Johnny Walker Jr. credited one simple trick for the defensive line’s best day.

“I think it’s all about eliminating thinking,” the Missouri football defensive end said.

Missouri's defensive line, and specifically the defensive ends, had far and away its best game of the season Saturday against Auburn. Linemen alone ended the game with three sacks and nine backfield pressures, while the team held Auburn’s stout running game to 3.1 yards per carry.

That came with a fairly straightforward mindset change entering the game.

“D-linemen don't think,” Walker quipped, before explaining. “I would say, really just cutting down the play sheet let us get calls we're comfortable with and just (let) us play free.”

Is it that simple team-wide for the Tigers?

There’s a case to be made, and one that’s seemingly making its rounds in the Missouri facility this week.

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Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz picked his words carefully.

The coach was asked what he learned from a blowout at Texas A&M that the team can apply to Mizzou’s game Saturday at Alabama.

“We can't play,” Drinkwitz said, “over-analyzing every situation.”

Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC) faces a titanic challenge in the Crimson Tide. The game could, by the end of the season, prove to be a pseudo-elimination game for the College Football Playoff.

Missouri needs a marquee win on its résumé, and where better than Bryant-Denny Stadium to find one? Alabama, already with two SEC losses under first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, is teetering on the edge of eligibility already.

Drinkwitz wants instincts to lead the charge.

The game has become, at its core, a little more convoluted this season. Teams can now use in-helmet communication, with Missouri’s quarterback and middle linebacker, depending on which side of the ball is on the field, now receiving messages from their respective coordinators and coaches. Mizzou, in addition, still uses sideline calls as a safeguard.

Drinkwitz wasn’t necessarily referring to that system when he spoke to media Tuesday about keeping Saturday’s plan simple, but there’s a definite sense MU wants to dial the game back to basics.

“We can't have too many checks on both sides of the ball,” Drinkwitz said. “We can't have too many what-ifs. We can't have, ‘if they do this, then we're going to do this, and … if they motion to this, we're going to check to this, or if they show us this coverage, we're going to check to this.’ Like, we’ve got to go out there and play football.”

If the game ever looked simple for Mizzou against a Power-conference opposition this season, it was late Saturday against Auburn.

Not much about the matchup could be classified as 'normal,' with Brady Cook visiting the hospital for an MRI before returning to lead a fourth-quarter comeback.

But when the drama hit its height and Cook made his unexpected return to the game, nothing looked particularly complex about the way MU operated.

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Each of Mizzou’s starting receivers, touted in preseason as among the best groups in the country, made a critical play in a crucial moment. The havoc-oriented defensive line from a year ago returned and stopped Auburn from moving the ball. The offensive line gave Cook the time he needed to operate on a 17-play, 95-yard drive to win the game.

Missouri’s biggest challenge, of course, is going to be getting Cook into a position where he can play. The quarterback seemingly has suffered a high-ankle sprain.

Drinkwitz didn’t think the QB would participate in Tuesday’s practice, which he said in response to a question from the Tribune on Tuesday. There’s no way to check if Cook did participate or not, because Missouri closed the typically open portion of its practice to the media.

If Cook can’t go, the Crimson challenge doesn’t get any lighter.

Alabama (5-2, 2-2), two losses or not, is still Alabama.

“This is going to be a challenge for our team to not focus on all the reasons why we can't,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got to focus on the reasons why we can, and we have to play it one play at a time.”

Drinkwitz wants Missouri to be Missouri — something that went drastically awry in College Station.

His team managed to find it late against Auburn.

Now, the task is taking that to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“I think sometimes we get caught up too much in the minutiae,” Drinkwitz said. “And if you just go back and watch our game from a 10,000-feet view, you know, just because it was a good idea doesn't make it the best idea for our team. We’ve got to focus on what we can do, and if our base call allows our guys to play fast and without hesitation, then that's going to be the best thing that we can do in the game.

“So, the biggest thing that we can (do) in there, and the thing that I've challenged our team, is play with zero hesitation. Go out there and play as fast as you possibly can. Don't hesitate. When the play’s there, go make it.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football adopting simple mindset in Alabama game plan