COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Most of the talk about Missouri in the offseason centered around quarterback Brady Cook and All-American wide receiver Luther Burden III, and the way the ninth-ranked Tigers' high-octane offense could put them in the College Football Playoff mix.
It's been their defense that has stood out two weeks into the season.
New defensive coordinator Corey Batoon's bunch blanked Buffalo on Saturday night in a 38-0 rout, giving the Tigers back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1966 — and consecutive shutouts to start a season for the first time since 1935.
“It's a great confidence booster for us,” Missouri defensive back Marvin Burks said, “but at the end of the day, we know we still have to keep our head down and keep working. ... Every day is going to keep getting tougher and tougher as we go.”
Cook still threw for 228 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and Burden added a score before leaving late in the first half with an illness. But they had plenty of help: Theo Wease Jr. had 13 catches for 149 yards, and Nate Noel added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, as the Tigers (2-0) rolled to their 18th straight nonconference win at Memorial Stadium.
That matches the best streak in school history with Boston College coming to town next Saturday.
“They’ve earned where they’ve gotten, and that’s been the cumulative effect of the last two or three seasons,” said first-year Buffalo coach Pete Lembo, who faced the Tigers at his most recent stop as an assistant at South Carolina.
C.J. Ogbonna, who played against the Tigers on Faurot Field while with Southeast Missouri State a few years ago, completed only six passes for 55 yards. Jacqez Barksdale had 67 yards rushing and the Bulls (1-1) just 169 yards of total offense.
“Really, really proud of the way our defense has been playing,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said.
Cook and Burden were expected to be one of the best pass-catch duos in the nation, but so far they've been one of the best one-two punches on the ground. Each had a touchdown run during the Tigers' season-opening 51-0 rout of Murray State, and each of them were back in the end zone in the first half against Buffalo.
Burden scored first on an end-around to make it 10-0 in the second quarter. Cook's first TD came on third-and-goal from the Buffalo 3, when he hesitated on a designed run and darted through a gap for the score. His second came on a 31-yard scramble that Cook finished by somersaulting over two defenders at the goal line.
It was about that time that Burden headed to the locker room for what a team spokesperson described as an illness.
The Tigers were just fine without him, though, getting Noel into the end zone late in the third quarter to make it 31-0. Most of the starters gave way to the backups in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach.
“I think it's easy for certain teams to overlook opponents,” Cook said, “and waste an opportunity to dominate the way we have. ... Two shutouts to start the season is crazy.”
Missouri defensive end Eddie Kelly Jr. had a pair of tackles just three days after his mother died unexpectedly. The team presented the junior from Orlando, Florida, with one of the game balls in the postgame locker room.
“She was here the week before at the game, went home and had a medical emergency and passed away,” Drinkwitz said. “For him to still be here and for our team to play around him the way they did tonight was a special, special moment.”
Buffalo was overmatched against its highest-ranked opponent since playing No. 2 Ohio State in 2013, particularly at the line of scrimmage. The Tigers set the tone on both sides of the ball by pushing the Bulls around up front.
Missouri may have the deepest wide receiver corps in the SEC, which helped when Burden headed to the locker room. Wease was the star, but Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning also made some nice plays for the Tigers.
Buffalo: Returns home to play Massachusetts next Saturday.
Missouri: At Boston College next Saturday.
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