Missouri defense is suffering a colossal collapse

Missouri linebacker and leading tackler Michael Scherer, shown here giving chase to Florida tight end Deandre Goolsby on Oct. 15, has been lost for the season with an ACL injury. The Tigers have allowed 500 or more yards a school-record four straight times.
Missouri linebacker and leading tackler Michael Scherer, shown here giving chase to Florida tight end Deandre Goolsby on Oct. 15, has been lost for the season with an ACL injury. The Tigers have allowed 500 or more yards a school-record four straight times.

As Southeastern Conference football flips to its third and final month of the regular season, Alabama is ranked No. 1 in the country, while Texas A&M, Florida, Auburn and LSU remain relevant on the national scene.

At the opposite end of this year's SEC spectrum is Missouri, which is 2-6 in Barry Odom's debut season as head coach and would be the first league team eliminated from bowl consideration with a loss Saturday at South Carolina. The Tigers will enter Williams-Brice Stadium having lost 10 consecutive league games, with the first six occurring last year in Gary Pinkel's 15th and final season.

"There are a lot of people who want Mizzou football to be good, and I understand that," Odom said this week in a news conference. "I don't take losses very well, and I won't ever."

Missouri's latest setback was a 35-21 home loss last weekend to Kentucky, which racked up 582 yards behind the 1-2 rushing punch of Benjamin Snell (192 yards) and Stanley "Boom" Williams (182). That was the fourth consecutive game in which Mizzou has allowed at least 500 yards, the longest stretch in school history.

It was a very different story last season, when Odom was Missouri's defensive coordinator and headed a unit that ranked ninth nationally, allowing 302.0 yards per game. That was the first top-10 defense at Mizzou since the NCAA began tracking defensive stats in 1978.

Odom hired DeMontie Cross to coordinate this year's defense, which contained more read-and-react concepts and was a disaster from the start. Odom since has followed in the footsteps of Vanderbilt's Derek Mason and Kentucky's Mark Stoops by taking over the play-calling duties.

"It's a really basic defense again," senior defensive tackle Rickey Hatley told reporters this week. "It's just one call and make it work."

Mizzou is having to play down the stretch without sophomore defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. and senior linebacker Michael Scherer, who suffered torn ACLs during the 41-35 home loss to Middle Tennessee State on Oct. 22. Scherer had a team-high 53 tackles at the time of his injury after amassing 207 tackles the past two seasons.

Scherer is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday.

"I have my family with me and that makes it easier, but knowing you won't be able to put on the uniform here again is tough," Scherer said. "When I got a chance to sit back and look at it, I realized that I had a chance to do a lot of pretty cool things here. I made it to the SEC championship twice. I had a lot of fun here.

"I think I've somewhat found peace in knowing that I absolutely did everything I could while I was here. I have absolutely no regrets of anything."

A noticeably moved Odom brought Scherer up to the podium before his weekly news conference to thank the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder from St. Louis.

"He's a special guy to me and a special guy to our program," Odom said. "He means the world to me with all the things he's done for this place."

Scherer will not make the trip to South Carolina but hopes to be on the sideline by the Nov. 19 game at Tennessee to help offer guidance to fellow linebackers.

Missouri's offense certainly has improved from a year ago, with Drew Lock having thrown for 2,215 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions and with Damarea Crockett having rushed for 601 yards and 6.3 yards per carry. Lock is a sophomore and Crockett a true freshman, so there is legitimate optimism on that side of the ball.

The plummeting defense, however, is beyond concerning and may not be fixable in 2016, even with Odom back in charge.

"I want staff discussion and opinions, because there are guys who have won national championships and guys who have been at really high-level programs and BCS bowls," Odom said. "They've been around, so I appreciate their experience and opinions. I just want to get it right.

"Right now, I'm not getting it right. I've got to find a way to get that done."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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