Of all the position groups Mizzou fielded this past year, the one that perhaps elicited the most concern prior to the season and ultimately proved to be the weakest during the campaign was the Tiger secondary. While the Mizzou defense was a pleasant surprise overall in Corey Batoon’s first season as coordinator, the major deficiency throughout was the talent and execution of the back half of the unit.
Batoon’s defense did enjoy a solid success rate in passing downs, holding opponents to only 26 percent. However, the big problem from 2023 carried over to 2024: explosive plays. The Tiger defense did limit explosive rushing plays, giving up only 0.