Missouri defensive lineman Shane Ray, center, gets past Kentucky's Darrian Miller, right, as he fights his way to quarterback Patrick Towles.After his team committed five turnovers and was outgained by 232 yards in a 34-0 home loss to Georgia on Oct. 11, Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel knew his Tigers were in a bad place.
"I've been here before," Pinkel said after that game. "It's not a whole lot of fun."
The multitude of problems the Tigers experienced that afternoon against the Bulldogs appear to have been quite temporary, as Missouri has bounced back from that debacle with double-digit victories over Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The Tigers dumped the Wildcats 20-10 this past Saturday at Faurot Field.
Missouri has by no means looked as dominant as the 2013 team that won 12 games and the Southeastern Conference's East Division crown, but the Tigers are quietly 7-2 and in control of their East destiny again.
"We're going to focus on the next game, and that's all we're going to do," Pinkel said in his news conference Saturday. "We're 1-0 in November. Our goal is to be 2-0."
The Tigers are 4-1 in SEC play, advancing past Georgia (4-2) in the East when the Bulldogs lost to Florida last Saturday. Missouri has an open date this week before closing against Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas -- a trio that is a combined 14-13 overall and 3-12 within the league.
Missouri opened its SEC schedule by rallying for two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 21-20 win at South Carolina on Sept. 27, a week after the Tigers suffered a 31-27 home loss to Indiana. The Hoosiers are 3-5 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play.
"A lot of teams expected us to lay down when things went wrong and for us to tuck our tails between our legs, but we've kept fighting," Tigers defensive end Shane Ray said last Saturday. "We take each day as it is and continue to grow. We want to build off this momentum and emotion and keep on going."
Ray, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior from Kansas City, has emerged as the star of this year's Tigers. He sacked Patrick Towles twice last weekend to bring his season count to 12, which is the highest in program history.
Aldon Smith, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, and Michael Sam, last year's SEC co-defensive MVP, had shared the mark at 11.5.
"He's worked remarkably hard, and he's a great competitor," Pinkel told reporters. "He's also a very good leader, so he's the whole package. Hard work can make dreams come true, and if you're a hard worker and a great competitor, things like this happen. I'm proud of him."
Pinkel is proud also of a defense that after surrendering 379 yards to Georgia has yielded 283 to Florida, 240 to Vanderbilt and 260 to Kentucky.
Despite its stout defensive play, Missouri still needed to improve offensively. Sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk threw four interceptions and lost a fumble in the loss to Georgia but has been turnover-free the past two weeks.
Mauk is 29-of-56 passing for 305 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games, and he has rushed 21 times for 133 yards.
"We're not good enough, but we're getting better," Pinkel said. "Consistency is what we're looking for, but we're starting to do some good things."
Junior tailback Russell Hansbrough has 122 carries for 591 yards, while senior receiver Bud Sasser has 46 catches for 618 yards. Hansbrough and Sasser are not threats to lead the league in those respective categories, but they have been plenty efficient in combining for 15 touchdowns.
Missouri is proving for a second straight year that it doesn't always take the most recognized players to compile a 19-4 record and another opportunity to play for the SEC title.
"We're back on top right now," Mauk said, "but we can't focus on that."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.