Defense excels in MU scrimmage

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With much of the preseason attention on the offense, it was the defense that dominated Wednesday as Missouri held its final scheduled intra-squad scrimmage before its Aug. 30 opener against Illinois at St. Louis.

The effort at Faurot Field was less than stellar, coach Gary Pinkel said.

"I just thought it was average; all the way around I'm disappointed," Pinkel said. "There's too many mistakes and not enough consistency. If you want to be a good football team, then that's what you need and that's what I'm disappointed about."

The defense set the tempo from the beginning by making the second-team offense go three-and-out. Then, highly regarded sophomore quarterback Brad Smith took over and connected on three of three passes for 23 yards, leading the offense from its 45 deep into the defense's territory.

From the 15, Smith scrambled right and connected with Tyrone Roberson, who along with Damien Nash was splitting time at tailback while Zack Abron recovers from a sprained ankle.

Roberson got to the 3-yard-line before fumbling, and the defense recovered.

Smith later led a nine-play drive, but it again stalled, at the 25-yard-line. Defensive tackle C.J. Mosley came up big twice on the drive, stopping Nash in the backfield for no gain, and sacking Smith for a seven-yard loss.

"We're not just trying to sit there and watch the O do their thing while we don't do our part," Mosley said.

Smith, in his two series, was 7 of 10 for 39 yards.