Another week brought another round of sacks for the Missouri defensive end tandem of Markus Golden and Shane Ray.
The Tigers' pass rushers have each recorded at least one sack each in all three of Missouri's games this season -- they've combined for nine through three games.
Ray forced a punt with a 3rd-down sack in the first half of a 38-10 win over Central Florida on Saturday, and added a sack with a forced fumble in the fourth quarter, giving him five sacks this season. However, he also picked up a roughing-the-passer penalty in the fourth quarter. Ray finished the game with four tackles for loss totaling 26 yards in losses. Golden recorded a sack near the end of the third quarter despite playing a read-and-react assignment initially. UCF quarterback Justin Holman saw nothing but good coverage in the Missouri secondary, and tried to break from the pocket when Golden chased him down for a short loss. Golden also recorded an assisted sack as the Tigers tallied six for the game.
Golden and Ray are undersized for NFL defensive ends, but Golden is considered the better prospect of the two at 260 pounds. Earlier this week, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said NFL scouts have told him the two might be even better than last year's Missouri pass-rushing tandem of Kony Ealy and Michael Sam. Of course, Ealy (second round) and Sam (seventh round) were both drafted in May.
Next week, Indiana's offensive tackles will take their turn trying to contain the Golden-Ray Sack Machine.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter *@ChaseGoodbread*.