Mizzou Football Defensive Play of the Week

The Mizzou Football Defensive Play of the Week goes to not one, not two, but three straight stops by the Mizzou defense at the goal line to preserve a 14-13 lead going into the half.

After driving 95 yards in a little more than three minutes, Arkansas State had momentum and looked primed to take the lead just before halftime. The Mizzou defense had other plans though, and came up big in the red zone, just as they’ve done numerous times this season.

On first and goal from the two, running back David Oku took the handoff from quarterback Adam Kennedy and was met a yard later by a pack of Tiger defenders. With 26 seconds left, the Red Wolves played the odds and ran the same play again. When Oku tried to leap over the line and into the end zone, linebacker Andrew Wilson met him in midair and stuffed him for no gain.

After using its final timeout with 14 seconds left, Arkansas State tried to sneak in through the air on third down. Mizzou sniffed it out from the get-go, and Markus Golden sprinted past the blocking Oku, forcing Kennedy to backpedal all the way back to the 15-yard line, where he desperately heaved the ball up as he was getting slammed to the turf. The blind lob was caught by Oku, who was immediately taken down by Wilson and Braylon Webb at the 14.

With only nine seconds left, the Red Wolves were unable to regroup, and Mizzou went into the locker room with a one-point lead and momentum.