Through three games, there’s one thing we definitely know to be true about Missouri’s football team: There is absolutely no drop-off at defensive end.

In fact, if you look at the first three games of the season from senior Markus Golden and redshirt junior Shane Ray, it’s miles ahead of predecessors Michael Sam and Kony Ealy. At this point last season, Sam, an eventual All-American and the SEC defensive player of the year, and Ealy, a future second-round draft pick, had accumulated zero sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Those two went on to register 33 tackles for loss and 22 sacks.

Markus Golden had a huge junior season but elected to return to Missouri and be the first person in his family to get a college degree. Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports

Heading into Saturday’s game with Indiana, Golden and Ray have combined for 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks against talent basically equivalent to the three teams Sam and Ealy faced through their first three games last year.

To put that in perspective, Mizzou’s new duo has the same amount of tackles for loss as Georgia’s entire defense and five more than South Carolina’s. These two also have more combined sacks than nine other SEC defenses.

While Sam and Ealy were awfully impressive and destructive last year, there’s a different sort of chaos and relentless effort that Golden and Ray possess. They’re like a defensive endnado embarrassing their helpless offensive counterparts.

Floating around the Internet is an incredible GIF of Golden and Ray manhandling Toledo’s poor tackles from two weeks ago. It’s glorious, yet a little sad because those tackles never stood a chance.

“No apologizes for anything that goes on out there,” the 6-3, 245-pound Ray said with a laugh. “It’s our job to make offenses as miserable as possible.”

The two resemble a WWE wrestling tag team and even hold the nicknames “Savage Twins” and “Twin Savages” because of their tireless, almost scary/reckless playing style.

The nicknames stemmed from Golden being labeled a savage after Sam saw how all over the field Golden was on tape. The nickname stuck, and as he and Ray played more and more together as reserves, he gave Ray the same savage brand.

“We’ve been savages since we got here,” said Ray, who had nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season.

Coming back in 2014 was a no-brainer for Golden. He could have gone the NFL after leading all of Mizzou’s defensive linemen with 55 tackles and posting 13 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks, playing just 40 percent of the defensive snaps.

But Golden wanted to stay and earn a starting job, and his degree.

Golden, who comes from a big family, said he was the first in his family to go to college. He felt it was his responsibility to show his younger brothers and cousins that they too could go to college and succeed in something they loved while earning a degree.

“I’ll always feel like I have something to prove, but, really, I just want to be great,” Golden said. “Part of being great is leaving a name for myself here at Missouri and being part of the reason the team wins.”

So far, Golden and Ray have been a major part to the early success of the 18th-ranked Tigers (3-0). With holes to fill all over Mizzou’s defense, Golden and Ray made sure they more than carry their weight in case they need to carry the defense at times.

“Of course you have to have playmakers on defense, and I’d have to say that me and Shane, we take great pride in knowing that we have to be the ones to step up and make plays for the team to win,” Golden said.

These two make the perfect combo at defensive end. Ray is fast and physical and can chase his prey across the field. Golden is a little bigger, a little strong and while he might not have the prototypical NFL body for a defensive end, Ray said “he’ll move anybody.”

The chemistry these two have is fascinating. They almost play as one at times, making it to quarterbacks in unison.

When one can’t make a play, the other one makes up for it. They’re the ultimate tandem and the frightening part is that they’ll only get better as they grow more and more as partners.

“Making it hard for offenses as a whole to block either one of us is really what’s making us so successful,” Ray said. “Him being on that other side doesn’t even matter because I feel like I have him right next to me.”