN on his way into the locker room at halftime.

The Auburn offense rushed out of the gates at the beginning of the second half. It took just five plays for them to get the ball into the end zone. It was ultimately a deep 47-yard pass that gave the visitors the lead.

The defense did their job on the next opportunity and forced a three-and-out. There was really nothing that they could have done to stop the second touchdown of the game. It came off a muffed punt that slipped the hands of receiver Luther Burden and was walked into the end zone by Auburn.

Missouri was now down 17-3. The idea of a win was looking bleak. But the defense just went back to work to make sure the score stayed at a point that Missouri could come back from.

"They never flinched, even after the muffed punt," Drinkwitz said. "Didn't flinch, didn't feel sorry for themselves."

They proved their resiliency on a 13-play drive, in which they pushed Auburn to use two of their timeouts. The visitors attempted to rush the ball multiple times, but failed to make it far on many of the attempts. However, they were still making progress. That was until Thorne met defensive end Jahkai Lang, who sacked Thorne for a loss of 12 yards. A play later, Auburn attempted but missed a 30-yard field goal to keep it a two-possesion game.

It was then that Cook took the field once more. Slowly, Mizzou started to cut down the Auburn lead. Missouri had already gotten a second field goal, but then scored a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion.

After Missouri made it 17-14, Auburn punted on each of its three following drives.

Missouri's offense was mounting a comeback and the defense was doing exactly what they had been for the first three quarters: keeping Missouri in the game.

In the entire fourth quarter, Auburn had 22 yards. They had three three-and-outs in the quarter. The only drive that consisted of more plays was just two longer and included a quarterback hurry from linebacker Triston Newson to end the drive.

The Missouri defense had their vision for this game. They would stop their opponents and let the offense keep producing. This allowed Mizzou to go on an 18-0 run and retake the lead.

"We just gotta keep doing the same thing," Kelly said. "That's not taking a step back and keep taking steps forward."

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Snap Counts, Season Tracker for Mizzou vs. Auburn
Cook's Heroic Return Inspires Mizzou Comeback Over Auburn
Eli Drinkwitz's Message for Fans who Doubted Brady Cook