Tennessee football Smokey points: Top five Vols in 24-20 Missouri win

As we said, the defensive dominance was a team effort. Tennessee football overcame two missed field goals, a fumble and allowing a fake punt to be converted for a first down by holding the Missouri Tigers to just 280 total yards of offense and only 99 yards rushing on 37 carries. They also had two sacks and six tackles for a loss while Kelly Bryant appeared to be at full strength.

Simply put, it was a great performance by the players and Derrick Ansley. But there’s no denying who the star was. Once again, Daniel Bituli was the standout player for the defense, and he was the one individual who stood out for that unit in what was a collective effort to win.

Bituli finished the game with 12 tackles. Even more impressive, though, was the fact that 10 of those tackles were solo. And most importantly, in the fourth quarter, he had a key sack on 3rd and 3 to stop one Mizzou drive when it was a one-score game. So once again, Bituli was all over the field and came through when he was needed.

This was extremely similar to how he led the Vols to a win over the Kentucky Wildcats. He continues to thrive down the stretch this season, and he showed why he is the best defensive player on the team. Henry To’o To’o, Nigel Warrior and the defensive line all also played well. But Bituli was the star.