In Depth | Cale Garrett Leads Mizzou Defense to bowl Eligibility
11/19/2017 10:58:00 AM | Football
Garrett serves as catalyst for a dominant defense as Mizzou dispatched Vanderbilt 45-17
COLUMBIA, Mo. – On a cold and rainy evening in Nashville, with bowl eligibility just one win away, the Mizzou defense asserted its will on the Vanderbilt offense to give the Tigers a fifth consecutive victory. In the middle of it all was sophomore MLB Cale Garrett, who finished the game with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. He was on the field for every defensive snap, acting as the spark plug for a Mizzou defense that enjoyed one of its best performances of the season against Vanderbilt.
Garrett was a menace against the ground game all night, forcing Vanderbilt into difficult third down situations time and time again. Garrett led Mizzou in tackles for the seventh time this season, and third time in the current winning streak, with 12 tackles.
Whether it was clogging the gaps on inside runs, or securing the edge on rushing attempts to the outside, when a defensive play was made, for Mizzou, you can bet Garrett was a part of it. In the first half alone Garrett tallied eight tackles, five solo, two TFLs and a sack while playing a key role in holding Vanderbilt to just 100 total offensive yards through 30 minutes of play.
With Garrett flying around the field making tackles, the rest of the Mizzou defense was free to showcase their skills and create turnovers. Freshman CB Adam Sparks was the first to reap the rewards, snagging his first career interception on the third defensive snap of the game. Sure tackling from the Tigers forced Vanderbilt into a third and long situation, allowing for Sparks to read the play and make a quick break on the ball for the first Tiger turnover of the night.
Later, in the second quarter, the Tiger defense struck again. Mizzou had held Vanderbilt to only 24 yards on 11 rushing attempts at this point and, only down 14 points at the time, the Commodores were looking for an offensive spark. With the rushing attack being held in check, courtesy of Garrett and company, Vanderbilt went to the air on the first play of the drive only to see redshirt junior LB Brandon Lee collect his first career interception, returning it 41 yards for a touchdown. It was the first pick-six from the Mizzou defense since Nov. 19, 2016, and resulted in a 21-0 Mizzou lead.
Mizzou forced Vanderbilt to punt on each of its next two possessions, holding the Commodores to five yards of offense and no first downs in the process. The second punt resulted in a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown by redshirt junior WR Richaud Floyd to give Mizzou a 35-0 lead in the first half. Floyd used a key block on the edge by Lee to slice through the Vanderbilt coverage and notch his second punt return touchdown of the season.
That score gave Mizzou touchdowns from its offense, defense and special teams for the first time since October 18, 2014 against Florida.
But it didn't end there for the Mizzou defense. Junior DT Terry Beckner Jr. joined the pick parade, vaulting himself into the air and snatching the ball for his first career interception. The pick gave Mizzou three interceptions on the day, the most of any Mizzou defense since October 3, 2015.
With bowl eligibility on the line, the Mizzou defense, led by Garrett, stepped up and delivered an inspiring performance. The Tigers forced Vanderbilt into difficult offensive situations by shutting down the run game and let the offense and special teams go to work. Mizzou finished the day with eight tackles for loss to add to its SEC best season total. Mizzou now has 73 tackles for loss this season, and 46 in the current win streak.
Mizzou closes the 2017 regular season with Arkansas on the road on Nov. 24 at 1:30 p.m. on CBS. For all the latest on Mizzou Football, stay tuned to mutigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouFootball) and like the team on Facebook and Instagram.
