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Even as Cale Garrett celebrated with the rest of the Missouri defense as his teammates mobbed him along the Tiger sideline, he couldn’t help but betray a hint of frustration. Midway through the second quarter, Garrett had read Troy quarterback Kaleb Barker’s eyes and slipped into Barker’s throwing lane. After tipping Barker’s pass with one hand, Garrett secured the ball and began sprinting toward the end zone. He didn’t quite make it, getting tackled at the one-yard line.

The interception set up a scoring pass from Kelly Bryant to Albert Okwuegbunam, but Garrett wanted to find the end zone himself. A touchdown would have given him his third score in as many games, and it looked like he would fall just a few feet short of accomplishing the feat.

“His first thing was like, ‘Story of my life,’” fellow linebacker Nick Bolton said. “‘Maybe if I was a little bit faster.’”

Garrett didn’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption. Three plays and less than two minutes later, Bolton came untouched on a blitz through the Troy offensive line and forced a quick throw from Barker. Garrett undercut the pass. This time, no Troy players stood a chance of catching him. He began celebrating about halfway through his 33-yard interception return, and when he reached the end zone, he leapt into the air and spiked the ball. The score extended Missouri’s lead to 35-7 and made Garrett the first Missouri defensive player in history to score touchdowns in three consecutive games.

It may seem like Garrett, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Troy and recovered a fumble in the end zone against South Carolina, has simply found himself in the right place at the right time the past few weeks. Garrett wasn’t available for comment following Saturday’s game, but his teammates insist his scoring spree is the result of more than just good fortune.

“That don’t just come off of luck,” senior safety Ronnell Perkins said. “He works for that. He puts the work in. He watches the most film out of anybody. He’s out here at 5 o’clock in the morning every day.”

“He makes plays everywhere he’s at,” Khalil Oliver added. “When you turn on the tape, he’s everywhere. If the ball is there, Cale is right around it.”

Head coach Barry Odom and players also offered some of the credit to defensive coordinator Ryan Walters for positioning Garrett for his two picks. Walters faced heavy criticism after Missouri surrendered 297 rushing yards and 38 points in a Week One loss at Wyoming; since then, his unit has allowed fewer than 200 yards per game and taken the ball away nine times.

“I mean, the scheme without players isn’t anything, but Coach Walters called a great call,” Bolton said. “So 50 percent scheme, 50 percent football ability from Cale.”

Garrett’s interceptions were the biggest plays from another dominant defensive effort for Missouri, though the game didn’t start that way. The Tigers, who entered Saturday ranked third nationally in total defense and fourth against the pass, surrendered a 75-yard opening drive to Troy. Barker completed six passes on the possession, including three passes on third down. Troy cracked the scoreboard first when he found Khalil McClain in the end zone for a 15-yard score on third and goal.

But after Missouri’s offense answered with a touchdown of its own, the Tiger defense settled in. Troy converted just one of its next 11 third downs and didn’t find the end zone again. The Trojans rushed for 61 yards on 31 carries — the fourth game in a row Missouri has held its opponent under two yards per carry.

“I think it was just settling the nerves down for everybody,” Oliver said. “You know, we hadn't played in a week. I think it was, they had that long drive and we all looked at each other and went, alright, take a deep breath and let’s go, and then for the rest of the game we kind of settled down and were ready to go.”

Garrett became the second defensive player in Missouri history to score three touchdowns in the same season. He joins Erik McMillan, who accomplished the feat in 1987. He’s also the second Tiger since the turn of the century to record two tackles for loss, two interceptions and a touchdown in the same game, though you don’t have to go back as far to find the other. That was Bolton, who started Missouri’s defensive scoring streak against West Virginia in Week Two.

In all, Missouri has scored five defensive touchdowns in the past four games. That already ties the most defensive scores for a season in program history. In perhaps the most incredible statistic of all, the opportunistic Tiger defense has scored more total points than it has allowed the past four games, 35-31.

“I think it’s a product of us just working on things in practice,” Bolton said. “We work on our hands, we got competitions in practice, and we’re just having fun out there, just doing our jobs to the best of our ability.”

Bolton had to admit that, after his one-handed pick Saturday, Garrett can lay claim to the best hands on the defense. And even though he didn’t quite have the wheels to reach the end zone on the play, his smarts put him in position to get a second chance. He didn’t let it go to waste.

“It’s the things he does every day in practice,” Odom said of Garrett. “His instinctual feeling of how to go play is off the charts. He’s the heart and soul of our team.”

As Saturday’s game kicked off, Missouri released a statement that sophomore defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat is no longer enrolled in the university and will not rejoin the team this season. Citing student privacy, the statement did not provide a reason for Jeffcoat’s departure.

Jeffcoat, who appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman a season ago, missed the first four games of the season due to an elbow injury suffered during fall camp. Prior to the injury, he was listed as a starter on the team’s depth chart.

The Tiger defense also lost junior safety Jordan Ulmer, who Odom confirmed has entered his name into the transfer portal. Ulmer has played sparingly since starting the first game of his Missouri career, the 2017 season-opener against Missouri State. He recorded just two tackles in the first four games of this season.

The biggest storyline of Saturday’s blowout became the departure of Bryant with a left knee injury. Bryant, who took a scary fall after Troy’s Travis Sailo grabbed him around the left leg, left the game late in the second quarter and did not return.

He was replaced behind center by redshirt sophomore Taylor Powell, and even though the Tiger offense didn’t score with Powell in the game, his teammates expressed confidence that the offense can continue its production, if need be, with him at the helm. Powell completed six of his eight passes for 57 yards.

“We won’t change the playbook, which is good,” Odom said. “We were so limited — we called like three plays the whole second half, so it wasn’t a fair assessment on what he can do.”

“He can do everything that Kelly can do,” said wide receiver Jonathan Nance, who caught a 64-yard touchdown from Bryant Saturday. “Well, not everything. But we can run all our plays and he can handle the offense the same. So we just go out there and run our routes and make sure we catch the ball.”

Last season, Missouri changed the starting five on its offensive line just one time, when guard Kevin Pendleton missed a game due to injury. This season, however, the Tigers have featured a carousel up front. For the third game in a row, the team unveiled a new configuration on the offensive line against Troy.

Yasir Durant, who missed the team’s game against South Carolina due to a neck injury, returned to his usual left tackle spot Saturday. He was joined on the left side of the line by fellow senior Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms, who has spent the past two seasons playing right guard. Trystan Colon-Castillo remained at center, Case Cook replaced Wallace-Simms at left guard and Larry Borom started in place of Hyrin White at right tackle. White was healthy — he entered the game in the second half — but Colon-Castillo said Borom replaced him simply because he performed better in practice.

“Coach (Brad) Davis says every day he’s just going to play the best five guys, and it doesn’t matter how those five guys mix in and mix out as long as he’s got somebody that can snap the ball and four other guys going in the right direction,” Colon-Castillo said. “He’s shown that he doesn’t care if you’re a starter here. He’ll bench you, move guys around, things like that.”

The key to the versatility this season has been Borom, who has started at three different positions this season: left guard and both tackle spots. Colon-Castillo said Borom has progressed “light years” in the past two years.

“Him being able to play either tackle spot or either guard spot definitely helps out a lot just for the offense,” he said. “Guy goes down, you can plug him in wherever. Obviously if he’s out-playing somebody, then he’s going to be able to play in that other spot.”

Missouri was without another defensive end in addition to Jeffcoat against Troy as junior Tre Williams didn’t see the field. Odom said Williams sprained his ankle during Wednesday’s practice and didn’t recover in time to contribute Saturday.

“Thought we were going to be able to get him back, but a game time decision, was not in a position that — he probably could have limped around a little bit out there but wasn’t the speed that he probably could have helped us,” Odom said.

Senior punt returner Richaud Floyd also left the game following his lone punt return. A Missouri spokesperson identified the ailment as a hamstring injury, but a specific diagnosis was not provided. Floyd was spotted with crutches on the Missouri sideline during the second half.