Mizzou Sanity

We're moving!

2007-10-04T12:16:00.001-05:00

Well, this has been in the works a while...Mizzou Sanity is joining forces (so to speak) with the purveyor of Every True Son and joining Sports Blog Nation as...

Rock M Nation!

Sanity has served us well, and the archive will remain, but from this point on, you'll need to change your bookmarks. All future posting will take place at RMN.

Official Nebraska Video Viewing

2007-10-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

These should hopefully be enough to get you to maximum "pumped" before Saturday.

First, the compilation of the 1997 and 2003 games.

And then the 2005 game.

If you can't view these videos, please visit DivX.com and download the free player from there.

Mizzou Sanity Roundtable: Week 5

2007-10-04T08:19:00.001-05:00

This exchange took place Tuesday--I almost forgot to post it...have been a little distracted this week...you'll probably understand later this evening...

1) In the Big 12...what the hell happened last weekend??

2) What the hell happens now??

3) Rank the teams in the North. I dare you. And then I double-dog dare you to explain yourself.

4) Make your predictions for this week: NU @ MU, KU @ KSU, UT vs OU, OSU @ ATM, ISU @ TT, CU @ BU.

Bonus) How many days until Dennis Franchione resigns?

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The Beef: In the Big XII last weekend, um….I did not see much of it. From what I can tell, OU had a freshman play like a freshman, and the Longhorns displayed worse special teams than the St. Louis Rams of a year ago and just could not get it done at home. I have said it before, Ron Prince, though having few other people’s numbers, seems to have Mack Brown’s. I think OU rebounds this week since I think UT may finally be exposed like some thought they might be early in the season. In the end, I think it just means that OU runs away with the south and UT comes back to the pack a little bit, which may or may not hurt my personal aspirations of the MU getting to the Cotton Bowl this year.

Well, as I said, I think OU ends up winning the south by a few over a couple of teams. As for the north, it is an elimination style weekend I think with MU/NU and kSU/kU. Winners are much better off and losers are going to struggle to come back from it unless another crazy weekend happens. I think ISU is really pretty bad, and I think while it was a good win for CU and they wont get blown out of games, I think they will still lose enough to come in 5th.

6. ISU, 5. CU, 4. kU (but I think they still finish the season well and make a bowl) , 3. NU, 2. kSU, 1. MU (I think my predictions for the weekend may be bleeding through here a bit) As for my explanation….yeah…I think kU does not quite get it done on the road and I think we win this weekend setting these rankings in motion. I could see NU and kSU flopping during the season, but if Okie State has figured out their offense, I think NU will struggle to keep them from scoring as much as I hope/believe we will.

I think MU by 10-14, kSU in a squeaker, OU by a good amount, OSU to go in and “upset” aTm who has had a helluva week, TT all over ISU and Baylor beating Colorado.

90 days…just after the first of the year I believe for Coach Fran.

Michael Atchison: 1) (1) The world spun off its axis; (2) Texas is good, but not single-digit ranking good; (3) Oklahoma built a lead and then started dreaming about next week; and (4) Kansas and Colorado made plays on defense. The Cats beat Colt McCoy to a a pulp, and CU linebacker Jordon Dizon was all over the field in the fourth quarter.

2) How should I know? I said there was a 0% chance that either K-State or Colorado would win on Saturday. Now, it's a free-for-all. The Kansas/KSU and Missouri/Nebraska games are huge. The losers of those games are going to need help if they hope to advance to San Antonio.

3)

1. Missouri - Because I'm a homer
2. Kansas State - Because they have the division's best win, hands down.
3. Kansas - Because they've gone all Ali-Wepner on their opponents.
4. Colorado - Because they're too mercurial for me to believe in - yet.
5. Nebraska - Because they haven't been impressive in a month.
6. Iowa State - Because they already won their one game.

4) Missouri 45 Nebraska 34
K-State 24 Kansas 21
Oklahoma 38 Texas 14
Texas A&M 27 Oklahoma State 20
Texas Tech 946 Iowa State 14
Colorado 23 Baylor 16

Bonus) That guy has made himself radioactive as a coach. Having a vagabond heart and a crushing lack of judgment is a bad combo. The rumor was he'd be gone by today, and having no other clue, I'll go with that.

ZouDave: 1 - Well, see, what happened was....um....it uh....we....Go Tigers? I don't know what happened last weekend, but I do know that the Mizzou/Nebraska game is no longer the de facto Big XII North Championship game because ksu and Colorado each picked up a win there was just NO WAY they were going to get. And when you consider that Missouri, the team picked to win the North and the team favored in the game against Nebraska, has to travel to BOTH ksu and CU, then the North just got a lot cloudier. And the South got smacked in the mouth, and I love it.

2 - This weekend will unmuddy the waters a bit. There will be a clearer pecking order after Saturday, because every team in the North will have played and many of them will have played each other. We'll know more about ku after Saturday than we know after their first 4 games, we'll know if ksu means business this year or if it's just that Prince owns Brown, and we'll know if Missouri is at least serious about being the team we think they are. As for what actually happens? My rankings will probably indicate that.

3 -
#6 - Iowa State. The only easy answer. Iowa State is worse than last year. They shouldn't have won a game in the conference last year, and now they're worse. Is it possible for them to go 0-9? If it is, they'll do it. Awful team. Just horrible.

#5 - kansas. ku is clearly better this year than last, and I think they're clearly better than I gave them credit for. We still have no idea how good, and their fluffy fresh schedule so far this year did NOT harden them and their alarm clock is going off but they want to continue to hit snooze. ku will be 3-5 in conference this year, because there's not a road game on their schedule that looks good for them and I obviously don't like them in the game at Arrowhead. Much like last year, ku will probably be close in games but I still don't think they're quite good enough to pull them out. But this is definitely a bowl team, and it appears they'll have a nice foundation to build from after this.

#4 - Nebraska. This will be a tie-breaker thing. I had Nebraska picked 5-3 in the conference before the season started, but now I'm giving the nod to Colorado over them based on new information. Their passing game just isn't good enough and their defense sure isn't good enough. Their running game is probably good enough, but a good running game only gets you multiple wins when it's combined with a good defense. Nebraska is going to get beaten a few times this year by teams they don't like losing to. And they're going to lose at home to Texas A&M, who will run for approximately 861 yards against them.

#3 - Colorado. Where did this come from? Even I said before the season that Colorado won't be as bad as last year but I didn't expect this. But this is now a very real 4-4 team in conference and could easily move up to 5-3 if Missouri isn't good enough on the road. They win the tie-breaker over Nebraska in the last game of the year.

#2 - Missouri. Do you know how painful it is to put this here? It physically hurts me. But when ksu beat Texas, they picked up a win they just shouldn't have been able to get. Missouri is still as good as I thought they were, because I still think we're a 10-2 team. We're going to lose in Norman and we're going to lose in Manhattan. We'll have a better overall record than every other team in the North, but the tie-breaker is going to get us.

#1 - kansas state. Ugh. I feel dirty. But seriously, they beat Texas which wasn't supposed to happen and now their schedule is setup perfectly. They have 3 of the meaningful 4 North opponents at home, plus they have Baylor at home and travel to Iowa State. They'll probably lose down in Stillwater because OSU plays differently at home, and I think they'll lose to Nebraska in Lincoln. But at 6-2, with a win over Missouri, they win the North by tie-breaker. This won't so much be Missouri not doing something right, because we're going to go 6-2 for crying out loud, but ksu needed that other loss. We could have afforded a loss to them if they were going to be 5-3. Missouri is going to have to go 7-1 to win the North, or at least make that other loss to Colorado instead of ksu. The Wildcats just have too perfect of a schedule now. Manhatter is going to be insufferable for the rest of time. I may have to leave Tigerboard over this. I think the good that could come from this is it's entirely possible a major program comes courting Prince if he was to win the North in his 2nd season, and I just don't think ksu can keep him if someone like Michigan, Notre Dame, etc. was to offer him a job.

4 - Mizzou defeats Nebraska, KSU defeats ku, Oklahoma defeats Texas, A&M defeats OSU, Texas Tech defeats Iowa State, Baylor upsets Colorado. There has to be at least one upset this week.

Bonus - I think he will announce his resignation on Monday of next week, but he will finish the year as head coach. He's going to have a hard time getting another high profile job. Mike Price from UTEP will be his replacement at aTm. This time, however, there will be no strippers involved.

Doug: 1) I was too busy wandering around Las Vegas Blvd to realize what was going on, until I stopped at the sportsbook in the Bellagio. To see the spreads next to the final scores was really stunning. I think Seth has a point, Ron Price may very well have Mack Brown's number, especially Mack Brown without Vince Young. And, I think the gap between the have's and have-not's of the conference is shrinking, how else can you explain the failure of Nebraska to cover, Oklahoma to win and Texas to even show up?

2) I'm still sticking with OU to win the South, and in fact, the conference. I think the North is still up for grabs between NU, MU and... Kansas.

3) Frankly, with KU and MU missing a conference game, I think you have to basically go off the current standings, 1) Nebraska 2) KSU 3) CU 4) KU 5) MU 6) ISU

4) MU 35 NU 31 , KU 28 KSU 21 , OU 24 UT 17 , OSU 42 aTm 21 , TT 52 ISU 9 , CU 21 BU 17

Bonus) Coach Fran... even if he makes it to the end of the season, I'm pretty sure A&M fans will be ready to force him out at the end of the season, bowl or not.

The Boy: 1) For CU-OU, I really do think it was a case of OU letting up and never taking CU out of the game mentally. Even when they were down 24-7, CU was trying harder than OU was. And by the time OU realized they were in a dogfight, they had been knocked back on their heels. A Daily Oklahoman columnist tried to say that the altitude had something to do with it, and maybe it did, but...momentum is so huge in college sports, and I think momentum had as much or more to do with it than stamina. That said, I bet there were a lot of laps being run in Norman Sunday and Monday.

As for KSU-UT...with about 6 minutes left in the first half, KSU punted with the score 7-7. The next time Josh Freeman touched the ball, they had 21 points. KSU avoided mistakes of its own while Texas peed down its leg, allowing an INT return, kick return, and punt return for TD's, not to mention throwing an additional two INT's in its own territory. KSU obviously played a part in that, but once KSU got the 10-point lead (24-14), UT was out of its gameplan and out of its element. I think it said a bit about K-State and a ton about UT--they repeatedly threw for 3 yards on 3rd-and-10, a Mizzou-with-Brad-Smith-esque thing to do. McCoy has no confidence, the staff has no confidence in McCoy, and if the score gets away from them before Jamaal Charles can establish himself, UT's in deep trouble.

As for the other two games, NU-ISU was a crap fest for a half before NU decided to look like a somwhat competent team, and BU-ATM was a crap fest for a half before ATM decided to look like a somewhat competent team. Neither game did the two favorites any favors.

2) I think KSU has a golden opportunity due to their schedule. If they continue to avoid mistakes--a pretty hefty 'if', but it's at least somewhat feasible--they really could be 5-1 before finishing up with NU and MU. But to take advantage of that opportunity, they have to beat KU this Saturday. Their North chances aren't crippled with a loss (due to the fact that they already have a road win over UT on their resume), but they're damaged. As for OU-UT, the only notable thing to mention is simply that the loser ( i.e. Texas) has almost no chance of catching back up to the pack. The winner (i.e. OU) will be 1-1, and the winner of ATM/OSU will be 2-0. A 2-game hole with that many teams in front of you is pretty rough.

3) I guess I already posted about this yesterday. 1) MU, 2) KSU, 3) NU, 4) KU, 5) CU, 6) ISU.

4) OU 31, UT 17. MU 38, NU 31. KSU 24, KU 20. ATM 35, OSU 27. Tech 44, ISU 24. BU 20, CU 16.

*) I just checked Google News to make sure he hadn't already. It appears he might weather the 'insider info' scandal for now (then again, still four days till Saturday), but he better go at least 9-3 at this point. They're looking for a reason to oust him, and 8-4 might not be enough for him.

Now, as always...questions from the field?

The Beef: Alright…I will ask this for a roundtable question

With another installment of the “gold helmets” rumor….as a fan…or I guess to each of you personally, how do you feel? Would you be in favor of something like that? Or do you prefer we remain traditional (as much as we can) in that aspect?

The Boy: Honestly, the thought of a mustard and old gold mix makes me nauseous, but hey...whatever the players want to do, I'm cool with it. I'm apparently one of the few that completely enjoys the all black look, but I have also enjoyed breaking out the gold pants once a year (2005 against NU, 2006 at Tech). If they really want to do gold helmets, I'll laugh, I'll dry heave a little, and then I'll enjoy the game just as much as I otherwise would have.

The Beef: I suppose my only problem with it would be a change to the “M” since either you go with a black “M” or you go with the new logo….either way, you change one of the few enduring things we actually have about our uniforms. And as an unabashed proponent of tradition in unis (yes, Penn State has the best with a couple of other schools), I think changing the helmet is a step in a bad direction. I would ALMOST rather gold unis, at least we have had them at SOME point…I do not recall ever seeing gold helmets though.

The Boy: As long as it was a one-game change, I'd be okay with it. Lots of teams do various throwback ideas (though you're right, gold helmets aren't much of a throwback since I can't recall them ever doing it), and I'd be okay if they broke out something interesting just once, then went back to the original...

Doug: A quick glance at Helmet Project, which goes back to 1970, shows no gold helmets in MU's past.

Now, the "M" has undergone some changes, from white to yellow-gold back to white to the current dark gold. What makes me wonder about MU's uniforms is the fact the yellow pants are bright yellow, instead of matching more closely with the color of the M.

Of course, I'd like to see KU add a pair of blue pants, for use with the road white or alternate red jerseys, so what the hell do I now?

Michael Atchison: I can't tell you how much I don't care about uniforms. I'm astonished how bat$%!t crazy it makes some people, and how much mental energy is devoted to it. If they want to pull out a special helmet, jersey or jockstrap from time to time, fine by me.

ZouDave: In the end, as long as we're wearing black and gold then I don't necessarily care where and how much they appear on the uniform.

If it was my call, though, I'd leave the helmets as they are now and I'd have black tops with gold pants at home, white tops with black pants on the road, and then for the blackout game at Faurot the team would wear all black.

But, that's only if it were up to me. As long as it's black and gold, I don't care. I also don't really care about the M on the helmets vs the Tiger logo, because I happen to really like that logo. But, I do respect the fact that we've had the M on our helmet for so long. If it's my choice, we leave the M, but if we change to the tiger (even for one game) it will not bother me nor make me happier.

I'm far more concerned with those idiots wearing St. Louis Cardinals hats to a Mizzou game against Nebraska!!!!!!

Mizzou Links, 10-4-07

2007-10-04T06:06:00.000-05:00

I'd just like to point out that it's only about 63 hours to kickoff...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Mizzou Volleyball jumped out to take the first two games at Colorado last night (live on Fox Sports Midwest!), looking unbelievable in the process. They then proceeded to let up and lose the next two games before regaining their footing and pulling things out in Game 5. That's the third time in Big 12 play that they've blown a 2-0 lead (the fourth time this season), and the second time they've gone ahead and won anyway. The big news in the 30-20, 30-19, 26-30, 28-30, 15-9 win was that freshman Weiwen "Wendy" Wang had one of the best matches I've ever seen from a Tiger: 19 kills (0 errors!), a .559 kill %, and a Mizzou record 12 blocks. That's sick! Since moving to middle blocker (where she's undersized at 6'0, but makes up for it with a Jamonte Robinson-like wingspan), she's really taken off. Her play, combined with the efforts of Megan Wilson and Catie Wilson, has allowed the Tigers to begin to move on from the loss of Julianna Klein. Mizzou is now 2-4 in Big 12 play (they've won two in a row), and they get lowly Texas Tech at Hearnes, 2pm on Saturday.
According to mutigers.com, W.I.N. Magazine has Mizzou Wrestling #6 in the nation in their preseason poll. Not bad considering they'll be replacing their best wrestler of all-time. A VERY strong recruiting class comes in, and.......yeah, I'm treading on The Beef's territory here. I'll just say they're going to be really good.

Fine, fine...that's enough non-football talk...

It's "Cut to the Chase" time once again! Woohoo!
We've got a fun disagreement between our two main recruiting services. Inside Mizzou says "Tigers Play Down Importance of Nebraska Game", while PowerMizzou says "Yes, Tigers Admit, It's a Big Game." Good times. They're both right, by the way...it is a SUPER-important game, but it's going to take more than one big win to win the North this year.
And while we're linking on PM, Gabe says Mizzou has an opportunity to "catch" Nebraska Saturday. He makes a good point, though tradition and history still matter...and as long as NU is doing just well enough to continue selling out that giant stadium of theirs, they've probably got a 'bigger' program than we do.
And while we're linking to IM, here's a Nebraska Scout.com article talking about NU's preparations for handling Mizzou.
Dave Matter has a nice feature on Tony Temple's development from moody and inconsistent to...well, not moody and inconsistent. Matter also goes "Inside the Numbers" on Nebraska.
Mike Dearmond features Van Alexander, making his first Big 12 start on Saturday after a couple of injury-plagued seasons. My 'Beyond the Box Score' pieces really don't like Van very much...here's to hoping he has a career game Saturday.
Vahe Gregorian, fresh off a nice Chase Daniel piece, decided he needs to be fair and balanced, I guess. Here's his piece on Sam Keller. Meanwhile, Graham Watson takes a look at the Mizzou offense and its week-to-week wrinkles.
Finally, Pinkel says, "No rushing the field!" I agree with him. You don't rush the field for beating a team ranked lower than you.

Nebraska 2005 Highlights

2007-10-04T01:21:00.000-05:00

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 2003 (Part Three)

2007-10-03T11:12:00.000-05:00

Bye-bye Blackshirts
Missouri brings an end to misery vs. Nebraska.

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune's staff
Published Sunday, October 12, 2003

On what was labeled across the nation as "Separation Saturday," Missouri finally settled its long and ugly divorce.

The Big Red pain in the Tigers’ backside for a quarter of a century was removed with Missouri’s 41-24 victory over Nebraska.

For the first time since Missouri spoiled Nebraska’s national-championship dreams in 1978, the Tigers beat their neighbors to the northwest. As parts of the sellout crowd of 68,349 spilled onto Faurot Field to topple the goal posts, Missouri players celebrated something that had never happened in their lifetimes. MU had lost 24 consecutive games to the Cornhuskers.

"That’s what makes this so special," said linebacker James Kinney, one of many heroes for the Tigers. "This was a win for all the fans that have been waiting for this for 20-something years. And it’s for all the players that played before us."

In beating the previously unbeaten and 10th-ranked Cornhuskers (5-1, 1-1 Big 12), the Tigers (5-1, 1-1) beat a top-10 team for the first time since beating No. 9 Mississippi State in 1981.

Coming two weeks after suffering a demoralizing loss to rival Kansas — a loss that brought heavy criticism down on Gary Pinkel for Missouri’s conservative offensive approach — the Tigers dipped deep into their playbook and played with a fearlessness rarely seen this season.

"We haven’t been playing with our hair on fire all season, and that’s the way I want to play," Pinkel said. "I told my team after losing to Kansas, ‘When you’re ranked and predicted to win, and you lose to the biggest team on your schedule, bullets are going to fly. And they should.’ "

The biggest bullets that flew yesterday were passes thrown by Tigers not named Brad Smith. The preseason All-Big 12 quarterback played perhaps the most complete game of his career — totaling 350 yards of offense — but it was a pass by his backup that gave the Tigers the lead for good.

With 11:21 left in the fourth quarter, and Nebraska leading 24-21, Missouri lined up for a routine, game-tying 34-yard field goal for Mike Matheny. But holder Sonny Riccio, MU’s backup quarterback, took the snap, sprinted to the right and looked for his primary target, Clint Matthews. But Matthews was covered, so Riccio lofted a pass to Victor Sesay in the end zone.

"Once I threw it, I knew it was good," Riccio said.

On a play strikingly similar to Oklahoma’s fake field goal that stunned the Tigers in the same end zone last season, Sesay hauled in the 14-yard TD. And with two more Smith touchdown runs, the Tigers cruised against the 7-point favorite Huskers.

"I told Sonny before the game to keep his arm warm," Pinkel said. "And it worked, so it was a great call."

"We knew it had been so long since we beat Nebraska," Riccio said, "so we just wanted to attack every chance we had."

An MU team that was criticized for rarely throwing deep through its first five games didn’t hesitate attacking the Huskers’ secondary early. The Tigers attempted passes on eight of their first 11 plays from scrimmage.

But after two rare interceptions — his first since last year’s season finale — Smith became Missouri’s most dangerous wide receiver. On a play called "Diamond Throwback Screen" — a play the MU installed after losing to KU and practiced several times last week — the Tigers lined up three receivers in a bunch formation on the right-hand side. Smith sent tailback Damien Nash in motion to the right and threw a lateral to Darius Outlaw behind the wall of blockers on the right. Outlaw fired back, hitting Smith in the left flat with four linemen and half a field of FieldTurf between him the end zone. Smith cruised in for the 47-yard score, giving MU a 14-7 lead with 10:57 left in the second quarter.It was Smith’s first career touchdown catch and the first touchdown pass for Outlaw, who is a former quarterback, since 2001.

With inspired play from a resurgent defense, the Tigers silenced Nebraska’s option offense in the fourth quarter and forced Nebraska quarterback Jammal Lord to do what he does worst: throw deep. First, Kinney sacked Lord on third-and-11, forcing Lord to commit the Huskers’ fourth fumble of the night. Missouri rover Dedrick Harrington scooped up the loose ball on Nebraska’s 9-yard line. Four plays later, Riccio hit Sesay in the end zone on the fake field goal.

After a Nebraska punt, Missouri took a 10-point lead on Smith’s 1-yard bootleg run into the end zone.

After defensive end Zach Ville intercepted a pass and returned it 39 yards, Smith needed just two plays to score his fourth touchdown, a 9-yard draw up the middle.

Smith’s four touchdowns — three running, one receiving — tied an MU single-game record held by four former Tigers.

Smith’s night didn’t start out so great. On MU’s first possession, he overthrew Sean Coffey and was intercepted by free safety Josh Bullocks. Following a 6-yard touchdown run by Zack Abron and a fumbled Nebraska kickoff return, Smith threw his second interception, tossing an intended screen to linebacker Demorrio Williams.

But as the fourth quarter began, Smith and the Missouri offense picked apart the nation’s No. 1 defense. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Smith turned a third-and-4 quarterback keeper into a 39-yard sprint to the end zone.

He finished with 123 rushing yards, completed 13 of 27 passes for 180 yards and added the 47-yard catch.

Missouri plays at No. 1 Oklahoma next week, but after a gutsy and historic performance in front of a packed Memorial Stadium, the Tigers savored something that hasn’t happened in 25 years.

"We talked all week about just letting go," center A.J. Ricker said. "It’s amazing how much better you can play when you just let go and attack."

---

When you finally come to, this will still be documented

By JOE WALLJASPER Tribune sports editor
Published Sunday, October 12, 2003

I’m going to take this nice and slow because, chances are, your eyes are bloodshot and your head is pounding. It’s possible that your car is overturned and smoldering on Ninth Street.

But trust me, what you might more or less remember about last night really happened. The Missouri football team beat Nebraska 41-24.

Twenty-five years after their last victory over the Cornhuskers, the Tigers took out their frustrations with a vengeance.

"I’ve been a little bit disappointed in our team all year," Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said. "It just seemed like we weren’t playing on all cylinders. They were trying hard, but it just seemed that players were more concerned about making mistakes than playing good."

Pinkel’s standard facial expression on the sideline is the grimace of a man who could stand a larger pair of briefs. He is, by admission, someone who abhors turnovers and penalties. And throughout most of the first half of the season, his team had played mistake-free but robotic football.

The restrained Tigers played well enough to win the first four games but bottomed out in a 35-14 loss to Kansas two weeks ago. Even Brad Smith, who as a freshman was a creative genius with the ball in his hands, had become an ordinary player, dinking short passes and struggling to find running room.

Something had to change. It changed last night against the 10th-ranked Cornhuskers.

Missouri threw caution to the wind and threw the ball downfield. Smith caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Darius Outlaw. The Tigers ran a reverse on a kickoff return. And then came the mother of all gutsy calls, the one that unquestionably required Pinkel to go up a few sizes on his underwear.

Trailing 24-21 in the fourth quarter, facing a fourth-and-goal from the 14-yard line, it was an obvious field goal situation. But just as Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops did to Missouri last year, Pinkel elected to call a fake. On a play designed by tight ends coach Bruce Walker, holder Sonny Riccio rolled right and lofted a perfect pass over Nebraska defender T.J. Hollowell and into the hands of tight end Victor Sesay in the end zone.

Sold-out Faurot Field went bonkers, and the Tigers smelled blood. They added two more touchdowns before the goal posts came down and the party started in earnest.

"We hadn’t beaten them in 25 years," Pinkel said. "We were going to be aggressive in everything we did."

There was plenty of history made. It was Missouri’s first victory over a top-10 team since 1981 and the first over a ranked team since 1997.

The heroes were numerous. Smith gashed the top-ranked defense in the nation for 123 rushing yards, 47 receiving yards and 180 passing yards. He scored four touchdowns. The Missouri offensive line, which included first-time starter Steven Sanchez at tackle, got the better of the Nebraska defensive front. Sean Coffey caught three passes for 59 yards, including a huge third-down grab in the fourth quarter on which he used every bit of his 6-foot-5 frame. And linebacker James Kinney was all over, recovering a fumble and forcing another on a sack.

Most notable, though, was the passion the Tigers showed. Football was fun again.

"I told them a week and a half ago, when we started preparing for this, ‘When is Missouri going to start winning some big games around here?’ " Pinkel said. "There’s a lot of fans out there that this meant an awful lot to, and I’m just happy my players and staff could get it done."

Hope you enjoyed it, Missouri fans. Let’s do it again sometime before 2028.

---

Cornhuskers drop the ball
Missouri takes advantage of five Nebraska turnovers.

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Sunday, October 12, 2003

Missouri fans were hoping to avoid the rain showers that were predicted for Columbia last night, but a steady rain that began to fall just after kickoff might have benefited the Tigers early.

Slippery footballs could have been Nebraska’s excuse for its early case of fumbleitis in last night’s 41-24 Missouri win. But when the clouds cleared, the Huskers’ problems didn’t.

Just minutes after setting a Big 12 career record for return yards, Nebraska’s Josh Davis probably wanted to find a poncho and hide. With his 26-yard kickoff return to start the game, Davis passed Colorado’s Ben Kelly to become the conference’s career leader in return yards.

But on his next chance, as the raindrops continued to fall, Davis cost the Cornhuskers their early lead when he fumbled a punt deep in Missouri territory. After a third-down stop by Nebraska’s defense, Brock Harvey sailed a 53-yard punt to Davis inside the 5-yard line, and the usually sure-handed I-back let the ball slip through his hands. James Kinney came up with the recovery.

Much like the Tigers’ first touchdown of the season against Illinois, Missouri needed just 6 yards for its first score, getting a 6-yard run by Zack Abron to tie the Huskers at 7.

Following the touchdown, disaster struck Nebraska’s special teams again. This time it was wide receiver Jake O’Holleran who mishandled Mike Matheny’s kickoff. Nino Williams scooped up the ball for his first of two recoveries in the half.

Nebraska came into the game having fumbled 15 times through five games, and the slippery hands continued in the second quarter. A promising drive was stalled at MU’s 12-yard line when I-back David Horne fumbled after a decent gain up the middle. Kinney forced the turnover, and Williams picked up his second recovery.

In the fourth quarter, quarterback Jammal Lord was sacked by Kinney and fumbled to Dedrick Harrington to set up Missouri’s go-ahead touchdown.

Davis gave the Tigers good field position again on the next drive, fumbling a toss deep into Missouri territory.

● STREAK SNAPPED: Dating back to last season, Missouri’s Brad Smith had attempted 140 passes without an interception. Then he faced the Big 12’s turnover kings and promptly threw two picks in the first half.

On Missouri’s opening drive, on second-and-9, Smith was pressured by Nebraska defensive end Trevor Johnson and overthrew Sean Coffey over the middle. Free safety Josh Bullocks, who led the nation with five interceptions coming into the game, easily caught Smith’s high pass.

Three possessions later, Smith threw his second interception, when outside linebacker Demorrio Williams stepped in front of Darius Outlaw and hauled in the attempted screen.

● HARDLY HARVEY: After a inconsistent start to the season, punter Brock Harvey was demoted to backup status during the week leading up to last night’s game. But it was Harvey that kicked MU’s first four punts, not Todd Gohsler.

That changed after Missouri’s first series of the second half when Harvey’s fourth punt of the game went just 18 yards. On Missouri’s next series, Gohsler made his first punt of the season and pinned the Huskers to their own 3-yard line with a 40-yarder that bounced out of bounds near the goal line. On his next chance, Gohsler shanked the ball for a 25-yarder that gave Nebraska the ball on its 33 yard line.

● HUSKERS HEALED: Three Nebraska starters missed last week’s game against Troy State with injuries: offensive guard Jake Anderson, nose tackle Ryan Bingham and strong safety Philip Bland. Also, center Josh Sewell left the game with a leg injury and was considered questionable to for last night’s game.

Sewell and Anderson were both in the starting lineup but not Bland. Daniel Bullocks, twin brother of starting free safety Josh Bullocks, started in place of Bland.

● NEW-LOOK LINEUP: As expected, Gary Pinkel shook up his starting lineup, including two new starters on defense. Freshman Xzavie Jackson, who broke his foot during the preseason and missed MU’s first four games, started at defensive end for Brian Smith. Jackson made the first tackle of the game, stopping Davis after a 3-yard run.

A.J. Kincade, a sophomore cornerback, made his third career start and first this season, replacing Calvin Washington. Kincade made a key third-down tackle in the first quarter but later limped off the field and was replaced by Washington.

For the Missouri offense, strong tackle Steve Sanchez made his first career start, replacing two-year starter Scott Paffrath.

Freshman wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu didn’t start but played significantly. He took a reverse from Tyrone Roberson on a kickoff late in the third quarter and returned it 31 yards.

● NEXT UP: It doesn’t get any easier for the Tigers, who play at No. 1 Oklahoma (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) Saturday in Norman, Okla. The Sooners destroyed Texas 65-13 yesterday in Dallas and have won eight straight games dating back to last season. The Big 12 will announce the game’s kickoff time and TV availability today.

Oklahoma has won 14 of the last 15 meetings with Missouri, including the last two: a 37-0 pounding at OU in 1999 and a 31-24 thriller in Columbia last fall. Missouri’s last win against OU came in 1998 - 20-6 in Columbia - during John Blake’s final year before he was replaced by Bob Stoops. Stoops has a 49-9 record in five seasons, including a national championship in 2000.

The Tigers haven’t won at OU since 1966, a streak of 15 straight losses in Norman.

The Sooners are led by quarterback Jason White, who’s an early Heisman Trophy frontrunner after returning from two injury-shortened seasons.

Defensively, the Sooners are loaded with their usual list of All-Americans, including defensive tackle Tommie Harris, linebacker Teddy Lehman and defensive backs Derrick Strait and Brandon Everage.

Illinois State Highlights

2007-10-03T06:15:00.000-05:00

UPDATE, 10/3, The Boy: I bumped this down with three lengthy posts, so I'm bumping it back up to make up for it.

Mizzou Links, 10-3-07

2007-10-03T06:07:00.000-05:00

So Mutigers.com is telling me that Gary Pinkel will be on ESPN's College Football Live today at 2:30...guess I'll try to DVR that...

Ha! I've been joking that, while there's no way I can go to the Gator or Holiday Bowls (come on, Cotton), it doesn't matter because we're going to the Fiesta. Well, someone agrees with me now. JINX.
Atchison will love this...after taking a look at the topsy-turvy weekend that was the September 29 slate of games, Dave Matter attempts a Big 12 Power Poll...Boss Style. If Dave was a Friend of Sanity before, he's a BFF of Sanity now...oh, and he's got some NU-MU quotes as well.
The Missourian has a nice "Martin Rucker coulda gone pro but didn't, and boy has that worked out great" story. The Post-Dispatch contributes a "Rucker is quite a ham" article as well. And then Mike Dearmond has to go pee on our parade by reminding us that Jeff Wolfert has been far from automatic this year. Thanks, Mike. Though he does redeem himself slightly with a summary of MU's 5 best wins over NU. Strange that there's a huge gap between 1978 and 2003...wait a second...oh yeah...
Graham Watson discusses the Big 12 on her blog.
Last football link: Sunday Morning QB looks at the box scores and reminds us not to get too carried away by South Florida (massively outgained by WVa, which is fine, only it's not a great sign that USF is actually the 6th-best team in the country), Wisconsin (the just-win magic is going to run out at some point), or USC (they outgained Washington 460-190 and lost their #1 slot in the AP poll to an LSU team that looked like ass against Tulane for 30 minutes).

Non-football links...

One of Rivals.com's national b-ball recruiting guys takes a look at Mizzou's completed 2008 class. He basically says what we already knew...that these aren't the elitest of elite recruits, but they could be absolutely perfect for Mike Anderson's system. We shall see. The Trib has a nice Keith Ramsey write-up...and Steve Walentik attempts his own 2008 class review on his blog...
Three Mizzou Soccer players--Kat Tarr, Kristin Andrighetto, and Kari Adam--received Of the Week awards for last weekend's efforts...
Finally, here's the official release for tonight's Mizzou Volleyball game in Boulder...it's live on Fox Sports MW tonight at 7:30, by the way. Woohoo. I'll have to pry the remote away from my wife--she loves Mizzou Volleyball, but she LOVES Bionic Woman...on the other hand, that's what DVR is for. It's time for MU to make a move...they rarely play well in Boulder, but CU's usually better than this.

Mizzou-Nebraska: Beyond the Box Score Preview

2007-10-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

So I thought I'd try something new here for the 2 nerds who actually read these 'Beyond the Box Score' bits. Since I've entered all the play-by-plays for MU and NU, I thought I'd try to pinpoint some advantages and disadvantages by looking at the categories on which I base my Beyond the Box Score post-game posts. Just makes you a-twitter with anticipation, doesn't it?

Success Rate by Quarter

Missouri (all plays)
Q1 – Missouri 48.8%, Opponents 39.7%
Q2 – Opponents 54.3%, Missouri 51.7%
Q3 – Opponents 52.4%, Missouri 51.3%
Q4 – Missouri 50.0%, Opponents 50.0%
TOTAL – Missouri 50.5%, Opponents 49.8%

Nebraska (all plays)
Q1 – Nebraska 48.2%, Opponents 41.0%
Q2 – Nebraska 53.6%, Opponents 43.8%
Q3 – Nebraska 54.9%, Opponents 42.2%
Q4 – Nebraska 51.4%, Opponents 44.7%
TOTAL – Nebraska 52.1%, Opponents 43.0%

This looks like Nebraska has the edge here until you take out the plays made when the game wasn’t close (i.e. within 16 points or less).

Missouri (close)
Q1 – Missouri 48.8%, Opponents 39.7%
Q2 – Missouri 54.9%, Opponents 44.4%
Q3 – Missouri 65.6%, Opponents 52.4%
Q4 – Missouri 40.9%, Opponents 37.5%
TOTAL – Missouri 51.5%, Opponents 42.1%

Nebraska (close)
Q1 – Nebraska 48.2%, Opponents 41.0%
Q2 – Nebraska 53.6%, Opponents 43.8%
Q3 – Nebraska 53.8%, Opponents 40.3%
Q4 – Nebraska 46.8%, Opponents 46.7%
TOTAL – Nebraska 51.0%, Opponents 42.6%

Other than the fact that NU plays better than Missouri does when the game's not close (which makes sense considering Callahan kept his starters in against USC's third string to make the final score look closer than it was a couple weeks ago), it’s striking to see not only how close the overall numbers are (Missouri is +9.4%, Nebraska +8.4%), but how the game seems to flow the same by quarter.

-- In Q1, MU is +9.1%, NU +7.2.
-- In Q2, MU is +10.5%, NU is +9.8%.
-- Q3 is where the movement takes place—in Q3, MU is +13.2%, NU is +13.5%.
-- In Q4, MU is +3.4%, NU is +0.1%.

What does this mean? Not sure...could mean a lot of things, I guess (sparkling analysis!), but chances are that it means the team who gets off to the more efficient start could be able to dictate the action throughout. Since Memorial Stadium will be pretty psychotic at kickoff, that might say good things about Missouri’s chances.

QB Success Rate

As always, this only looks at when the game was within two possessions.

Missouri
Chase Daniel – 119 for 229 (52.0%)
Chase Patton – 0 for 1 (0.0%)
TOTAL – 119 for 230 (51.7%)

Nebraska
Sam Keller – 151 for 293 (51.5%)

Even though Keller and Daniel run distinctly different offenses, they run them with almost identical rates of success. Daniel ranks much higher on most lists simply because a lot of Mizzou’s numbers come from passing, while NU is content to run a ton if you’ll let them. The main difference between them, I think, is their propensity for responding to pressure. That comes mostly in sack rate and in turnovers, both of which we’ll discuss in detail later.

Run Success Rate

Missouri
Earl Goldsmith – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Chase Daniel – 9 for 18 (50.0%)
Jeremy Maclin – 6 for 8 (75.0%)
Martin Rucker – 3 for 5 (60.0%)
Marcus Woods – 2 for 4 (50.0%)
Derrick Washington – 1 for 2 (50.0%)
Tony Temple – 20 for 47 (42.6%)
Jimmy Jackson – 1 for 5 (20.0%)
TOTAL – 43 for 90 (47.8%)
TOTAL, RB’s – 25 for 59 (42.4%)
TOTAL, QB’s – 9 for 18 (50.0%)
TOTAL, WR/TE’s – 9 for 13 (69.2%)

Nebraska
Quentin Castille – 15 for 26 (57.7%)
Cody Glenn – 5 for 9 (55.6%)
Marlon Lucky – 50 for 97 (51.5%)
Roy Helu – 2 for 4 (50.0%)
Sam Keller – 1 for 7 (14.3%)
Terrence Nunn – 0 for 2 (0.0%)
TOTAL – 73 for 145 (50.3%)
TOTAL, RB’s – 72 for 136 (52.9%)
TOTAL, QB’s – 1 for 7 (14.3%)
TOTAL, WR’s – 0 for 2 (0.0%)

In the last three games since Illinois, Temple (17 for 30 (56.7%)) and Daniel (7 for 9 (77.8%)) have seen their numbers skyrocket, but I still give the advantage to Nebraska here. Missouri lines up in more formations, and they set up quite a few direct-snap situations for Maclin, Temple, Rucker, etc., but I don’t think there’s any disagreeing with the fact that NU’s running game is more proven at this stage in the game.

Receiver Success Rate

Missouri
Greg Bracey – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Jason Ray – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Derrick Washington – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Chase Coffman – 13 for 14 (92.9%)
Jeremy Maclin – 14 for 16 (87.5%)
Tommy Saunders – 6 for 7 (85.7%)
Will Franklin – 12 for 15 (80.0%)
Martin Rucker – 17 for 22 (77.3%)
Jared Perry – 3 for 4 (75.0%)
Tony Temple – 2 for 3 (66.7%)
Danario Alexander – 5 for 9 (55.6%)
Jimmy Jackson – 1 for 2 (50.0%)
TOTAL – 76 for 95 (80.0%)
TOTAL, WR’s – 42 for 53 (79.2%)
TOTAL, TE’s – 30 for 36 (83.3%)
TOTAL, RB’s – 4 for 6 (66.7%)

Nebraska
Nate Swift – 14 for 14 (100.0%)
Cody Glenn (RB) – 2 for 2 (100.0%)
Thomas Lawson (FB) – 2 for 2 (100.0%)
J.B. Phillips (TE) – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Dan Erickson – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Quentin Castille (RB) – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Roy Helu (RB) – 1 for 1 (100.0%)
Maurice Purify – 14 for 15 (93.3%)
Terrence Nunn – 13 for 15 (86.7%)
Sean Hill (TE) – 6 for 7 (85.7%)
Frantz Hardy – 4 for 5 (80.0%)
Hunter Teafatiller (TE) – 2 for 3 (66.7%)
Todd Peterson – 3 for 5 (60.0%)
Marlon Lucky (RB) – 14 for 24 (58.3%)
TOTAL – 78 for 96 (81.3%)
TOTAL, WR’s – 49 for 55 (89.1%)
TOTAL, TE’s – 9 for 11 (81.8%)
TOTAL, RB’s – 20 for 30 (66.7%)

A lot of the difference in numbers here comes from different offensive philosophies. NU rarely throws short to their WR’s, instead dumping off to their RB’s 4x more than Mizzou (6.0 per game to MU’s 1.5). Meanwhile, both teams’ TE’s are used effectively...the glaring difference, of course, being that Mizzou’s TE’s catch 9 passes per game (with the score within 16 points), while NU’s catch just 2.2 passes per game.

The wildcard here, of course, is that Maurice Purify might not play Saturday since he is in California awaiting the funeral of his girlfriend, who died in a car accident last weekend. Even if he does play, there’s no telling where his mind will be, as he was still recovering from the loss of his brother about a month ago. That’s as swift a reminder that there’s more to life than football if I ever saw one.

Line Yards and Sack Rate (OFFENSE)

In my line stats discussion from a couple weeks ago, I looked at Line Yards and Sack Rates to get a decent analysis of lineplay. Until something better comes along, that’s what I’ll continue to use.

LINE YARDS

Missouri
2007 Missouri average: 3.09 yds/carry (91 carries, 281.6 yards)
2006 Missouri average (in conference): 2.77 yds/carry
2006 Big 12 average: 2.86 yds/carry

Nebraska
2007 Nebraska average: 2.63 yds/carry (148 carries, 389.3 yards)
2006 Nebraska average (in conference): 3.15 yds/carry
2006 Big 12 average: 2.86 yds/carry

SACK RATE (FIRST & SECOND DOWNS)

Missouri
2007 Missouri rate: 0.9% (1 sack, 106 attempts)
2006 Missouri rate (in conference): 4.6%
2006 Big 12 rate: 5.5%

Nebraska
2007 Nebraska rate: 1.9% (2 sacks, 108 attempts)
2006 Nebraska rate (in conference): 8.2%
2006 Big 12 rate: 5.5%

These numbers will almost certainly go up as conference season progresses, but give Mizzou the edge so far.

SACK RATE (THIRD & FOURTH DOWNS)

Missouri
2007 Missouri rate: 3.0% (1 sack, 33 attempts)
2006 Missouri rate (in conference): 5.2%
2006 Big 12 rate: 8.1%

Nebraska
2007 Nebraska rate: 5.0% (2 sacks, 40 attempts)
2006 Nebraska rate (in conference): 8.9%
2006 Big 12 rate: 8.1%

This surprised me a bit, simply because when I’ve seen Sam Keller play, he’s always seemed to freeze up a bit when someone gets some pressure on him. More often than not, he seems to rush his delivery and throw a pretty inaccurate ball...but I still thought he was getting sacked more than this. Either way, though, Missouri has a slight advantage in all O-line categories. Some of that can be explained by the schedule (Illinois’ D-line is good, but it’s safe to say that USC’s is better), but not all of it.

Line Yards and Sack Rate (DEFENSE)

LINE YARDS

Missouri
2007 Missouri average: 3.10 yds/carry (72 carries, 223.4 yards)
2006 Missouri average (in conference): 3.19 yds/carry
2006 Big 12 average: 2.86 yds/carry

Nebraska
2007 Nebraska average: 2.60 yds/carry (154 carries, 401 yards)
2006 Nebraska average (in conference): 2.59 yds/carry
2006 Big 12 average: 2.86 yds/carry

SACK RATE (FIRST & SECOND DOWNS)

Missouri
2007 Missouri rate: 6.7%
2006 Missouri rate (in conference): 7.8%
2006 Big 12 rate: 5.5%

Nebraska
2007 Nebraska rate: 4.4%
2006 Nebraska rate (in conference): 3.7%
2006 Big 12 rate: 5.5%

SACK RATE (THIRD & FOURTH DOWNS)

Missouri
2007 Missouri rate: 3.1%
2006 Missouri rate (in conference): 9.8%
2006 Big 12 rate: 8.1%

Nebraska
2007 Nebraska rate: 0.0%
2006 Nebraska rate (in conference): 9.3%
2006 Big 12 rate: 8.1%

I was going to use this as evidence that Missouri has been holding back in the blitz department—you’re not supposed to have a worse sack rate on third downs (a blitzing down) than you do on first and second. However...what’s Nebraska’s excuse? Playing a team like USC, they had no reason to keep some tricks up their sleeves in anticipation of the Missouri game. In close games, they have yet to record a sack on third or fourth down...something made even more astounding considering they played Bret “I get sacked every other time I drop back to pass” Meyer last week, and the game was actually close for a while. This does somewhat explain how Ball State racked up 400 passing yards on them.

Hmm...Missouri's leading the nation in third down efficiency...Nebraska doesn't sack QBs on third down...hmm...

Defensive Success Rate

MISSOURI

Defensive Line
Leader: Lorenzo Williams – 9.0 tackles, 9.0 successful (100.0%)
TOTAL – 25.5 tackles, 17.5 successful (68.6%) (2006 Big 12 average: 71.4%)

Linebackers
Leader: Brock Christopher – 16.5 tackles, 11.0 successful (66.7%)
TOTAL – 37.5 tackles, 21.5 successful (57.3%) (2006 Big 12 average: 57.1%)

Defensive Backs
Leader: Pig Brown – 15.5 tackles, 6.0 successful (38.7%)
TOTAL – 56.0 tackles, 15.0 successful (26.8%) (2006 Big 12 average: 28.2%)

% of plays made by...
Defensive Line: 25.5 of 119.0 (21.4%) (2006 Big 12 average: 26.0%)
Linebackers: 37.5 of 119.0 (31.5%) (2006 Big 12 average: 33.1%)
Defensive Backs: 56.0 of 119.0 (47.1%) (2006 Big 12 average: 40.9%)

NEBRASKA

Defensive Line
Leader: Ndamukong Suh – 15.5 tackles, 13.0 successful (83.9%)
TOTAL – 52.5 tackles, 39.5 successful (75.2%) (2006 Big 12 average: 71.4%)

Linebackers
Leader: Corey McKeon – 15.5 tackles, 10.5 successful (67.7%)
TOTAL – 78.5 tackles, 44 successful (56.1%) (2006 Big 12 average: 57.1%)

Defensive Backs
Leader: Larry Asante – 16.5 tackles, 5.5 successful (33.3%)
TOTAL – 63.5 tackles, 15.0 successful (23.6%) (2006 Big 12 average: 28.2%)

% of plays made by...
Defensive Line: 52.5 of 194.5 (27.0%) (2006 Big 12 average: 26.0%)
Linebackers: 78.5 of 194.5 (40.4%) (2006 Big 12 average: 33.1%)
Defensive Backs: 63.5 of 194.5 (32.6%) (2006 Big 12 average: 40.9%)

For the 2006 Big 12 games I compiled, I’ve begun to compare some of these ‘success rates’ to actual success, i.e. wins, total yards, points, etc. I was wondering if it was more important for a unit like the D-line to be making plays, period, or if it was more important that they have a high success rate. I suspected, too, that you could tell a lot by what % of plays the secondary is forced to make. While that was somewhat important, by far the biggest indicator of success was Defensive Line success rate. To this extent, players like MU’s Zo Williams and NU’s Ndamukong Suh have been playing as well as you can play—Williams averaging 2.3 ‘successful’ plays a game and Suh averaging 2.6.

As a whole, however, Mizzou’s D-line has failed to make a strong level of successful plays—their 68.6% rate is too low, especially compared to NU’s 75.2%. However, anybody who watched the NU-USC game knows why we assume these stats tell the whole story. NU’s D-line repeatedly got blown up, leading to lanes so big that The Beef or I could have run for 100 yards against the Blackshirts.

In other words, neither D-line has been, shall we say, overly effective so far.

The other main problem for these two teams is that their secondaries have not made enough strong plays either...aside from the turnover department anyway. Which leads us to...

Turnover Costliness

For this stat, I’m looking at all turnovers period, not just those taking place when the game is close. And once again, here is how I measure “costliness” (also once again: if you can think of something more effective, please pass it along):

• Field position: 3 points if the turnover took place between the goal line and the 20, 2 points between the 20 and the 40, 1 point between the 40s.

• Game status: 2 points if the game was within 16 points or less, 1 if it was within 24 points of less, 0 if the margin was higher than that.

So...

Missouri
Offense: 7 turnovers, 23 total points = 3.29 average
Defense: 11 takeaways, 39 total points = 3.55 average

So they’re +4 on turnover margin and +16 on turnover costliness.

Nebraska
Offense: 12 turnovers, 45 points = 3.75 average
Defense: 10 takeaways, 37 points = 3.70 average

So they’re -2 on turnover margin and -8 on turnover costliness.

In all, Missouri turns the ball over less than Nebraska, and their T/O’s are less costly overall. They also force more turnovers than Nebraska, but thanks to Bo Ruud’s 2 INT’s for TD, NU’s takeaways are worth a little more.

Statistical MIPs

Two of the main themes that are emerging here are third downs and turnovers. You could say that pretty much every game is decided by third downs and turnovers, but it appears to be even more true here. With that in mind, here are the MIPs (Most Important Players...not Minors in Possession) for Saturday:

Missouri Offense: Chase Daniel. Duh. He's held onto the ball a bit too long and forced some passes a bit too tightly into traffic the last two games, and while my theory on that has simply been that he was testing his limits...re-learning what he can and can't do...he needs to be on his game Saturday. If he's making quick decisions and not forcing throws into traffic, MU should throw the ball at will.

Missouri Defense: I'm going to say Sean Weatherspoon. If we have indeed been holding back in the blitz department, then I'd say Weatherspoon is the most likely weapon to be unleashed Saturday. If we get pressure on Keller on third downs (without letting Marlon Lucky wander unabated into the flat for screen pass after screen pass), then the game is ours.

Nebraska Offense: Marlon Lucky. Nate Swift has been the secret weapon, but Marlon Lucky makes or breaks the offense. In just five games, Lucky has touched the ball 121 times with the score within two possessions, 97 on the ground and 24 in the air. He's been getting the tough, when-necessary yards, and if he's not allowed to make an impact in the game, then NU's toast.

Nebraska Defense: Bo Ruud. He is the defense's biggest playmaker. He disappears for series at a time, then he pops up to make back-to-back hits or, in the case of the last two games, score on a pick six. Plus, he had a huge deflected INT of Chase Daniel last year as Mizzou was beginning to put the pieces together offensively. He is the biggest potential disrupting force on the NU D.

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 2003 (Part Two)

2007-10-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

Twenty-five years and counting
MU’s last victory over Huskers has become pleasant memory.

“I’ll gladly trade every single yard in for just one more touchdown. That’s really all I have to say. That’s it. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. We got beat.” — Nebraska running back Rick Berns after Missouri’s 35-31 win in Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 18, 1978

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Saturday, October 11, 2003

Nebraska senior running back Rick Berns sat at his locker inside Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., and sobbed. On the final day of the regular season, he had just become Nebraska’s all-time leading rusher with 255 yards against Missouri — the most any player had ever totaled against the Tigers. He never had a game that started so promising end so terribly.

Berns’ first carry went for 82 yards, giving Nebraska a touchdown just 18 seconds into the game.

His last carry went for minus-1 yard, all but sealing Missouri’s third straight win in Lincoln. When Tom Sorley’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete, the Tigers had officially spoiled the Cornhuskers’ national-championship dreams, winning 35-31.

“They just beat us,” Berns said afterward. “I really can’t say anything else. Missouri just gave a super effort.”

His tears represent the last wept in sadness by a Cornhusker after playing Missouri. Twenty-five years later, the Tigers are still seeking their first win over Nebraska since that November afternoon.

As Warren Powers, the architect of that day’s upset, and several of his former Missouri players reunite today at Memorial Stadium, the Tigers will attempt another stab at breaking the skid. Since Missouri’s last win against the Cornhuskers, the Tigers have had five head coaches: Powers (1-6 against NU), Woody Widenhofer (0-4), Bob Stull (0-5), Larry Smith (0-7) and Gary Pinkel (0-2). Nebraska, meanwhile, has won three national championships.

A quarter of a century after beating Nebraska, his alma mater and the program he helped coach for eight seasons, Powers can hardly believe the drought continues.

“The rivalry between Missouri and Nebraska, even in Nebraska’s heyday, was always huge,” Powers said this week from his home in Chesterfield. “When I was at Nebraska and we played Missouri, you knew you were in for a dogfight. … I didn’t think it would never happen again.”

Phil Bradley, Missouri’s quarterback that day, would never have thought 25 years would pass before the Tigers beat Nebraska again.

“If you look back at history, that was the” third “straight time that Missouri had beaten Nebraska in Lincoln,” Bradley said. “Just looking at that alone, you would have thought we would have done it again.”

Bradley talks about the 1978 season, Powers’ first at Missouri, as one that could have been for the Tigers. After beating No. 5 Notre Dame in the opener, Missouri started 2-2, with the losses coming against No. 1 Alabama and No. 1 Oklahoma. MU won its next three games, but a shot at the Big Eight title was lost with back-to-back losses against Colorado and Oklahoma State. Sitting at 5-4, a promising season seemed lost.

“We blew a 27-7 lead against Colorado well into the third quarter, and we played poorly at Stillwater,” Bradley said. “Obviously, looking back, if we don’t let those games get away, we probably would have won the Big Eight Conference. But it is what it is.”

For Missouri to earn its first bowl invitation since 1973, the Tigers knew they had to beat Nebraska on the road — just like they had done in ’68, ’74 and ’76.

“We had blown two games earlier in the year,” Powers said. “But we screwed that up, so we knew to get to a bowl game, we had to win.”

Nebraska, meanwhile, came into the regular-season finale ranked No. 2 with a 9-1 record. Tom Osborne’s Cornhuskers had just beaten Oklahoma and seemed poised for an Orange Bowl berth against Penn State to determine the national champion.

“Normally during the Big Eight season, Oklahoma and Nebraska played the last game of the year,” Bradley said. “For whatever reason, we got Nebraska after they had played Oklahoma. And by beating them, we ended up costing them the national championship.”

But it didn’t look so promising from the start on a day when the wind chill was close to zero. Berns took a pitch from Sorley and sped around left tackle for 82 yards. Just 18 seconds had ticked off the clock.

“When Berns ran right by us on the sidelines, I said, ‘Holy cow!’ I knew how tough it can get against Nebraska,” said Powers, who was a Nebraska assistant from 1969-76. “But we settled down, did our things and kept our poise.”

The Tigers came right back with James Wilder’s 9-yard touchdown run. Later in the first quarter, a woeful Missouri punt — some things never change — gave Nebraska prime field position, and Sorley soon hit Junior Miller with a 2-yard touchdown pass.

A goal-line stand by the Tigers forced Nebraska to settle for a Billy Todd field goal in the second quarter, giving the Huskers a 17-7 lead. With six minutes left in the half, Bradley hit Kellen Winslow for a 14-yard touchdown, cutting Nebraska’s lead to 17-14.

Berns opened the second half with his second touchdown — a 2-yard run on fourth-and-goal. Behind the trinity of Bradley, Winslow and Wilder, the Tigers answered again.

Wilder broke off a 20-yard run, followed by back-to-back 16-yard passes from Bradley to Winslow. On first-and-goal from the 1, Wilder scored his second of four touchdowns.

Then the Tigers’ defensive hero, linebacker Chris Garlich, struck a devastating blow. He picked off Sorley in Nebraska territory, setting up Wilder’s 4-yard touchdown run that gave MU its first lead at 28-24.

Garlich earned Big Eight defensive-player-of-the-week-honors for his 21-tackle effort. Coming into the game, Garlich was livid at his exclusion from the All-Big Eight team.

“I was a little fired up,” he told the Tribune that day. “We had a couple of letdowns and a couple of bad games. And that damn Big Eight team came out. I don’t think I’m the fifth-best linebacker in the Big Eight. So I felt like I had to prove something.”

Garlich proved his point later in the game.

After Wilder’s third touchdown, Nebraska struck again. Backup quarterback Tim Hager scored on a 4-yard keeper to retake the lead 31-28.

A botched MU handoff gave Nebraska the ball, but with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter, the Tigers took over with a chance to regain the lead. Starting at their own 26, the Tigers used a mix of Wilder runs and Bradley passes to march toward the end zone. Bradley hit Winslow for a 33-yard gain down to Nebraska’s 15. Wilder did the rest, needing two plays to score his fourth touchdown. He memorably bowled over a Nebraska linebacker on his way to the end zone on a 7-yard score.

Then came Garlich’s moment. With two minutes left, the Huskers entered Missouri territory but faced a crucial third-and-3. Sorley handed off to Berns, who was quickly smashed by Garlich for a loss of a yard. Sorley’s fourth-down pass sailed over Tim Smith.

“If we didn’t stop them, we just couldn’t come back to Columbia,” defensive end Wendell Ray said. “It would have been a disgrace to our defense. There were no ifs about it. We had to stop them.”

Wilder finished with 181 rushing yards and was named the Big Eight offensive player of the week. Winslow was equally fantastic, catching six passes for 132 yards.

The Huskers still earned a trip to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma in a rematch. Nebraska finished the season ranked No. 8.

Missouri came back to Columbia with three bowl invitations to choose from. The Tigers picked the Liberty Bowl, where they beat LSU 20-15. Powers’ teams went on to play in four more bowl games. But never again would they beat Nebraska.

The Tigers came close, losing by 10 points or less in five of the next seven meetings. Then came the late ’80s and ’90s when Nebraska poundings became more customary.

“The rivalry’s probably still there, but it was really big back then,” Powers said. “It was always a very physical, emotional game. You always knew when it was Nebraska week. You had a little zip in your practices. It was the same way with Kansas. It wasn’t like you were playing Colorado or someone else. It was always something really special.”

Tonight, Powers, along with several of his former players will be honored during the first half, while MU will be either continuing its misery or recapturing the magic of ’78.

---

Failure is not an option
Tigers focus on stopping NU pet play.

By JOE WALLJASPER Tribune sports editor
Published Saturday, October 11, 2003

Missouri defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has an unorthodox pick as the All-Big 12 Conference tailback — Nebraska quarterback Jammal Lord.

“He could start for anybody in the conference at tailback,” Eberflus said. “He’s a really good runner. He’s a strong guy.”

Lord’s critics would suggest that he not only runs like a tailback, he throws like one, too. True, Lord presides over the only passing game ranked lower than Missouri’s in the Big 12, but he’s been good enough to lead Nebraska to a 5-0 start and a No. 10 national ranking.

Although there was much preseason talk about the Cornhuskers opening up the offense a bit under new offensive coordinator Barney Cotton, it hasn’t worked out that way. They rank sixth nationally in rushing (241 per game) and 114th in passing (111 per game).

“They’re pretty consistent with what they’ve done in the past — the power game, some one-back, the counter zone where they fake to the back and the quarterback keeps it,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said. “Everybody does a little bit of that. They run the option well.”

Last year, Lord gained 1,412 yards rushing — including 98 against MU — but he isn’t on that fast a pace this season with 340 yards. He has plenty of help in the backfield, however, with I-back Josh Davis (417 yards) and bruising fullback Judd Davies.

“They’re going to bring you smash-mouth football for 60 minutes,” MU outside safety Dedrick Harrington said. “It’s going to be a heck of a dogfight.”

But Nebraska presents more than a physical challenge. The offense may be old-fashioned, but it puts pressure on defenses to play assignment football — or else. The most obvious example is the option play.

“The big thing in the option is you have to have people on their assignments,” Missouri outside safety Jason Simpson said. “You can’t have one guy miss their assignment and then the other ones try to make up for him.”

Simpson said Missouri usually assigns a defensive end or linebacker to the quarterback, an outside safety to cover both the quarterback and then the pitchman and the free safety to the pitchman. But that can vary depending on the offensive formation and defensive call.

“You’ve got to change who has what on the option, and you’ve got to mix it up on how fast you want him to pitch the ball,” Eberflus said. “You’ve got to mix up your responsibilities, because if you stay in the same defense all the time and say, ‘This guy has pitch and this guy has quarterback,’ they’ll scheme you and crack the guy who has whoever, and then they’re off and running.”

The Tigers saw some option against Middle Tennessee State and Kansas — Pinkel said MU defended it poorly against the Blue Raiders and well against the Jayhawks — but those teams don’t compare to Nebraska in option football proficiency.

The option is only part of the Cornhuskers’ running attack, though. Lord is also dangerous on quarterback draws.

“They spread defenses out, kind of like Middle Tennessee did to us,” Simpson said. “They had an open set. We had one linebacker out wide, then you’d have our Mike” linebacker “in the middle and I was back. So essentially we had five people in the box, which isn’t enough to stop the run when you have a lead blocker, too. What Nebraska likes to do is fake it to the running back, and the quarterback takes it up the middle on a draw.”

Although it hasn’t really been the case this season, the play-action pass has traditionally been a valuable weapon that takes advantage of defenses overeager about stopping the run.

“Fake the option down the line, pull the ball back and a receiver that was” crack blocking “takes off,” Eberflus said. “You’ve got to read your keys.”

---

Tigers grow weary of losing streak vs. Nebraska

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Saturday, October 11, 2003

Reminded for the umpteenth time that it’s been 25 years since his Missouri Tigers have beaten Nebraska, Darius Outlaw shook his head and groaned.

"When you think about it, that really sucks," Outlaw said earlier this week. "It’s been sooo long. It would be so great to win this game."

Those sentiments have been repeated in Columbia every year since Tom Sorley’s fourth-down pass sailed incomplete on Nov. 18, 1978 - the last time the Tigers beat the Cornhuskers in this once evenly matched rivalry. Before Missouri’s 35-31 win in ’78, Nebraska held just a 37-32-3 advantage in the all-time series.

Since then, of course, there have been a few nailbiters, several blowouts, but always the same Big Red result.

Both coaches agreed past results will be irrelevant in tonight’s 97th meeting between unranked Missouri (4-1, 0-1 Big 12) and No. 10 Nebraska (5-0, 1-0).

"We’re not looking at anything that’s happened in the past," Nebraska’s Frank Solich said. "None of that stuff in the past will be a positive or negative when we line up. It’ll just be something that’s by the wayside."

Said Missouri’s Gary Pinkel: "I’ve only been here two years. That’s as far as I go back."

This was supposed to be the year Nebraska bottomed out, suffering from its archaic offense and too few athletes on defense. Solich gutted half his coaching staff after last season’s 7-7 finish, a move seen by many as a last-ditch effort to save his job.

Instead, Nebraska has cruised to a 5-0 start behind a smothering defense that’s ranked No. 1 nationally and an option running attack that’s been good enough so far. Some Cornhuskers are already talking about representing the North Division in the Big 12 championship game.

"I think the Big 12 North can be ours if we focus on each game and don’t get ahead of ourselves," linebacker T.J. Hollowell said. "We don’t want to look too far down the road, because if we do that, we’ll lose focus and things may not play out like we want them to."

Missouri, meanwhile, was supposed to ride All-Big 12 quarterback Brad Smith to a 5-0 start, challenge Nebraska in a much-anticipated October showdown and possibly supplant the Huskers as North Division contenders. But the Tigers were spanked at Kansas two weeks ago and face an imposing three-game stretch against Nebraska, No. 1 Oklahoma and Texas Tech.

But a season gone astray at Kansas could be salvaged with a victory tonight.

"That hurt," losing to Kansas, Outlaw said. "It hurt a lot."

Said center A.J. Ricker: "We didn’t play very well last week, obviously. It was pretty sad. But we can’t play any worse. We got that out of the way, hopefully."

To break its quarter century of misery, Missouri must revive an offense that collapsed at KU and hasn’t been nearly as prolific as it was last season. The Tigers’ passing game has been powerless at times, requiring the addition of Brad Ekwerekwu, a true freshman wide receiver who wasn’t expected to be needed this season.

"We’ve got the capability to beat any team we play," receiver Thomson Omboga said. "It’s just a matter of going out and doing it. I don’t see no team that can stop our passing offense, even though we really haven’t showed that much yet."

"Last year, I saw how they played" Oklahoma "at their place," Nebraska linebacker Demorrio Williams said. "It’s going to be pretty hostile - really, really rough."

The Tigers face a Nebraska offense that’s averaging a league-best 241 rushing yards per game, led by I-back Josh Davis and quarterback Jammal Lord. For the Huskers, some faces are new, but the offensive formula is the same.

"The thing that stands out about Nebraska’s offense is they know that you know what they’re going to do," Missouri safety David Overstreet said. "And they don’t care if you know or not. They’re going to line up and run it down your throat and try to smash you into the ground. That’s just them. They’re confident."

And with a 24-game winning streak over Missouri, who wouldn’t be?

Mizzou Links, 10-2-07

2007-10-02T06:11:00.000-05:00

We'll see how well I can do Links with a cat lying on my left arm...could be interesting...

It must be Tuesday...we've got the official MU-NU release, and we've got Media Day quotes! Just about everybody's healthy (including Danario Alexander), the guys have been studying up, Mizzou's at its highest poll position since 1998, Carl Gettis has passed Hardy Ricks, a sellout is a given...it's all starting to come together. Dave Matter has more on Alexander's wrist and the Big 12's North Revival...and of course even more notes on his blog.
If you're dying for even more quotes, here's a Pig Brown chat transcript.
Like some Mizzou commentary? It's Like Father, Unlike Son! And Graham Watson's Tuesday Musings!
The Missourian repeats what's already been said on here...it's probably for the best that we didn't play on Saturday...too many crazy things happened. It also has a nice story on Pinkel's cameo visit at the Columbia Youth Football League.
Speaking of nice stories, here's probably the best read of the day: Mike Dearmond's "Pinkel is a Changed Man" feature. Graham Watson has a nice Chase Daniel feature as well.
Next week's MU-OU game was apparently knocked out of the 2:30 time slot by...ATM-Tech? It's now got a quite strange 5:30 kickoff. I realize OU lost and all, but that's still a strange move. I mean, OU and MU are the two highest-ranked teams in the conference right now. And if I manage to get down to that game, that will prevent me from going to my favorite BBQ restaurant in the world after the game...BOO!
Biggest non-football news: Mizzou Soccer has moved up to #15 in one poll, #16 in another...and #6 in another! It goes without saying that that's Mizzou's highest ever position in any poll.
It appears that Mizzou's 2008 basketball recruiting class is now full, as JUCO forward Keith Ramsey has committed.
And speaking of Mizzou basketball, I didn't realize that next Friday's (10/12) Mizzou Madness is both a Men's Basketball even and a Women's Basketball event. Pretty cool, I guess.
Finally, Mizzou Softball opened its fall schedule by decimating Jefferson College and Butler County CC. Not exactly the roughest of competition, but hey...

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 2003 (Part One)

2007-10-01T13:29:00.000-05:00

MU faces defensive standouts
Huskers, Sooners are nation’s best.

By Dave Matter of the Tribune’s staff
Published Monday, October 6, 2003

Coming off a miserable game at Kansas - probably the worst of his young career - Missouri quarterback Brad Smith gets to face the nation’s top two ranked defenses in the next two weeks.

First comes the nation’s best, Nebraska, at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The 10th-ranked Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) are yielding just 218 yards per game - 27 yards fewer than Oklahoma, the nation’s No. 2 defense, which Missouri plays Oct. 18.

Under first-year coordinator Bo Pelini, Nebraska’s defense has forced 19 turnovers, four more than it forced all last season. The Huskers rank in the nation’s top 10 in both passing and running defense.

Oh yeah, and Missouri (4-1, 0-1) hasn’t beaten Nebraska since 1978, five years before Smith was born.

Those lofty rankings - plus Smith’s woeful day against the Jayhawks - haven’t shaken the sophomore quarterback, MU Coach Gary Pinkel said.

"He’s just dying to play again," Pinkel said during today’s Big 12 coaches’ teleconference. "He shakes things off pretty good. He’s done that since he’s been here."

Against Kansas, Smith produced less than 100 yards of total offense for the first time in his career, passing for just 62 and running for 33. The Missouri offensive staff has spent the last two weeks reviewing film and devising ways to revive an offense that has struggled to consistently move the ball.

Smith has completed 66.9 percent of his passes, but Missouri still ranks 11th in the Big 12 in passing offense, averaging less than 6 yards per attempt.

"We’re just not getting the plays, the perimeter plays, and we’re just not executing at the level we need to," Pinkel said. "We’re not even close. I think we don’t ever just look at the players and say, ‘We have to play better.’ Certainly we have to, but we have to coach better."

---

Revitalized Tigers say they’re ready for ’Huskers

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Giving their first interviews since suffering the first loss of the season, the Missouri football players barely resembled the deflated Tigers that slogged out of the Kansas locker room 10 days ago. Maybe that’s because a sellout crowd and No. 10 Nebraska and its 24-game winning streak against Missouri are coming to Memorial Stadium for a nationally televised game Saturday night.

The Tigers (4-1, 0-1 Big 12) returned to practice last week with a vigor not seen all season.

"Intense, very intense," free safety David Overstreet said of Missouri’s mood this week. "The week of practice during the bye week, every day it was like we were playing Pop Warner football. We were just out there having fun. We were screaming on the sidelines, just happy to be back on the field. We were just trying to get things together, and we’ve got it, man."

"Everyone is more enthused and getting excited about playing again," cornerback Michael Harden said. "I feel very good about this team this week. I’m seeing more energy this week than … probably since I’ve been here."

Missouri’s players enjoyed a few days off early last week, and most agreed the postgame blues had waned by last Tuesday.

"It takes a couple days," offensive tackle Scott Paffrath said. "They don’t want us to dwell on it too long, but when you lose, it sucks. It’s hard to get back out there. You just have to focus on what you’re doing wrong and move on."

"Certainly, I think with a bye, you hold on to it a little bit more," MU Coach Gary Pinkel said. "There’s a certain point, which I’m trying to mature as a 51-year-old, that you let something go. Any wasted thoughts or if you’re thinking about the past has absolutely nothing to do with making you better. You’ve got to evaluate and go on, and I think our players have done that."

For the offense, the Tigers have suffered miserably passing the ball. Quarterback Brad Smith owns one of the nation’s best completion percentages (66.9), but Missouri is averaging a measly 163 passing yards per game. Only 13 teams are producing fewer.

While acknowledging the coaching staff needs to improve its play-calling, Pinkel vowed against making a major overhaul.

"When you have problems, you just keep working through them," he said. "You analyze everything you’re doing, and you try to make it better. You try to keep it positive, which we are, I think. Eventually, you’ve just got to start making some plays and making the whole thing work.

"I’ve been here before. I don’t like being here, but the big thing is to solve the problem."

"Coach Pinkel doesn’t change," wide receiver Darius Outlaw said. "We go week in, week out doing the same things we do. We just put in different plays, and now we just have to execute them."

● HEALTHY RETURN: The offense should get a boost with the return of tight end J.D. McCoy, who missed the Kansas game with a sprained knee suffered against Middle Tennessee State the previous week. It marked the first time the senior missed a game in his four-year career.

"It was terrible," McCoy said. "I felt so helpless losing to KU. But I’m just glad to be back this week."

McCoy started running for the first time Friday and returned to practice Sunday. He said he fully expects to be in the lineup Saturday.

McCoy already has set career highs for receptions (eight), receiving yards (89) and touchdown catches (two).

"I’ll definitely play," he said.

● HURT HUSKERS: The Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0) have had their own injury problems. Strong safety Philip Bland, nose tackle Ryan Bingham and offensive guard Jake Andersen missed Saturday’s 30-0 win over Troy State. Nebraska Coach Frank Solich hasn’t disclosed the severity of the injuries, but Bingham was spotted on the sidelines Saturday on crutches. Bland and Andersen were injured the previous week against Southern Mississippi. Solich has said he expects all three to return Saturday.

● TAKEAWAY TALK: Saturday’s 97th meeting between Missouri and Nebraska pits the nation’s least charitable offense against one of the stingiest defenses. Missouri’s two turnovers - two lost fumbles against Eastern Illinois - are the fewest committed by any team in the nation. Only two other Division I-A teams have not thrown an interception, Syracuse and Texas.

The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, have forced 19 turnovers through five games, the third-best mark in the nation. The Blackshirt defense forced five turnovers against both Oklahoma State and Southern Mississippi and four against Troy State.

"Certainly," Pinkel said, "those numbers might represent the Nebraska of old."

Nebraska linebacker Barrett Ruud has tied the school season record with three fumble recoveries, a record he now shares with his father, Tom Ruud, who played at Nebraska in the 1970s. Free safety Josh Bullocks leads the nation with five interceptions, already surpassing Nebraska’s team leader from last season, who had four interceptions.

---

Blackshirts return to dominating ways
Huskers’ top-ranked defense invades Missouri.

By DAVE MATTER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Friday, October 10, 2003

Lifelong Nebraska fan Barrett Ruud describes last season as "the worst year I’ve ever been through." Ruud not only witnessed Nebraska’s defense crumble, he experienced it.

The third-generation Cornhusker started all 14 games at middle linebacker last season. The vaunted Blackshirt defense dipped from mediocre to just plain bad as Nebraska finished 7-7 - its first nonwinning season in 40 years.

Defensive coordinator Craig Bohl was fired and replaced by Bo Pelini, a 36-year-old journeyman NFL assistant with no previous ties to Nebraska. Pelini delivered a clear message to the Cornhuskers.

"He had a pretty simple approach," said Ruud, a Lincoln, Neb., native whose dad, two uncles and great-grandfather played for Nebraska. "He told us it was a clean slate. Nothing that happened before mattered. There were no starters, and he told us we had to play harder than ever. We thought we were playing pretty hard, but you don’t really know how hard you’re capable of playing until you really push yourself."

Presto! The low-key Pelini has the Blackshirts ripping through offenses like Montecore, the 600-pound tiger that attacked one half of Siegfried and Roy last week.

The 10th-ranked Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) enter tomorrow night’s game at Missouri (4-1, 0-1) with the nation’s top-ranked defense. Pelini has produced such a dramatic turnaround in Lincoln, he’s already being mentioned as a head-coaching candidate for a few teams in 2004.

"This doesn’t really surprise me," Ruud said of the Blackshirts’ success. "We were a decent defense last year - we just didn’t show it in some big games. We’ve always had good athletes. We’re just developing better technique and gaining more experience. We’re learning how to play better, and that makes a big difference."

With virtually the same defensive personnel from a year ago, the Huskers are allowing just 218.6 yards and 7.6 points per game, compared to 361.9 and 23.9 last season, respectively.

Nebraska has forced 19 turnovers after totaling just 21 last season. Last week’s 30-0 win over Troy State was Nebraska’s first shutout in three years.

What’s the difference? Pelini installed more zone coverages and dropped Nebraska’s traditional man defense.

The system has produced a star in weakside linebacker Demorrio Williams, who lines up at defensive end on third-down passing situations.

In a league stocked with stars at outside linebacker - Texas’ Derrick Johnson, Kansas State’s Josh Buhl and Oklahoma’s Teddy Lehman - Williams (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) has arguably been the Big 12 defensive player of the year through the first third of the season. He leads the Huskers in tackles (42), has forced and recovered two fumbles and has 5½ sacks.

"Whoa, that’s like having a safety at linebacker," Oklahoma State offensive guard Sam Mayes said after Nebraska’s season-opening 17-7 win over OSU. "He was in the backfield all the time."

His unusual speed explains why Missouri has used a wide receiver to mimic Williams on the scout team this week.

"If you really want to know," Utah State quarterback Travis Cox said after losing 31-7 to Nebraska last month, "I can still feel him. … I’ve never played against anyone like him before."

For all the progress the Blackshirts have made, they’ve been feasting on some of the nation’s worst offenses: Penn State (81st nationally in total offense), Utah State (104th), Southern Mississippi (108th) and Troy State (110th).

"I try not to read much in the newspapers or on the Internet," Ruud said. "But when I do, you still see some people that say we’re overrated. It seems like there’s always people that want to see Nebraska fall. But that’s good, I guess. It’s only motivation."

Tomorrow, Nebraska faces one of the few offenses it contained last season. The Huskers held Missouri to just 220 yards in a 24-13 win. In quarterback Brad Smith’s first Big 12 road game, he totaled just 157 yards of offense against the Blackshirts, almost half his season average.

"We pursued very well in that game, for whatever reason," Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. "We matched up well in the schemes. We were able to keep Brad from breaking the long runs out of the one-back counter game that he was so successful at. We’ve got different schemes now, and they’ll definitely try to take advantage of what we’re doing."

"Their system works really well with the players they’ve got," Missouri offensive tackle Scott Paffrath said. "And they’ve got great athletes on defense. When you have guys as good as they have, I think you can plug in any system and it’ll do well. We’ll just try to counter what they’re going to do."

Thoughts on the Big 12...

2007-10-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a question: how in the hell do you make a Big 12 Power Poll right now? Is there any way to do it justice? The top two on everybody's list just lost to teams ranked between #7-10 on everybody's list...and one of them lost by 3 TD's at home. The North Division, the conference whipping boy for half a decade, rose up in a major way. Next weekend's two huge games just got downgraded, while a KU-KSU game is possibly the biggest game in the conference's first two weeks now.

HUH?

I decided to dare myself to create a Big 12 Power Poll this week...just because of the sheer 'degree of difficulty'...at first, I thought about just treating my 'Who's proven the most?' list from last week and treating it like an AP poll...bumping you down if you lose and bumping you up if you win. That would have resulted in something like this:

1. Kansas
2. Missouri
3. Kansas State
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas Tech
6. Colorado
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Nebraska
10. Oklahoma State
11. Baylor
12. Iowa State

Needless to say, that didn't work very well. I mean, it probably makes as much sense as anything else, but...yeah.

So here's what I'm going to do in attempt to make sense of all of this...for each team I'm going to 1) give my general thoughts, 2) talk about why they win games (when they win games), and 3) talk about how sustainable their methods of winning are...if that makes any sense. It will when I get started.

12. Iowa State

General thoughts. So far the Chizik Cyclones aren't too different from the McCarney Cyclones...which, I guess, make sense considering it's the same personnel. As they did quite a few times in 2006 (Mizzou game aside, grumble grumble), ISU put up a pretty decent fight for a half before their lack of talent and/or athleticism caught up with them in the second half.

Why they win games. They don't. But when they do, it seems to be when they have something extra to play for. They beat Iowa because it's their biggest rivalry game, and they always play Iowa well. They beat Missouri last year because it was Dan McCarney's last game (and because Monte Wyrick got called for holding on 4th-and-goal despite not actually touching anybody...but I'm trying to avoid going down that rant for the 78th time). They only time I can see them putting up an extra fight this year could be on Bret Meyer and Todd Blythe's Senior Day, which comes against Colorado. Watch that game. Until then? Yikes.

And yes, because I said that just now, this year's MU-ISU game will go into OT. I hate myself already.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Pretty sure I just covered this one. Not bloody likely.

11. Baylor

General thoughts. They put up a fight for a while against ATM, but they blew too many chances and eventually wore down.

Why they win games. Baylor got to 3-1 by utilizing their spread offense against defenses that weren't athletic enough to handle it.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? In a conference full of strong offenses and defenses with some semblance of speed? No, notsomuch. If a team makes some mistakes...turns the ball over a couple times...misses a tackle and gives up a big TD pass or something...then Baylor's got just enough talent to make them pay for it. But most likely it would have to be a series of mistakes...kind of what Oklahoma did against Colorado, only double. But after everything that went down yesterday, I can honestly say that stranger things have happened than a team losing to Baylor.

10. Oklahoma State

General thoughts. I realize it was just Sam Houston State, but if this win gets people to stop talking about Mike Gundy and Jenni Carlson, then it was one helluva win. I'M A MAN. I'M FORTY.

Why they win games. Big plays and a strong home field advantage.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Yes and no. They have another three tough-but-winnable home games (Texas, KU, KSU), and with Dantrell Savage apparently full speed, they've got a full arsenal of weapons at their disposal. But I just can't get over how many yards they gave up against Texas Tech (even Sam Houston pulled off 270 passing yards...albeit on 50 attempts). I know, I know...a Missouri fan talking about another defense giving up yards. Doesn't make just a ton of sense. But it's true. As bad as Mizzou's defense has been, OSU's has been worse, and that, plus the possible QB controversy, plus the trips to College Station, Norman, and Lincoln, doesn't lead to likely success.

9. Colorado

General thoughts. This is a very obvious thing to say, but...what a great win for them. They took advantage of every opportunity OU gave them (sans the missed FG early in the 4th quarter), and they used the strengths they have (quick defense, a healthy Hugh Charles) to their utmost advantage.

Why they win games. Quick defense and healthy Hugh Charles. Even last year, when the Buffs went 2-10, they rarely gave up big defensive plays. They use their quickness to keep the ball in front of them, and they make you drive the length of the field without making mistakes. Against an OU team with a freshman QB accustomed to making big plays, that was perfect. As for Hugh Charles...their O-line really hasn't been all that good for a while, but if they get him minimal blocking up front, he can use his phenomenal quickness to his advantage.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? I can see them going 5-3, which would put them in the range of the Alamo or Independence Bowl--quite a nice improvement from last year--but that's probably their ceiling. Charles will take quite a pounding over the course of the season, and his backups really aren't very strong. The defense will be strong, but the offense will likely put them in too many pressure situations. They'll force enough mistakes that it will be hard to blow them out--they eventually gave up points and yards to Arizona State, but that was after about 27 straight three-and-outs. In all, I love Charles, but I just don't think they have the offense to make a serious North Title run.

8. Texas Tech

General thoughts. Well, they're tied with OU and UT in conference record...that's a good thing, right?

Why they win games. They outscore their opponents. As many yards and points as they give up, they can usually count on gaining more and scoring more.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Doubtful...at least not when it comes to winning their division. I loooooooooooove Michael Crabtree, but...let's put it this way: when your defensive coordinator resigns mid-season, you're probably not going to reach lofty heights. There's nobody more fun to watch, though.

7. Kansas

General thoughts. Still have no idea what to think about them. That will be remedied next weekend when they travel to Manhattan.

Why they win games. So far, they've beaten teams by being a lot better than them. That's all we know for sure. It appears that Mangino has put together a team that makes few offensive mistakes and takes advantage of its defensive talent--ahem, Aqib Talib--and athleticism to make plays.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? I have absolutely no freaking idea. I think #7 might be way too low for them, but...well, the entire Big 12 script will change again in five days, so I don't want to think too hard about this.

6. Nebraska

General thoughts. The NU-ISU game started with the following results: fumble, fumble, FG, INT, punt, fumble, INT. Yes, NU ended up winning easily, and yes, half of those possessions were ISU's, but...EWWW. Sam Keller still makes some bad decisions--and being that he's halfway through his senior season, I'm pretty sure what you see is what you get on this one--and Marlon Lucky is very solid and very far from spectacular. The lineplay is...okay. The secondary is damn near dreadful. I know they'll get their yards and points against Mizzou, and the game will much closer than I would like it to be, but...they're shaky. Very shaky.

Why they win games. Screen passes and timely defensive stops. That's pretty much the recipe as far as I can tell.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Screen passes? Yes. I never understand how defenses repeatedly fall for that little "let the pass rusher through and dump it to the RB in the flat" play, but I've already mentally prepared myself for Marlon Lucky having 125 receiving yards Saturday night. Timely defensive stops? Playing with fire there. They haven't lost a single game they shouldn't so far this year, but they've toed the line. If Riley Skinner isn't hurt, Wake Forest beats Nebraska. If that Ball State WR doesn't momentarily go blind, the ball doesn't bounce off his helmet and Ball State beats NU. Hell, even ISU hung with them for a while. NU hasn't looked good since Week 1, and they could very easily be 2-3 right now, but they're not. They could very easily pull everything together and play just well enough to win the North again, but I'm not putting money on it right now.

5. Texas

General thoughts. Everybody cut them a lot of slack for struggling against Arkansas State and Central Florida, and justifiably so. They're Texas. They'll be ready when conference play starts, right? No. Colt McCoy is submerged in a major sophomore slump, and the defense still gives up quite a few untimely plays. Plus, after this last Saturday, the special teams unit is a mess.

Why they win games. Balanced offense, overpowering line play. Their pass defense has struggled for a while, but having strong weapons at offensive skill positions and lots of huge, talented hosses on the lines have usually been enough to procure a victory.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Probably, but it's not a given. I've been conditioned by the past 10 years or so to assume that Texas will right the ship just fine, but...it bears mentioning that these are the results for Texas' last 8 games:

1) road loss to K-State
2) home loss to ATM
3) underwhelming bowl win over Iowa
4) underwhelming home win over Arkansas State
5) home win over TCU
6) underwhelming road win over Central Florida
7) easy home win over Rice
8) home loss to K-State

In other words, they've really only looked like Texas in two of their last 8 games...and honestly, against TCU they didn't look good until the fourth quarter. I'm still cutting them some slack here and keeping them at #5, but...they have a lot to prove against OU this weekend.

4. Texas A&M

General thoughts. I had them at #2, but I just could not get out of my head a) their horrid performance in the Orange Bowl, b) Jorvorskie Lane pouting on the sidelines at the Orange Bowl, or c) the 'how could this not be illegal in some way?' Dennis Franchione antics that were uncovered this week. They're 1-0 in the South, and they could very easily make a nice run here...but there are so many shadows looming. So I bumped them down.

Why they win games. Run, run, run. Their defense is okay, their WR's are mediocre, and their O-line was exposed quite a bit against Miami. But they have the three-headed attack of Lane, Goodson, and Stephen McGee (and to a lesser extent now, freshman Keondra Smith), and they can still pummel you with them.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Well, yes, if the aforementioned shadows--and a brutal slate of road trips (Lubbock, Lincoln, Norman, Columbia)--don't sink them first.

3. Kansas State

General thoughts. The Beef put it well this morning: K-State has an "odd ownership" of Texas. I can't explain it, but they do. Texas did them a lot of favors (a LOT of favors), and I still can't stand Ron Prince, but that was a strong statement they made on Saturday. They played their game and won big in Austin doing so. Nothing wrong with that.

Why they win games. Pressure defense and throwing to Jordy Nelson. The RBs have been underwhelming so far--kick returns aside--but they haven't needed much yet.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? With their schedule? Yes. Now that they've conquered Austin, three of their next four games are at home (KU, CU, @OSU, Baylor). Following a trip to Ames for Game 6, they could honestly be 5-1 before finishing at Nebraska and at home against Mizzou. Suddenly the MU-NU game has had quite a bit of its thunder stolen by KU-KSU...and I don't appreciate it.

2. Missouri

General thoughts. I hate this pick already. I had Mizzou anywhere between #2 and #6, and I didn't like it no matter where I put them. So in the end, I just decided to take the homer route. At least I'm honest about it. I do find it amusing, by the way, that--with the shot that Bernie Miklasz took at him--only in Missouri does the head coach take heat in a week where his team didn't even play.

Why they win games. The best QB in the league, and the best WR/TE corps in the league. Throw in some timely bend-don't-break defense, and there's the formula. I mentioned 'timely defensive stops' as almost a bad thing for Nebraska, and yet here I have Mizzou ranked #2. What's the difference? Right now, the difference is Chase Daniel and Martin Rucker. Daniel has the improvisational skills that Graham Harrell lacks and the experience that Sam Bradford lacks. And the has the best TE in the country (not to mention the fifth-best TE in the country...give or take a couple spot) to throw to on third down.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Oy. I think so, but I'm hundreds of miles (and about eight weeks) away from being convinced. After this crazy weekend, the easier games just got harder, and the harder games just got easier. I could analyze every single minute reason why I'm nervous and worried and hand-wringy at the moment, but instead I'll just say that right now Mizzou's #2 in the conference, and about 139 different storylines could emerge over the next two months.

1. Oklahoma

General thoughts. Their freshman QB--and the prototypical trap game--overtook them Saturday, but let's not go crazy here. Top to bottom, they're still quite obviously the best team in the conference.

Why they win games. Skill and speed.

Are their winning reasons sustainable? Yes. They'll get every opponent's maximum effort, and their QB very much proved himself to be a freshman in Boulder Saturday, but they will still be able to beat just about every team in the conference on sheer skill and speed.

Monday Musings

2007-10-01T06:53:00.000-05:00

Wow was I ever in need of a bye week myself. Having been to all of the games so far, and with a crazy October on the way, the week off was lovely just for me if no one else. Crazy weekend though, not a great one for my favorite pro teams, but more on that later I suppose

Football:

So with the bye week for the football team, I guess I will spend a little time talking about the weekend that was both from a conference perspective and a national view as well. It was almost better that Mizzou did not play, for fear they would have been caught up in the insanity this past weekend. On the conference side, a few big wins were scored by the Big XII North with CU upsetting OU in Boulder and kSU further cementing their odd ownership of Texas. While it does bring some stature to the Big XII north, it also makes Mizzou’s road that much tougher as Atch pointed out in the comments yesterday. Being talked about all week from the view point of CU beating the #3 team, kSU beating a top ranked team, kU and MU still being undefeated and MU playing Nebraska in a prime time matchup is lovely for the oft-beaten down section of the conference. An interesting weekend is coming up with what may now be an elimination style playdown with MU/NU and kSU/kU with the winners sitting far better than the losers. Will be great to watch, that is for sure.

On the national side, I am not sure I have ever seen the type of movement in the polls like we saw this week. And yes, there were plenty of upsets to help that process, but there are still some inane moves going on in both polls. At the front of the line has to be South Florida, who just keeps winning, beat WVU at home on Friday night. That win, coupled with a number of losses got the Bulls moved from 18th to 6th. South Florida immediately becomes/is cemented as the feel good story of the season, much like Rutgers from last year. Only two currently ranked teams remain on their docket (Rutgers and Cincy), will be exciting to see where they end up. LSU overtook USC in the AP coming off of a win with a terribly sloppy half against Tulane. I guess that is better than the terribly sloppy game by USC in their win over Wash. A showdown for them is coming with Cal who did well with their matchup against highly ranked Oregon. Auburn picked themselves up off of the scrap heap and did a number on Florida, and I never thought I would see the day where S. Florida and Kentucky take up residence in the top 10. As The Boy texted me on Saturday, “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K”

Soccer:

Well, as The Boy posted about over the weekend, a tremendous effort by the team Friday in front of a ridiculously large (1,500+) crowd in Columbia for a thrilling 2 OT last second win over #4 aTm. I suppose with this win, coupled with the previous loss to #3 Santa Clara, we should be ranked #4 this coming week. J However, in the real world, I suppose this won’t happen. The ladies followed up that win with a great effort down in Waco and hung on for a 4-2 win over Baylor. Not too sure why the schedule now allows for split home-road weekends, but it makes for an even more impressive feat when a team can take both games.

Kristen Andrighetto is making a run at an All American spot with her play of late. Voted to the Soccer America Team last week, she followed that up with another amazing weekend. She scored her 8th goal of the season with just about 30 seconds remaining in the 2nd and final overtime on Friday night to take down the Aggies, and came back today with her 9th of the season in 10 games, with 6 assists and 24 total points. The sophomore will certainly be winning some additional honors this week, and keep an eye on Alysha Bonnick, the frosh who scored her 8th goal of the season against Baylor. Mizzou has already scored the same amount of goals they tallied all of last season, showing the offense has definitely been turned up. After their pending jump in the polls, the Tigers will head down to Lubbock on Friday night for their lone game of the weekend against Texas Tech, who have been so-so on the somewhat young season.

Volleyball:

Was there ever a doubt that if/when Mizzou won their first conference game that it would be in 5-set fashion? Mizzou did just that on Saturday night by taking down the #25 OU Sooners in Columbia in 5 sets, winning the last 15-13. The ladies made things harder on themselves than they needed to be, as they had 2 match points in the 3rd set, but could not capitalize on them before losing the set 35-33. After falling quickly in the 4th, they came out strong in the tie-breaker and never trailed before finally closing out the Sooners.

It is a key time for the ladies, as they have the chance now to string some wins together and begin to build back some of the confidence they surely lost with the pretty murderous start to their conference season. This week, they will take on CU, who is last in the conference at home on Wednesday night (on Fox Sports Midwest, which will be lovely). After that, they will travel back home to take on Texas Tech on Saturday. The time of that game has yet to be determined, but hopefully the AD will put it pretty early in the day so some of the early tailgaters (yours truly) can go to some of it during the afternoon before the football game that night. Hell, I say make it a dollar ticket or something and just let everyone come on in. At any rate, Tech is 2nd to last in the conference, so now would be the time for the ladies to get a couple of wins together and see what they can do about salvaging some of their season.

X-Country:

Both the men and the women participated in the Roy Griak Invitational, which is something of a pre-pre-national meet, with 26 teams participating and a very strong crop of schools. Mizzou had a pretty decent showing overall, with both teams taking 10th. The season continues to show a lot of promise, as the Tigers have many underclassmen making big contributions to the team and showing the future will remain bright for what is one of the steadiest programs at Mizzou. For the men, sophomore Dan Hedgecock led the Tigers with a 28th place finish. Junior Garret Jeffries and senior Billy Bell had great outings also for the Tigers, who came in 3rd among the other Big XII teams which participated.

For the ladies, junior Angela Portykus set a personal record and guided the women, and came in just ahead of freshman Kinsey Farren. Many of the lady harriers set great times where they also came in 3rd place among other Big XII schools participating. In the following weeks, the team will get a sneak preview of the course and site for the NCAA Championship, as they travel to Bradley University in two weeks for their Invitational event. That will lead right into the Pre-National meet not long after that. The X-Country season is a short one, but the Tigers have shown well thus far and will hopefully keep their season rolling along in the weeks to come.

Random Thoughts:

· Yes, my baseball team just completed one of the bigger flops/choke-jobs of all time this past weekend by getting blown out on the last day of the season and missing the playoffs entirely. The Mets will probably also miss out on having the MVP, though David Wright is a worthy choice, but I am just not so sure he will take it.
· Tony Romo is playing just fun football to watch
· That being said, WOW the Rams are bad. I believe their streak of offensive possessions without a TD is now over 30 straight drives.
· The Coors Light commercials with the football coaches and their PC’s used to be funny, but they are just trying too hard with the Bill Parcells’ versions.
· Holy Amazing Game on Thursday night with #11 South Carolina hosting #8 Kentucky. All told, there will be SEVEN games this coming weekend where both teams will be ranked. Looks like another crazy week ahead in poll movement
· Hockey season has started, though my team (the Devils) starts with a nine-game road trip as they await the completion of their new arena.
· Green Bay 4-0…strange

Mizzou Links, 10-1-07

2007-10-01T06:10:00.000-05:00

Well I'd call this a pretty successful weekend...

Mizzou Volleyball beat #25 Oklahoma Saturday night. After winning a tight Game 1, Mizzou trounced the Sooners in Game 2 and had match points in Game 3 at 30-29 and 31-30 before falling 35-33. That turned the momentum, and OU won Game 4, 30-24. Mizzou bounced back, going up 13-9 in Game 5 before almost blowing THAT lead...and then won anyway, 15-13, in front of 2000 fans. The young Tigers had the same problems with prosperity as they've had all season--this was almost their fourth time this season that they lost despite outscoring their opponents--but they won anyway. We'll see if this is a turning point or not--it would definitely be a boost if Lei Wang (10 kills, 49 assists, 15 digs--Mizzou's first triple-double since 2001) and Amanda Hantouli (12 kills, 3 blocks) put together a few more matches like she did against the Sooners. Next up is a trip to Boulder--where Mizzou rarely plays well--before home matchups against Texas Tech (on Saturday...time TBA, obviously) and Texas A&M. The Trib has more. (The Missourian also has a feature on freshman Catie "Not Megan and Nicole's Sister" Wilson.)
Mizzou Soccer won at Baylor yesterday. The #16 Tigers avoided a letdown after Friday night's dramatic win over #4 ATM by jumping up 2-0 in the first 15 minutes and coasting through an even second half to win 4-2. Friday night's hero Kristin Andrighetto scored the official game-winner when she put Mizzou up 3-0 in the 60th minute, while junior Kat Tarr had two goals of her own. I'll be curious to see how high the Tigers move up in the polls this week after a fantastic weekend.
Mizzou Football moved up to #17 in both polls. This is what happens when everybody above you loses during your bye week. Hell, I was almost thinking Top 15 was possible after Saturday's nationwide debacle. I have a 'Big 12 Thoughts' post coming up later today, but it's not done yet...I spent all of yesterday (slight exaggeration) attempting to rank the Big 12 teams...a damn near impossible task at this point.
Mizzou Basketball got a commitment from prep school sharp-shooter Kim English. One more spot available in the 2008 class. PowerMizzou has more.

I guess Dave Matter thought that was a bit too much happy times...he had to write about the scar I've been picking at all week...

...1997.
On his blog, Matter also covers the craziness that was this weekend's North Revival.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention that Bernie Miklasz--who hasn't, it appears, written a word about Mizzou since the last time he could say "all the pressure's on Pinkel" in the season opener--says of Saturday's North Revival: "If Prince and Hawkins can bag stunning victories over the Big 12’s top programs, why can’t Mizzou? Coach Pinkel hasn’t even mastered Iowa State or Kansas yet." A couple thoughts about that: 1) yes, this does increase the pressure on Mizzou this season. I acknowledge that. However, 2) Dan Hawkins went 2-10 last year, including a loss to Gary Pinkel, 3) Ron Prince got trounced by Gary Pinkel last year, and 4) both Hawkins and Prince "haven't mastered Kansas yet", having both lost to the Jayhawks last year. You know, Bernie, I might be more willing to respect your opinion if you had more than one trick up your sleeve regarding Mizzou. If Mizzou were to beat both Nebraska and Oklahoma, 49-0, you'd just say that "This just increases the pressure on Gary Pinkel because anything less than the national title game would be an unforgiveable letdown."

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 1997 (Part Four)

2007-09-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

November 10, 1997

It has been so long since the Missouri Tigers were nationally ranked, the last time they were included in the poll it was called the Top 20.

That was 1983 when Missouri was rated No. 19 for one week in late November, but lost to Kansas to fall out of the poll.

Yesterday, the Tigers (6-4) marked their return by entering the AP poll at No. 25 after their 45-38 overtime loss to unbeaten Nebraska.

“That's good. You salvage something out of a loss and very rarely do you see a 6-4 team being ranked,” MU coach Larry Smith said. “I don't know if that was a sentimental vote or what, but I think that's good for our players.”

Missouri, one of five Big 12 teams in the Top 25, is the only ranked team with four losses. But three of the MU defeats have come against top 10 teams.

---

Game of the century

Have we ever seen a better one?

I've watched football in MU stadiums for 45 years, and, without doubt, Saturday's game between our Tigers and the Huskers of Nebraska was the best.

How could a football game anywhere, any time, be any better?

It could not have been closer. Nebraska tied the game with no time on the clock and went on to win in overtime. There were few penalties and few errors on either team. Despite growing tension and excitement on the field, good sportsmanship prevailed. Every time one team would get ahead, the other would come raging back. It was like a heavyweight bout in which both fighters keep slugging right to the end.

Nobody really lost that game Saturday.

What a scene at Faurot Field! More than 65,000 people jammed the stadium. Everyone stood up almost the entire time. The continual level of excitement was unbelievable.

It's hard to overestimate the boost this game gave Missouri's football program and coach Larry Smith. It would have been even better if the Tigers had done the impossible by winning, but this kind of loss is hardly less impressive. Our players and coaches could not have made us more proud.

What a confidence builder for the young men. These players know they can beat any team in the nation on a given day, a far cry from the defeatist attitude they and their ancestors had developed over the past 10 years. This moment represents about as conclusive a turnaround as a sports program can have.

I know, it's only a football game, not the most momentous happening in the world that day, nor even in Columbia, where surely issues of life or death were played out. But we should be glad a mere entertainment event can transform us. Football Saturday permeates the whole community. Anyone, everyone, can join in. We can get back to the heavy stuff tomorrow.

We haven't seen a football weekend like this for 20 years. If our team remains competitive, the infection will live again, but at what level?

Football mania is a disease we thought had disappeared, but it only turned out to be dormant. We went crazy again in an instant. Most citizens hereabouts -- and the managers of Harpo's -- hope our fits of temporary insanity become chronic again.

But we're a fickle lot. No doubt, we'll expect too much. We'll be ready to snarl and hiss the first time our team seems to let us down. When that negative urge moves us, let's remember Saturday.

HJW III

---

November 10, 1997

If you were at Faurot Field, if you own a television, if you subscribe to a newspaper, you already know what happened.

So who we are basically ruling out here are Mir astronauts and those currently holed up in militia compounds.

The rest of us can expect to be reminded that Nebraska went and ruined a perfectly good upset of the decade. Scott Frost to Shevin Wiggins, to Wiggins' foot, to ... oh, you know the rest. How could you not?

The task for the 25th-ranked Missouri Tigers (6-4 overall, 4-3 Big 12) is to somehow put Saturday's 45-38 loss to the undefeated Cornhuskers behind and mount enough emotion to dispose of Baylor (2-7, 1-5) in the regular season finale at Faurot Field.

It will be the mother of anticlimaxes, and that naturally worries MU coach Larry Smith.

“Players put everything on the field. There's nothing left in the team in that locker room,” Smith said after the loss. “It's total devastation. Our biggest job now is to bounce back.”

The Tigers were not in the mood for talk of moral victories Saturday evening. They had come too close to the real thing.

“It would have just meant the world to win this game,” MU tailback Brock Olivo said. “We're not going to look back and say, `Well, we played a good game. It's a moral victory.' We're looking for the real victory now. I don't believe in moral victories any more.”

That's a sign that these Tigers aren't the cuddly Tigers of the last 13 years. But a bit of perspective please.

Nebraska, the best football team in the nation in the 1990s, needed a fluke play to beat the Tigers. This is the same Nebraska program that routinely swoops down into Missouri every winter and snatches whichever high school players it thinks it can use. Native Missourians Grant Wistrom, Mike Rucker, Steve Warren -- all of them in Nebraska's defensive two-deep chart – and promising running back Dan Alexander are examples.

How many of the current Tigers were wanted by Nebraska? Corby Jones, recent NU transfer David Webber and maybe a handful of others were deemed worthy of a scholarship offer.

Missouri proved on Saturday that its band of slightly irregulars and factory seconds could play with the best. Sports fans across the country noticed. How could they not?

“I think we have some respectability back,” Smith said. “We still have a game, maybe two left. The bottom line is what do we do with where we are. I don't think there's any Missouri fan or player that's ashamed of that game. But it will still be in the record books as a loss, so that's certainly no reprieve or any consolation.

“The big thing is you take that kind of effort and keep that kind of spirit, we can win a lot of football games and have a lot of fun.”

By JOE WALLJASPER

---

November 10, 1997

After years of waiting for the right moment to pull off the win that would change the direction of a struggling football program, it was a loss that vaulted Missouri into national prominence.

Every football fan in the nation outside of Nebraska left the television set Saturday evening feeling some of the anguish in the Missouri locker room.

It wasn't just losing the moment of glory that comes with a heavy underdog upsetting a No. 1-ranked team, it was the way it was stripped away. With a game-tying Nebraska touchdown coming on a play that would rank among the top five bizarre plays in college football history, spirits sank with the Tigers.

More important than the compassion was the respect Missouri had earned. “Anyone who was watching, they know this team is for real,” quarterback Corby Jones said.

The final score was Nebraska 45, Missouri 38, but the Huskers' reward for victory was a drop of two places from No. 1 to No. 3 in the Top 25. The Tigers, meanwhile, jumped into the last spot in the Top 25 for the first time since 1983.

Head coach Larry Smith has steadfastly refused to be concerned about the value of any national ranking, choosing to emphasize the final ranking “because that's the only one that matters.”

But in order to be there at the end you have to be in position to get there. For Missouri, the only team in the Top 25 with four losses -- three have come against top 10 teams -- being ranked puts it in prime position.

Consider that a win in the season finale against Baylor will keep Missouri in the Top 25 until the bowl games.

Then Missouri is one game away from finishing in the Top 25 at the season's end.

Talk about a quality loss. After a few stinkers in previous television appearances this season, Missouri sent a message that couldn't be overlooked.

The more the Tigers believed in themselves, the more others started to feel the same way. For most of Saturday's game, Missouri hardly looked like the outclassed foe. The only time Missouri showed it was unfamiliar with the situation was on a third-down play late in the game.

The Tigers tried a freeze play, hoping for Nebraska to make a mistake, rather than powering for a first down that would have won the game. Other than that, the Tigers were cool and confident.

A representative of the Alamo Bowl came to Columbia thinking the team was a long shot for the San Antonio postseason game, but left thinking the Tigers would be a hot commodity.

The crowd of 66,846 not only jogged the memories of days gone by at Missouri, but it also put the athletic department's accountants on an overtime schedule. A few more crowds like that and there will be an impact in the department budget.

“Attendance of that size could be the difference between an under-funded program becoming well-funded or at least even funded with the rest of the conference,” Missouri athletic director Joe Castiglione said. “Big crowds at football games can do a lot of things.”

Missouri players, overwhelmed by the crowd support, pleaded for the fans to return.

“I hope they don't throw in the towel and give up,” senior captain Brock Olivo said. “I hope they come back, we've got a lot more to get done.”

By Thursday of this week, Missouri players will begin to understand why this is all so important. Despair and disappointment still clouds their thinking.

“There was a time when just scoring on Nebraska would have been fun,” Olivo said. “If you're not ticked off, shoot, you don't belong here.”

Naturally. The opportunity to play the nation's top-ranked team doesn't occur every year. To be leading the No. 1 team in the final minute happens even less frequently.

For that, Missouri players lamented letting a once-in-a-lifetime moment slip away. Reddened eyes was part of the postgame uniform and it wasn't because of the air in the locker room.

Many of the nation's football fans suffered with them.

By KENT HEITHOLT

---

November 11, 1997

Missouri lost its game against Nebraska on Saturday but won a recruiting battle with the Cornhuskers the following day.

Justin Bland, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman from Chillicothe, who had narrowed his college choices to Missouri and Nebraska, committed to the Tigers on Sunday night.

He said MU's gutsy effort in a 45-38 overtime loss to Nebraska had “a little bit to do with my decision, but not really. I pretty much had my mind made up. I've always liked Missouri. They're my home state. And of course everybody around here wanted me to go to Missouri.”

Bland is the latest in a pipeline of small-town northern Missouri offensive linemen that has produced current Tigers Mike Morris and Todd Niemeyer of Brookfield, Cliff Smith of Chillicothe and Chris Ryan of Milan.

Bland is considered one of the elite offensive line prospects in the nation by Chicago-based recruiting expert Tom Lemming. He has been timed at 5.1 seconds in the 40-yard dash and was an all-state selection in football and basketball last year.

---

November 11, 1997

You wanted it. Now you've got it.

A winning football team. A nationally ranked football team. And crowds of more than 50,000 that fill the hotels, restaurants and roadways of Columbia.

Suddenly late arrivals to the game have no place to park and may be out of luck on their seats. The word “wait” is back in your vocabulary.

It's the price of progress. You waited 13 years, what's a few more minutes.

Hearnes Center executive director Tim Hickman, who supervises the concession sales at Faurot Field, said his people experienced no major catastrophes when 66,846 showed up for the Nebraska game Saturday. He was more than grateful for the recent improvements in Memorial Stadium.

“We have some new features and we had some games to work out the kinks, so I thought things went smoothly,” Hickman said. “But when you have 66,000 there's always going to be a crowd.”

Assistant athletic director Gene McArtor, who is in charge of game management, said the most commonly heard problems involved traffic control and seating arrangements in the general admission section.

McArtor said additional stadium security and ushers were added because of the large crowd. More public safety officers were involved on the public thoroughfares to help move the heavy traffic.

A major complaint was the decision to eliminate of turn lanes off Providence Road to South Hearnes Drive for the first time this season. Many unsuspecting drivers were caught in a time-consuming jam when highway patrol officers closed off the turn lanes.

McArtor said Missouri officials were surprised to hear about the difficulty and had not authorized the plan.

“I can't figure out why that happened,” he said.

Heavy traffic after the game was a problem, but McArtor said the exciting game had something to do with that. “Nobody left until the very end and then everyone tried to leave at once.”

Every Monday after football games, McArtor meets with key support people in administrating the stadium. No real dilemmas arose even though the school hasn't dealt with this volume of fans in 13 years.

“We always have a debriefing to see what problems are there and what we can do to cure those problems,” McArtor said. “That's what we want to do.”

One such problem occured in the south end zone when holders of Family Pack tickets found seating at a premium because much of the end zone had been sold as reserved seats. At previous games, fans could spread out in the end zone, but this time there was no room and the latecomers were in a pinch.

“That was something we had to resolve,” McArtor said.

The $12 million improvements in the stadium turned out to be a profitable blessing Saturday. Expanded concession stands enabled fans to be served quicker. The ability to produce food on site eased the stress on the distribution process.

By KENT HEITHOLT

---

November 11, 1997

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The miracle catch wasn't such a miracle after all.

Nebraska's Shevin Wiggins admitted he was trying to keep the football in play by kicking it during the Cornhuskers' 45-38 win at Missouri last weekend.

Teammate Matt Davison made the 12-yard catch of the deflection as time expired Saturday to tie the game at 38 and force overtime.

“I looked down and saw the Missouri guy about the catch it and I just wanted to keep it alive,” Wiggins said. “I ended up kicking it as I was trying to pull it in.”

Frank Gaines, technical advisor to Big 12 football officials, said it's illegal for a receiver to intentionally strike a loose ball with the knee, lower leg or foot.

The penalty is 15 yards and loss of down. In that case, the Cornhuskers would have faced a fourth-down play from the 27-yard line -- if there was any time left.

Here's all I can think of...

2007-09-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

...to make sense of what has happened today.

Going into this week, this would have been my Big 12 Defensive Rankings:

1. Oklahoma
2. Kansas State
3. Colorado
4. Texas
5. Kansas
6. Texas A&M
7. Missouri
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa State
10. Oklahoma State
11. Baylor
12. Texas Tech

Colorado won with turnovers and defense. Kansas State is about to win with turnovers and special teams. Going into this season, it was pretty well-established that almost the entire conference was having to rebuild its defensive line, and most teams had general inexperience littered throughout their defense. That being the case, it's starting to look like those who have thrown together some semblance of good defense (like KSU and CU) might have a leg up in a conference full of supposedly strong offenses (which would be bad for Mizzou).

That, or OU and UT were both just seriously looking ahead to next week.

I won't think too hard about this because I know that as soon as I think I've figured everything out, the entire script will change. But for now, go Big 12 North.

Coach Nick Nolte with a huge win...

2007-09-29T16:03:00.000-05:00

...OU loses, K-State's up 10 on Texas, and IT'S A NORTH REVIVAL, BABY.

Consider this a North Revival Open Thread...

UPDATE: 5:19pm - Sweet jesus, K-State's about to go up 3 possessions heading into the fourth quarter. I have absolutely no idea what to think about any of the 12 conference teams right now.

Mizzou Links, 9-29-07

2007-09-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

I don't usually do Saturday Links, but something happened last night to make me change my mind:

#16 Mizzou Soccer 3, #4 Texas A&M 2 (2OT). Down 1-0 and 2-1, the Tigers got two goals from freshman Kari Adam (the first two of her career), and less than a minute away from the end of OT #2 (which would have resulted in a tie), sophomore Kristin Andrighetto--who hit the post twice in the first half--scored her 8th goal of the year and gave coach Bryan Blitz one of the biggest wins of his long tenure in front of the third-largest crowd in Walton Stadium history. In tennis, when you break your opponent's serve, the break isn't complete until you win your own next service game. For the Tigers, they have to travel to Waco to play Baylor tomorrow at 1pm (why it was scheduled like that, I have no idea). A 1-1 result for this weekend's two games would have been quite acceptable, but now that they've taken down ATM, 1-1 would be a bit disappointing. If they do beat BU, then they could honestly expect to move to around #10-12 in the polls. Not bad for a team with no seniors. And not bad for a coach I gave up on about three years ago.
The Trib has more.

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 1997 (Part Three)

2007-09-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

November 9, 1997

What can you say when the greatest victory in your school's history is ripped from your grasp by a fluke play, a lucky bounce, an immaculate reception?

What can you say when you're on the wrong end of a miracle?

“One stinkin' play,” is what Missouri coach Larry Smith said.

No. 1 Nebraska escaped with a 45-38 overtime victory over Missouri yesterday. It might have been the greatest game ever played on Faurot Field, but the Tigers (6-4 overall, 4-3 Big 12) will remember the sourness of the final play of regulation.

“We wanted to shock the world tonight,” MU guard Craig Heimburger said. “But the end of that game shocked us. The thing is we should have won that game. That's all there is to it.”

With the final seconds ticking away, the Cornhuskers (9-0, 6-0) had the ball on Missouri's 12-yard line trailing 38-31. Scott Frost threw a pass to Shevin Wiggins on the goal line, but MU safety Julian Jones knocked the ball free. As Wiggins fell to his back, he kicked the ball out of Harold Piersey's fingertips and it fluttered into the end zone.

Cutting in from the left side of the end zone, Nebraska's Matt Davison dove headlong and snatched the ball just before it hit the turf.

“It was floating like a punt, kind of end over end,” Davison, a freshman, said in reference to the sixth catch of his college career. “It seemed like forever for the ball to get there.”

In the confusion that ensued, MU fans in the north end zone stormed the field, some of them actually climbing on the goal posts to celebrate what they thought was a Missouri victory. They were shooed off the field in time for Kris Brown to send the game into overtime with his extra point.

Although the Tigers were 3-0 in overtime games in the past two seasons, they couldn't recover from the shocking finish to regulation. Frost scored on a 12-yard run to begin the overtime, and Missouri managed only 3 yards on its drive.

On first down, MU quarterback Corby Jones passed up a chance to scramble and threw an incomplete pass. He gained 3 yards on an option keeper on second down. Tight end Jake Stueve let a sure first-down reception slip through his hands on third down. On MU's last chance, Jones was sacked by Grant Wistrom and Mike Rucker -- two native Missourians -- to end the game.

The Missouri portion of the sellout crowd of 66,846 was stunned. The sizable Nebraska portion was euphoric, storming the field to rejoice with the team.

“I'm very proud of our players,” Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said. “They showed a lot of poise. It was kind of one of those days where somebody was going to win at the end. We're very fortunate to have won it.”

For the Tigers, a glorious feeling was replaced with emptiness.

“We fought our asses off and came up short,” MU fullback Ron Janes said. “It hurts so bad. We could have had it, should have had it.”

There is no denying that Missouri, which entered the game as a 29-point underdog, made a statement. The Tigers matched every Nebraska score with one of their own, and as the afternoon turned to evening, they had their fans believing that the impossible was possible.

Facing the No. 3 defense in the nation, Jones completed 12 of 20 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed 21 times for 60 yards -- stats that would have been much higher if not for five sacks -- and scored a touchdown.

For Nebraska, Ahman Green carried 30 times for 189 yards and a touchdown. Frost rushed 23 times for 141 yards and four touchdowns and completed 11 of 24 passes for 175 yards and two interceptions.

No more than seven points separated the teams at any point.

Executing its play-action passing game to perfection, MU took a 24-21 lead into halftime. The Tigers scored first on an efficient 78-yard drive, with Brock Olivo diving into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. Later Jones hit Torey Coleman with an 18-yard TD pass and connected on a 34-yard scoring strike to Olivo. Scott Knickman kicked a 39-yard field goal.

Meanwhile, Nebraska was chewing up the Missouri defense with its powerful running game, which produced 353 rushing yards. But two Frost mistakes late in the first half hurt the Huskers. Frost threw an interception to MU cornerback Shad Criss and fumbled a shotgun snap in the waning seconds that cost Nebraska a field goal attempt.

Nebraska snuck back into the lead at 28-24 with 3:00 left in the third period, but Missouri responded with Devin West's 62-yard kickoff return. Jones took advantage of the field position and scored on a 6-yard run.

The Huskers tied the game on a Brown field goal with 10:50 left in the game. Missouri answered again after Piersey intercepted a Frost pass and returned it to the Nebraska 30. Jones hit H-back Eddie Brooks in the right side of the end zone with a 15-yard touchdown pass with 4:38 to go.

“We had them, and we just didn't give them the knockout blow,” Jones said.

Missouri could have put the game away with just over a minute left in regulation, but on a third-and-3 play, Jones was stopped on the option. Jason Smith's punt put the Huskers 67 yards from the end zone with only 1:02 left, but that was just enough time for a miracle.

“It's heart-breaking man,” said Olivo, who had 11 carries for 42 yards and two receptions for 45 yards. “To have everything go so well and then a fluke thing like that happens. There's nothing you can do about it.”

Osborne was grateful as he greeted Smith at midfield afterward.

“He said, `We got lucky,' “ Smith said. “He's right, they did.”

By JOE WALLJASPER

---

November 9, 1997

Jubilation turned to disbelief in a heartbeat yesterday at Faurot Field, when what appeared to be a Missouri win over No. 1-ranked Nebraska turned into a fluke play that led to victory for the Cornhuskers.

The mob that charged the field believing the Tigers had held on to win were driven back to their seats only to watch Nebraska prevail in overtime 45-38. The Tigers were robbed of the victory, and the goal-post snatchers were robbed of their prey.

“I really thought we could win this game,” said Suzie Stallings of Marshall. “We almost did, then the officials gave it away. I swear that ball hit the ground.”

Some fans compared the implausible play to Colorado's infamous “fifth-down” play in 1990, when victory was snatched from the Tigers by a controversial touchdown call on an extra down. Nebraska's unbelievable catch even occurred at the same spot on the field.

One Nebraska fan attributed the miraculous catch to divine intervention on the part of the Cornhusker's revered former coach.

“Bob Devaney was looking over us on that reception,” said Kyle Moyer, who sported a hat with a flashing neon N.

Although the Tigers were technically defeated, the fans were not.

“This loss is not hard to take,” said state Rep. Chuck Graham, D-Ashland. “The team fought their hearts out against a team that was bigger, faster and stronger. I'm proud of our guys.”

Marie Liggett of Columbia saw the game as a moral victory, if not a win.

“See how subdued all the Nebraska fans are around here?” she asked. “They know they've been in a cat fight. We gained some respect with this game.”

Tom VanGoethem, had lofty visions of the future up until the last second. “I saw oranges, and then they went away,” he said. “I think you'll be seeing a lot more people in the stands next year, though. This was really a shot in the arm.”

That winning feeling might be gripping a new generation at MU. Freshman David Salkover said the game ensures the team a bowl bid.

“It's an awesome way to start my freshman year,” Salkover said. “This is beautiful -- this is the way it should always be.”

As homemade signs around the field said, “You gotta believe.”

After the game, many Cornhuskers and Tigers swarmed downtown to relive the afternoon. Shakespeare's was thick with red, gold, beer and pizza.

“We were very scared,” said Kody Hagedorn of Omaha, Neb. “I was praying to the football god, and he answered my prayers. But my hat's off to the Tigers. They played an awesome game.”

Hagedorn said he had been to more than 30 Nebraska games and has never seen them lose. “If you're born and raised in Nebraska, that's the only thing we've got to get excited about. It's tradition,” he said.

Matt Strayhorn of St. Louis called the game the “highest of the highs and lowest of the lows.”

“I thought they were going to win,” he said of Missouri. “They ran for the goal posts, and it was all for nothing. But for us to be even going into overtime and even have a chance to win was amazing.”

Lee Tuveson of St. Louis agreed. “Who would have ever expected we would have done this well against the No. 1 team?” he said. “The atmosphere was tremendous. I can't remember a more exciting game.”

It was worth the several-hour drive, said Krista Keith of Lincoln, who drove with friends from “Big Red country.”

“We wanted to see a good game, but we didn't want it that good,” she said. “If we'd lost, we'd have been in mourning.”

By JANICE WINTERS AND ALIA BEARD

---

November 9, 1997

The Nebraska defense is used to giving up 38 points, but it usually does so over the course of a month, not a day.

In Missouri's 45-38 overtime loss to the Cornhuskers yesterday, the Tigers did what many observers thought was impossible -- they marched up and down the field against the No. 3 defense in the country.

Guided by the nifty passing and running of Corby Jones, who completed 12 of 20 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns and scrambled out of sure sacks numerous times, Missouri pushed Nebraska to the brink of an upset.

“What we did out there was the same thing we had been doing all year,” MU coach Larry Smith said. “Our passing game, we didn't change anything there. It just came down to Corby Jones making plays.”

In the previous three weeks, the Nebraska defense had given up seven points, and that meager total was provided by a garbage-time touchdown by Oklahoma against the Cornhusker reserves.

Missouri matched that total on its first drive -- the kind of 12-play, 78-yard affair that isn't supposed to be possible against the Cornhuskers. It was omen of things to come.

“Playing against a team like this with a defense like this, we were going into it saying: `Jeez, we know we can move the ball, but we've got to prove it to ourselves right off,' “ Jones said. “That's what we did.”

The Tigers, who pounded Colorado into submission with a bruising running game last week, knew it was unwise to go nose to nose with Nebraska. So in the first half, Jones made big plays through the air with touchdown passes to Torey Coleman and Brock Olivo. Jones took advantage of the aggressive Nebraska pass rush by scrambling out of jams.

The virtues of Missouri's balanced offense were apparent. Last year the one-dimensional Tigers were held to 52 yards on the ground and got smoked by the Huskers 51-7. Not so yesterday.

“We never did stop them very well,” NU coach Tom Osborne said. “They have a great offense that we knew would be tough to stop. They can be very explosive.”

In the second half, the Tigers began to wear down the Cornhuskers and turned more to the running game. MU finished with 153 yards on the ground, led by Jones with 60 and Olivo with 42.

Unfortunately for Missouri, Nebraska's defense stiffened when it counted. The Cornhuskers stopped Jones on option play on third-and-3 with less than two minutes remaining in the game. If MU converted, it could have run out the clock.

And on a fourth-and-7 in overtime, Grant Wistrom and Mike Rucker sandwiched Jones for a sack to end the game.

“We did all that we could, and they did all they could,” Olivo said. “They just happened to score last.”

---

November 9, 1997

Joel Makovicka.

It's a name you won't hear much about in the reviews of Nebraska's 45-38 overtime squeaker over Missouri.

For the past three weeks Makovicka, a powerful fullback, has been devastating to Nebraska's opponents, ripping through the defenses that were already preoccupied with stopping quarterback Scott Frost and running back Ahman Green. Yesterday he was invisible, gaining just 24 yards.

Credit the Missouri defense.

“Coach Ricky Hunley wanted us to key on the guard and the fullback because he was the guy who can get away and break one at any time,” said linebacker Al Sterling.

“We did that pretty well.”

By taking Makovicka out of the offense, Missouri forced Nebraska to alter its offensive plan, causing some adjustments for Frost.

The Tigers' defense didn't exactly halt the nation's top-ranked offense. Nebraska cleared its total offense average by a few yards, racking up 528 yards -- 353 yards rushing, but the Tigers did enough to make the Huskers earn it the hard way. That was almost good enough for an upset.

Frost ran for four touchdowns and Green gained 189 yards, but even with those totals, it took a passing rampage in the final minute for Nebraska to avert an upset.

Compared to years past when Nebraska took the field against the Tigers and dictated everything, this was a change.

“We told them at halftime, we had them right where we wanted them,” head coach Larry Smith said.

Where they had them was behind and pressing. Nebraska strayed from its grind-it-out mode and started making mistakes.

The Tigers' defense forced three turnovers and turned away the Huskers three times when they moved into the red zone.

Late in the first half, Nebraska moved into Missouri territory hoping to expand on a 21-17 lead. The Huskers tore up big chunks on the ground, but mysteriously opted to pass on first down at the 36.

Frost's overthrown pass was picked off by Shad Criss and returned to Nebraska territory. On the next play, Missouri scored to take the lead.

After an 11-yard punt set up the Huskers at the MU 40 in the final minute of the half, the MU defense forced Frost into some time-consuming plays that failed to produce even a field goal attempt.

“They were supposed to come in and grind us up,” said Sterling, “but we can play with them and we showed you're not going to come in and run over Missouri.”

The big plays by the MU defense proved to be critical for the Tigers' surge into the lead.

An interception by Harold Piersey, his fourth in three games, set up Missouri's touchdown to go ahead 38-31 with four minutes left in the game. A fumble recovery by Steve Erickson, who replaced an injured Brian Cracraft, also stopped a Nebraska drive early in the second half.

The injuries and fatigue factor also played a role as Missouri coaches made defensive adjustments that moved nose tackle Donnell Jones to an outside spot. He recorded a career-high 13 tackles.

But when it came time to force the biggest stop of all, the Tigers defense couldn't come up with the sack or turnover as Frost drove the team 67 yards -- all on passes -- to tie the score on the last play of regulation.

“We played a little bit off during the drive,” said cornerback Shad Criss. “You win some and you lose some.”

By KENT HEITHOLT

Mizzou Links, 9-28-07

2007-09-28T06:05:00.000-05:00

Hopefully recruits the family atmosphere that has gripped the Mizzou Football locker room, and hopefully they like what they see. "I love you, Tony..." Weird.
The Trib has the official story on Gilbert Moye's fight. The matter's being handled internally apparently...no idea what kind of punishment there will be.
Mike Dearmond says 'hola'. Because Mizzou's on siesta. Get it? Funny stuff here from a relatively crazy guy...
Graham Watson pulls a Gabe Dearmond and breaks out the mailbag. And just for fun, so does SI's Stewart Mandel. Somehow Texas Tech isn't the most one-dimensional team in the country this year. Louisville has 'em beat in a major way.
In case you haven't read enough about it at Mizzou Sanity (and trust me, you've got a couple more days of it coming), PowerMizzou samples from the 'Flea Kicker' chapter of Todd Donaho's MizzouRah! Memorable Moments in Missouri Tiger Football History. It never gets any less aggravating.
With the 2007-08 basketball recruiting class taking shape, Inside Mizzou takes a look at a 2009 kid, St. Louis' Richard Anderson.
Fresh off a 42-18 season and a hosted regional, Mizzou Baseball has been rewarded with a Top 20 recruiting class.
And finally, proving once again that I have a super-low batting average when it comes to knowing what will become a huge story and knowing what should become a big story but won't, the Mike Gundy story still has legs.

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 1997 (Part Two)

2007-09-27T10:21:00.000-05:00

Feel the rage build up inside you...embrace it...

November 9, 1997

The game will go down in history as one of Missouri's finest, despite the fact it was a loss.

The Tigers gave the No. 1-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers all they could handle yesterday in a nail-biting 45-38 shootout before a sellout crowd of 66,846, Missouri's largest since 1984.

“College football doesn't get any better than this,” Tigers coach Larry Smith said. “It was two warriors out there banging away at each other.”

All the breaks seemed to be going Missouri's way until the final seconds of regulation, which had the Tigers ahead 38-31. But with seven seconds to go, Husker quarterback Scott Frost passed to Shevin Wiggins, who had the ball knocked out of his hands. Missouri's Harold Piersey looked ready to intercept, but Wiggins accidentally kicked the ball into the air on his way down and teammate Matt Davison caught it at the last moment. An extra point sent the game into overtime.

Missouri had been 3-0 in overtime the last two seasons, including a 51-50 triple-overtime victory over Oklahoma State earlier this year, but could not keep Frost out of the end zone. Missouri's final attempt to score fell short.

Most of the crowd was standing at the finish. Alumni pointed to the game as a return to the power teams of old.

“This is the best game since the K-State-MU game in '69,” said Vern Garton of Nevada, Mo. “And I've seen 'em all since '64. This is like the old time games.”

“Forget whose team you were rooting for,” said MU alumnus Mard Waltham. “It's the best game I've ever seen, and I've seen all the home games from 1969 to 1982, and several since then.”

---

November 9, 1997

Cars were lined up and down Providence Road, some tucked into the tightest of crevices just to have a parking space.

The sidewalks were filled with people. Tailgate parties were in abundance. Tickets actually sold for more than face value.

Traffic officers, normally innocent bystanders, were having to work for their overtime. Fans driving to the game had to sit and wait.

Not many of the 66,846 in the stands will remember, but this is the way it used to be at Memorial Stadium on football Saturdays.

Out on the field, the Missouri Tigers were playing top-ranked Nebraska head-to-head, taking shots and dishing them out. There would be no second-half collapses, no giving up when things got bleak.

MU coach Larry Smith called it college football at its finest. Sportscasters on college football shows called it the game of the year.

Hardly anyone would remember that this used to happen a lot in Columbia. A freak play at the end of regulation set up Nebraska's 45-38 overtime win to keep the unbeaten record intact. It was so freaky that thousands of Missouri fans rushed onto the field to tear down the goal posts only to be chased away by officials who informed them that Missouri had not won the game.

Even the automatic irrigation system succumbed to the tension and starting dispensing water with two minutes left in the game.

But the way Missouri team handled the vaunted Big Red Machine through the first 59 minutes of the game may have taken away the Huskers' No. 1 ranking.

Those who were within earshot of Faurot Field yesterday did a little time traveling. Former Missouri football players who have made a habit of staying away while the program floundered through a decade and a half of losing showed up yesterday, sensing that the day of atonement was near. It was one play away.

It is the heart-breaking loss that will go down in the record books. It is the loss that made the players shed tears on the field. It is the loss that kept this from being the most glorious night in modern Missouri football history.

But it was also a game that is likely to go down as one of the best of an era -- win or lose. If the Missouri program has a rebirth, this is the game that will be remembered as the moment of arrival. This was the day when Missouri, a five-touchdown underdog, shook off its well-documented flaws and showed a national TV audience that it belonged in the picture.

“I've never cried after a football game,” said linebacker Al Sterling, “but I did this time. It hurts bad.

“We came out to play them and we played their way and went right at them. If this doesn't send a message then they need to get the Pony Express to deliver it. Missouri is back and we're for real.”

Believe it.

When was the last time a top-ranked team's fans stood on Faurot Field and cheered after a victory over Missouri while the band blared the school fight song?

When did Missouri players come out of a losing game against the No. 1 team in the nation and say, “We should have won.”?

“I'm just disgusted,” said fullback Ron Janes. “We came this far, we might as well go ahead and win the game.”

Those are signs of the transformation and reasons for the painful emotional outpouring in the locker room.

“There's a lot of grief in there,” head coach Larry Smith said.

It was earlier in the week when Smith asked his team if it really believed it could win against Nebraska. To a man, the team answered yes.

“To come that close to your goal and not get it makes it extra tough to swallow,” defensive tackle Steve Erickson said. “You know a lot of teams go out and just hope that they can hang with a team, but we believed we could win.”

That's how it used to be at Missouri.

By KENT HEITHOLT

---

November 9, 1997

The “Immaculate Reception” it wasn't, but Nebraska wide receiver Matt Davison's remarkable touchdown catch at the end of regulation drew countless comparisons to Franco Harris' fabled grab.

Davison caught a tipped pass in the end zone with no time remaining in regulation that enabled No. 1 Nebraska to tie yesterday's game against Missouri at 38 and send it into overtime.

Propelled by that play, the Huskers scored on their opening overtime possession and stopped Missouri on four straight plays to earn a 45-38 victory and keep their national title hopes alive.

“I've seen that play on ESPN a few times,” Davison said of Harris' catch of a tipped pass against the Oakland Raiders in the 1972 playoffs that pushed the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 13-7 victory. “That was an unbelievable play. This was minor.”

There was nothing minor about this catch.

Nebraska had the ball on its own 33-yard line with 1:02 to play trailing 38-31. The situation forced the Huskers, who rushed for 353 yards, to rely on the passing of quarterback Scott Frost, who had completed just 6 of 14 passes for 118 yards and two interceptions.

It left all the Huskers a little uneasy.

“We're down seven points with 50 seconds left, yes, there was a lot of doubt,” Frost said.

Three key receptions by Kenny Cheatum, two of which went for first downs, put Nebraska in position to erase that doubt. Cheatum's third reception gave the Huskers the ball on the Missouri 12 with 14 seconds to play.

Following two incompletions, Nebraska called a double slant pattern with Shevin Wiggins and Cheatum lined up on the right side. Frost hit Wiggins at the goal line, but MU safety Julian Jones knocked the ball loose as Wiggins tried to fall into the end zone.

The ball bounced off Wiggins' leg as he fell backward, narrowly out of the reach of MU safety Harold Piersey, and floated into the end zone.

“All I saw was the brown thing bouncing around,” Frost said.

Davison, who had lined up on the left side, was running a crossing pattern into the middle of the end zone. That put him in position to dive for the loose ball and narrowly get his hands beneath it for the catch.

Missouri players, meanwhile, insisted the ball had touched the ground.

“The ball hit the ground. It bounced. I know it bounced,” MU linebacker Al Sterling insisted. “You could see it hit the ground. It hit the grass.”

Davison realized the call could have gone either way, depending solely on the official's view of the play.

“I guess it was just a few inches off the ground,” said Davison, a freshman who has six career receptions. “I was just hoping they were going to call it a catch. It was close enough that I think the officials had to make a good call to see that I really caught it.

“There was no doubt in mind that I caught it. I just wanted to see the call before I got all excited about because it was real close to the ground.”

Nebraska coach Tom Osborne knew it was close to being ruled an incompletion, but he fully expected a break to finally go the Huskers' way.

The breaks had consistently gone against the Huskers, with a tipped pass being intercepted by Piersey and an Ahman Green fumble being recovered along the sideline by MU lineman Steve Erickson.

“We had some bad breaks and some good breaks,” Osborne said. “Luckily, our good breaks came at the end.”

By MATT SCHUCKMAN

---

November 9, 1997

The kings of overtime were knocked from their thrown.

Missouri, which entered yesterday's game with a 3-0 record in overtime games, had an extra period to forget yesterday in a 45-38 loss to Nebraska.

Perhaps still smarting from Nebraska's game-tying score at the end of regulation, Missouri allowed the Huskers to score in the three plays on their OT possession. Scott Frost leapt over MU tacklers at the goal line to score on a 12-yard run.

But Missouri had a chance to answer, and it had never not scored a touchdown in an overtime possession.

“I was shocked when we didn't score,” MU tailback Brock Olivo said.

On Missouri's first play, offensive coordinator Jerry Berndt went to his pet play-action pass play -- the one in which the fullback and tailback sneak out of the backfield to the left side. Missouri used the play in the second quarter and Olivo scored on a 34-yard reception. Last year in the first overtime against Baylor, Olivo scored a 25-yard touchdown on the play.

“It always works,” Olivo said. “Give them credit, they did a good job defending it.”

Olivo was covered, and Jones tried to force the ball to fullback Ron Janes, but the pass sailded out of bounds.

“I think I could have run for at least 6 or 7 on the first play,” Jones said. “I threw it to Ron Janes. It got all jumbled up, and I didn't know if he was going to keep running or stop.”

On third down, tight end Jake Stueve let a sure first-down reception slip through his hands, and Jones was sacked on fourth down.

SACK ATTACK:It was the biggest play the Nebraska defense had faced all day, and the Huskers turned to two native Missourians to make something happen.

Senior right end Grant Wistrom, a native of Webb City, and junior left end Mike Rucker, a St. Joseph native, combined to sack Missouri quarterback Corby Jones for a 6-yard loss on fourth and 7 in overtime, helping secure the Huskers' 45-38 victory.

“Jones was making some scramble plays all day,” said Rucker, who had three sacks and four total tackles for losses. “It was very important that we got back there and got him before he scrambled.”

Making the critical play in his home state against a school that had recruited him made the victory all the sweeter for Rucker.

“I was glad to make an impact in front of family and friends,” he said.

WAS IT OR WASN'T IT:It was the play of the year in college football, but some Missouri players weren't so sure it was legitimate.

On the final play of regulation, Nebraska tied the game when a pass bounced off the foot of intended receiver Shevin Wiggins and was snared by a diving Matt Davison. Although replays seemed to show Davison made the catch, MU linebacker Al Sterling was convinced the ball hit the ground.

“It wasn't a touchdown, I'm sorry to say,” Sterling said. “I'm standing 2 yards from the ball and our whole team was right there. We all called it. We're not just saying that because we don't want them to win. We're saying that because it's the truth.”

MU cornerback Wade Perkins agreed.

“I thought I saw it hit the ground and come up,” Perkins said.

EXTRA POINTS:MU senior defensive tackle Brian Cracraft broke his leg in the first half.... Before Missouri's game with Iowa State, a computer error led the Faurot Field sprinklers to run throughout the night, making for a soggy field. Yesterday the sprinklers in the south end zone started up while Missouri was on its final drive of regulation.

By JOE WALLJASPER

Mizzou Links, 9-27-07

2007-09-27T06:06:00.000-05:00

Another week, another young Mizzou scrub gets picked up for minor assault. Can't say I like that trend...especially with Moye, who was a pretty big breakthrough recruit out of Texas last year.
Pretty good opening paragraph in Dave Matter's article on the atrocious defenses of the Big 12: "Say this much for Oklahoma State Coach Mike Gundy and his rant against a newspaper columnist: At least someone played a little defense Saturday in Stillwater." Zing. In all, the numbers will obviously even out a bit during conference play, but it will be interesting to see what happens this year in a conference with 4 of the top 5 teams in total offense...and about 3 good defenses.
Tired of "Jeremy Maclin's made a dramatic comeback" stories? I thought not.
P-D columnist Jeff Gordon compliments Mizzou in his "Mizzou, Illini Grab Our Attention" column before totally flaking out with this line: " I like the Tigers to outgun Nebraska in a four-hour game. But I will like Nebraska in the Big 12 North until Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel finally proves he can avoid the Big Costly Loss that tarnishes a season." Way to take a chance there, Jeff. That way, no matter what happens you're probably half-right.
PowerMizzou has an update on Long Island QB James Brady, one of the backup-backup-backup plans at QB. He loves Mizzou, and I'd have to imagine our chances are good if we extend an offer his way. Then again, I've thought that about 16 times already during this recruiting year. Meanwhile, it looks like an MU legacy will visit as well.
Meanwhile, Gabe at PM goes ahead and offers his first of probably two MU-NU-centric Powered Up's.
And finally, if you didn't see this already, Rivals.com has its College Football Power Rankings at each position. At their respective positions, Chase Daniel is #10, Will Franklin #18, Martin Rucker #1, Chase Coffman #7.

As for non-football...

Here's the official release for this weekend's set of Mizzou Soccer games. The #16 Tigers will host #4 Texas A&M Friday night before travelling to Waco to play Baylor on Sunday.
Ouch. The series of 5-set losses seems to have had an effect on Mizzou Volleyball. The Tigers were swept by #18 K-State in Manhattan yesterday (30-21, 30-20, 30-20) to move to 0-4 in Big 12 play and 7-6 overall. Na Yang had an outstanding .611 kill % (11 kills, 0 errors, 18 attempts). The rest of the team? A .132 kill %. Ouch. Also, JUCO transfer Luiza Jarocka was the team's primary setter, with 17 assists to Lei Wang's 8. It doesn't get much easier for Mizzou, as the desperate Tigers now host #25 Oklahoma Saturday evening.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Big 12

2007-09-26T20:41:00.000-05:00

I appear to be a day behind this week. Oh well. I'll blame it on the bye week.

Once again, ranked in order of those who have proven the most, not necessarily a “power poll” in the typical sense of the word.

1. Oklahoma

Odds are, this isn’t going to change any time soon. The Sooners have at least a little bit of a test this week, with Sam Bradford’s first true road game (needless to say, a few Sooner fans made the trip to Tulsa last weekend). Lucky for him, it will be in just about the least-hostile place imagineable, Boulder. The CU defense is good, but really all OU will need to do is score 20 to feel comfortable. Being that they’re averaging about 86 points per game, they should be able to pull that off.

Crimson and Cream Machine has a quick CU scouting report.

2. Kansas

Eventually KU will have to prove something against a living, breathing team, but so far doing exactly what is expected of you still garners a #2 spot in the rankings.

Rock Chalk Talk has a boatload of links and thoughts.

3. Texas

The fact that they pummeled a Rice team that was already 0-2 against the Big 12 (including an absolute whooping at the hands of Baylor), the fact that the ‘Horns dominated the Owls was not much of a surprise. However, they looked good, and they got one more week removed from their weak showings against Arkansas State and Central Florida, so I’ll stick them at #3.

Burnt Orange Nation thinks about K-State and (in particular) Ron Prince way too much for anybody's health.

4. Missouri

They still haven’t proven if their defense is Kansas-level mediocre or Tech/Nebraska-level bad. That distinguishing line could make the difference in the North division this year. We’ll see soon enough.

I’ll use this space as an opportunity to link to Big Head’s fun review of ESPN/ABC announcing crews.

5. Texas Tech

They lost to OSU, and I’m sticking them above both ATM and OSU? Weird, huh? Actually, five games into the season, we know exactly what we’re going to get from Tech the rest of the way. If you make a few stupid mistakes on offense, their offense is good enough that you’ll find yourself down 17 in a matter of seconds. If you control the ball and manage to get to Graham Harrell a couple times, you’ll probably beat them. Spots #6-10 on this list are full of nothing but unknowns and uncertainty, and the fact that you know what level of quality you’re going to get from Tech puts them at #5. For now.

According to Double T Nation, it looks like one of the first acts for new Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeill was to tear off a redshirt. Really, not a bad idea, especially since the Raiders get a tune up against NW’ern State this week.

6. Texas A&M

Well...Jorvorskie Lane could carry the ball 45 times for 250 yards and 6 TD’s against Baylor this Saturday...or last week’s nationally televised egg-laying could linger for a very long time. I have no idea what to expect from ATM from here on out, but we’ll tell a lot from their first half effort against Baylor.

7. Nebraska

I won’t even begin to pretend that Nebraska won’t gain 400+ yards of offense against us on October 6. I’ll just mention that if the NU defense puts up another effort like they did at home to the Ball State Fighting Whitlocks, Mizzou will put up 800+. I doubt the Blackshirts are quite as bad as they looked last Saturday—Bo Ruud still makes a big play at the precise second you start wondering if he’s the most overrated defender in the history of the Big 12, Ndamukong Suh is lining up to be a 2nd-team All Big 12 DT (behind Texas’ two DT’s), and...well, that’s all the platitudes I can give at the moment. But I still say I doubt they’re as bad as they let on. The ISU game will say a lot. ISU isn’t completely dead weight—they still have Todd Blythe—but an even mediocre defense should hold them to less than 300 yards.

Corn Blight over at Corn Nation quotes Steve Octavien and Richard Nixon in an attempt to convince himself that the defense has found a leader. I’m not 100% sure he’s wrong—only about 95%. Fact is, after years of following the Pittsburgh Pirates and a Quin Snyder-coached basketball team, I’ve read all about a “lack of energy and motivation in guys” before. Simply identifying and acknowledging it doesn’t make it go away.

8. Kansas State

I still have no faith in Josh Freeman or the ‘Cat O-line, but the defense will keep them in games. The fact that they seem to have a defense of any kind puts them above quite a few teams in the conference...problem is, the fact that they don’t have a potent offense drops them right back down. I still think they beat KU next weekend, though...though that opinion could change if they lay a big egg in Austin.

Bring On the Cats has a nice set of KSU-related links.

9. Oklahoma State

They’ll always be a great team at home, and they still have a ton of potential on the offensive side of the ball. However, no other WR has stepped up opposite Adarius Bowman, and until someone does, they won’t reach their potential. And to say their defense still has a long way to go is an understatement. That said, I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I liked Brandon Pettigrew, and man did he show why on that TD reception. That Tech safety (Garcia, I think) got juked out of his jock by a dude at least 50 pounds bigger than him...that’s gotta sting.

10. Colorado

Dominated most facets of the game against a MAC team that is a shadow of its former (i.e. Roethlisberger) self. This was a KU-type game—they really didn’t prove much, but they did exactly what they were supposed to do and looked good in the process. Can’t really ask for more than that, right?

I still don’t see how they gain more than 200 yards against OU’s defense, though. Time to prove something, Cody Hawkins-Nolte.

Buffs.tv has its own OU-CU preview...and OU shouldn't even bother showing up because CU is 8-2-1 all-time on 9/29. It's as good as in the bag.

11. Baylor

A 3-game winning streak will give you confidence no matter who those three wins came against, and that streak, combined with the fact that ATM might (or might not) be in turmoil at the moment, gives the Bears their best upset chance of the year. It probably won’t happen, and I can’t make myself actually predict it, but I keep dropping just enough hints that I can say “I told you so!” if it does.

BearMeat presents: Fear, Loathing and Football In The Savage Heart of the University at Buffalo.

12. Iowa State

You do figure ISU will overachieve some Saturday during conference season, and they might scrounge up a win somewhere (most likely candidates: home games against CU and KSU late in the year). However, that win probably won’t come in Lincoln, no matter how bad the Huskers looked last week. And as I mentioned in the Roundtable yesterday...the fact that they blew a 2-TD lead against Toledo last week without the Toledo offense seeing the field is quite impressive.

Clone Chronicles hands out the grades.

Mizzou-Nebraska Redux: 1997

2007-09-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

I figured it would be fun (and a bit painful) to scroll through the two most memorable MU-NU affairs in recent memory in the run-up to next Saturday. First up (of course): 1997. I’ll post a couple articles a day.

NOVEMBER 8, 1997

In September, Corby Jones was advised in the Missouri student paper that he should consider switching positions -- to water boy.

In September, Scott Frost was booed by his fellow Nebraska students when he struggled in a home game against Central Florida.

It's November now, and in the opinion of many observers, the best two quarterbacks in the Big 12 Conference will be wearing No. 7 on Faurot Field today when Jones' Tigers (6-3 overall, 4-2 Big 12) play host to Frost's Cornhuskers (8-0, 5-0) in a 2:30 p.m. game.

“I think you're going to see the two top candidates on the field,” said MU coach Larry Smith when asked who he considered the Big 12's best quarterback. “I think we do” have the best one, “but I think you're going to see the other one.”

You could argue all day about which one is better. You could argue all day about what the criteria for the argument should be.

Statistics?

Jones leads the Big 12 in total yards with an average of 229 yards per game. Frost is seventh with an average of 171 yards. But Jones has more carries and passing attempts than Frost, who rarely plays all four quarters because the Cornhuskers usually rout their opponents.

Jones has been the more effective passer with an efficiency rating of 133.9 compared to 118.3 for Frost. But Frost has averaged 6.1 yards per carry to Jones' 4.8.

Leadership?

Frost has guided his team to a flawless record. After hearing the boos the previous week, he responded with a terrific game at Washington on Sept. 20. He scored on runs of 34 and 30 yards as Nebraska, which was an underdog for the first time in four years, beat the Huskies 27-14. That was NU's closest game of the year.

Jones has led his team to its first winning season since 1983. He began the season with subpar outings against Eastern Michigan and Kansas, but has turned it around, especially in the passing game. With the Tigers trailing 37-30 with less than two minutes to play at Oklahoma State, Jones led an 80-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, which MU won in overtime.

So who is better?

“You really think I'm going to answer that question?” Jones said with a smile. “I hope you really don't believe that.”

Father's sons

This question of which quarterback is better could have been answered by no less an authority than Tom Osborne if Jones had accepted Nebraska's scholarship offer after his senior season at Hickman High School in 1994.

Jones had narrowed his choices to Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska when NU quarterbacks coach Turner Gill, who had coached with MU assistant Curtis Jones at Southern Methodist, told Corby where he was headed.

“Turner basically told me that I wasn't interested,” Jones said last year. “He said, `Look, if you want to come, we've got a scholarship for you. Coach Osborne wants you, and we want you here, but I don't see you leaving your dad.' “

Gill was right, Jones belonged with his father at Missouri.

In his third year, Jones has rejuvenated an underachieving program with his superb play and is an ideal front man for the team. He is charismatic and articulate, cooperates with the media win or lose and moves comfortably in the spotlight that accompanies the big man on campus.

Frost also followed in his father's footsteps, although he took a round-about route.

Larry Frost played halfback for the Cornhuskers from 1967-69, and his wife, Carol, is a former NU track athlete who won a gold medal in the discus at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. But when Scott graduated from Wood River, Neb., High School, he chose to go his own way and attend Stanford and play for Bill Walsh.

“I wanted to try something different,” Frost said. “I wanted to get a chance to play in that offense. Stanford offered a great education. I got caught up in the fact it was out on the West Coast and was kind of new and exciting. It was something I just wanted to try.”

Frost spent his time as a backup quarterback and safety, and the Cardinal struggled. Walsh left, and Frost decided to do the same, transferring to Nebraska.

After sitting out a year, Frost took over last year for a team that was coming off consecutive national championships. He didn't do badly, completing 104 of 200 passes for 1,440 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 438 yards.

But the Huskers lost two games, including a 37-27 defeat to Texas in the Big 12 championship game that cost NU a shot at its third straight national title. That's not good enough by Nebraska standards.

Breakthrough seasons

Frost wasn't the only guy with something to prove this year.

Jones grew weary of his reputation as a running quarterback last year. In obvious passing situations, Smith turned to Kent Skornia to lead the Tigers until Jones finally wrestled away the full-time job in November. He led MU to back-to-back victories over Baylor and Kansas to end the year and then went to work in the off-season.

He worked almost daily on his passing skills with his receivers. The results have been dramatic. Jones has completed 85 of 164 passes for 1,360 yards and nine touchdowns.

“I think last year everybody knew Corby could make the plays in the run game and they weren't real confident in him making a lot of plays --they saw him make a few but not a lot of plays -- that scored points consistently,” Smith said. “I think that's what he's brought to the table this season.

“He is a threat deep for touchdowns, short, intermediate, third-down situations, first-down situations. That's helped him become a more of a complete quarterback.”

With a far superior supporting cast, Frost's progress is a little harder to gauge. With running backs Ahman Green and Joel Makovicka chewing up yards, Frost hasn't had to carry the burden of an offense the way Jones has. But he simply hasn't made any mistakes.

“He directs our offense really well,” Osborne said. “He's a knowledgeable guy who really handles the option game well and he's a very effective thrower when you call on him. So his stats may not benefit him, but in terms of value and contribution and moving the football, he's done a great job and is probably one of the top quarterbacks in the country in terms of effectiveness.”

Today Jones will be asked to do the unreasonable, beat No. 1 Nebraska almost single-handedly. He is one of the few Tigers with the athletic ability to make big plays against the Cornhuskers. MU needs a whole lot of big plays.

Frost doesn't face that kind of burden. The Cornhuskers would be heavily favored with Grant Wistrom at quarterback. But Frost knows his judgment will be delayed. His legacy will be shaped by whether he can lead Nebraska to the national title.

“The end of this season will have a lot to do with how people remember me and this senior class,” Frost said. “If we can somehow go back and win another one, people will remember nothing but good things. If we don't, it's hard to tell. It's unfortunate that everything you do comes down to a game or two, but I guess that's life.”

By JOE WALLJASPER

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NOVEMBER 8, 1997

Football used to set this town on fire.

In the 1970s, battalions of state troopers on game days used to funnel one-way streams of traffic toward Faurot Field; students used to camp for days in tent villages in front of the ticket booth to procure the best seats for the season; and downtown streets were blocked off to accommodate the throng of fans who hopped from bar to bar.

Last night at Harpo's, the undisputed “Keeper of the Flame” of Tiger football, fans gathered on the eve of Missouri's game against No. 1-ranked Nebraska to savor the possibilities of this season and to relive the past.

“Every game was an all-day party,” MU alumnus Mark Bumgarner said of the winning seasons so long ago. “You got a date and never questioned where we were going to go.”

His friend Jerry Carlson agreed. “It was more than a football game -- it was an event.”

Today, the ashes of 15 years of losing seasons cover the blazing glory of MU football teams past. Many alumni hope the 65,000 bellowing fans expected at Memorial Stadium this afternoon will breath new life into the flickering flame.

They are also hoping for a repeat performance of the 1978 game, when MU stunned the Cornhuskers, then No. 2, by defeating them 35-31 on their home field. James Wilder strong-armed a Nebraska tackler on the 3-yard line to score the winning touchdown.

“I remember watching him throw that guy off and dive into the end zone to win that game,” said alumnus Jim Stark. “He was a man among boys.”

A large contingent of Nebraska fans also gathered at Harpo's last night, a welcome sight to owner Randy Harper. “Nebraska fans are the best in the Big 12 Conference,” Harper said. “All the businesses look forward to them coming to Columbia every other year.”

Harper estimates a crowd as large as today's can give a $6 million boost to Columbia businesses, from florists to filling stations.

Larry Fuller, an MU alumnus who lived in Lincoln, Neb., during the 1970s, said Nebraska fans are not only the best in the Big 12, “they're the best in the whole world.”

At a party at Fuller's home last night for a large contingent of MU and Nebraska fans, MU alumnus Chuck Hatley said he's looking forward to seeing every seat full for the first time in a decade. “Even if we lose, to be there with 65,000 fans is exciting -- it makes you hungry to go back.”

Hatley said recent graduates have no memory of those football traditions, which burned out while some of them were still in grade school.

“Alums all the way into their early 30s have never seen a winning season,” he said.

Realistically, most fans don't think MU can beat Nebraska today, but as one person said, “Stranger things have happened.”

In the 1970s, the Tigers were giant killers -- a team that could topple any opponent regardless of rank or record.

Many thought back to 1976, when MU fans, buoyed by MU's 22-21 victory at No. 2 Ohio State, stormed Faurot Field in the dark and leveled the goal posts. As tradition warrants, they delivered the severed limbs to the sacrificial altar of Harpo's.

One anonymous alum said, “If we win tomorrow, the goal posts are least of our problems -- the Columns could come down.”

By JANICE WINTERS

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NOVEMBER 8, 1997

Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel couldn't believe his eyes. The uniforms belonged to Missouri, but the offense was Nebraska, or at least Cornhusker Light.

The Tigers were cranking out 15-play, 80-yard, 71/2-minute drives, and Colorado was helpless to stop them in a 41-31 MU victory. An athletic quarterback ran the option and threw the occasional play-action pass, bullish fullbacks landed body blows to the belly of the defense and hard-running tailbacks chipped away 6 yards at a time.

Neuheisel wasn't the only one to notice Missouri has patterned its offense after the Big Red Machine. While NU quarterback Scott Frost sat in a Waco, Texas, hotel room waiting for his team's night game against Baylor, he caught some of the Missouri-Oklahoma State game on television and saw plenty of familiar sights.

“I recognized a lot of plays that we run that they run too,” Frost said. “Maybe some of the blocking schemes are different, and I'm sure we have plays they don't run and they have plays we don't run, but as far as the basic theory of an offense and style of play, I think they're pretty close to the same thing.”

The catch is that Nebraska's offense never has to play against Nebraska's defense in a game. Missouri's offense does today in a 2:30 p.m. game at Faurot Field.

MU's current scoring average of 32 points is the highest since the 1969 Orange Bowl team averaged 33.2. In the last three games, the Tigers have averaged 43 points. But Missouri (6-3 overall, 4-2 Big 12) hasn't faced a defense like Nebraska (8-0, 5-0).

“Their defense, you look at tape, and you grind and grind and grind on the tape and try to find something you can make go consistently,” Missouri coach Larry Smith said. “The biggest thing is they've been using the same scheme now for four years.

“They've put in a few little wrinkles, but for the most part it comes down to on defense they've got great athletes, great quickness and speed at every position.”

The Cornhuskers are ranked No. 3 in the nation in total defense and No. 4 in rushing defense. They have given up only seven points in the last three games.

“The things we can't do, No. 1, is turn the ball over, and No. 2, we can't have negative plays,” MU offensive coordinator Jerry Berndt said. “They're whole team thrives on turnovers and negative plays.”

Berndt said that Nebraska's scheme forces opposing offensive lines into a series of one-on-one blocks. Any weak link on the O-line gets exploited all day because it's hard to give him any help.

If Missouri's inside running game is going to work, Tiger guards Mike Morris and Craig Heimburger and center Rob Riti will have to win head-to-head matchups with All-American defensive tackle Jason Peter and the 310-pound Jason Wiltz.

Missouri had absolutely no luck getting around the corner with the option game against Nebraska last year, and Corby Jones was knocked out of the game after taking several vicious shots. The Cornhuskers haven't gotten any slower since then, and senior defensive end Grant Wistrom is the playing the best football of his career.

The All-American from Webb City forced three fumbles, recovered one and made two sacks in a 69-7 victory over Oklahoma last week. He might be the most disruptive defensive player in the nation.

To move the ball on such a defense, Missouri will probably have to place its faith in the passing and scrambling of Jones. The junior quarterback has averaged 205 yards passing and 63 yards rushing in the last three games.

Texas was able to beat the Huskers 37-27 last year by letting the mobile James Brown buy himself time to pick apart the Nebraska secondary.

“Texas made some big plays last year, and that's one thing we have to do,” Berndt said. “If you're going to beat them, you have to make some big plays. You're not going to have 17-play drives against this football team. They don't allow you to do that. That doesn't mean we can't, but you don't have many of those.”

By JOE WALLJASPER

Mizzou Links, 9-26-07

2007-09-26T06:03:00.000-05:00

I overslept a bit this morning, but that's fine because there's not a lot going on with the off week coming up...

Dave Matter takes a look at the ridiculously high expectations built by the Mizzou offense at this point, and on his blog he releases his weekly power poll. Kansas moves past Nebraska, but not ATM...yet. Just wait till ATM loses to Baylor, though...you heard it here first! Sort of!
Meanwhile, Joe Walljasper keeps the Mike Gundy story rolling for another day.
This week's mutigers.com senior features: Tyler Luellen and John Ruth.
Champaign's Mikel Leshoure will be visiting for the MU-NU game. Meanwhile, things are looking good in the recruitment of St. Louis' Hulas King and James Moore.
Steve Walentik discusses the finalized CBE Classic schedule. Mizzou Basketball should definitely get a nice jumpstart to the season, facing Central Michigan and (probably) Fordham (not a terrible team) and 2 of 3 against UCLA, Maryland, and Michigan State. Of course, I guess I shouldn't count my chickens just yet...not after the Sam Houston Preseason NIT disaster a couple years ago...good times...
The nice weekend for Mizzou Soccer was reflected not only by a jump in the polls, but also by the awards that rolled through the front door for sophomore Kristin Andrighetto (3 goals, 2 assists--named to Soccer America's Women's Team of the Week) and freshman Alysha Bonnick (3 goals, 1 assist--named to SoccerBuzz.com's National Elite Team of the week and named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week). As The Beef has mentioned, this is a great start for the team, but they've now got to bring it in conference play as well. The Trib's Ryan Nilsson has more.
Mizzou Volleyball will attempt to avoid an 0-4 start in conference play tonight, but they'll have to do it in Manhattan against #18 K-State. They've got a chance--there's no doubting that they've been competitive this season with all those 5-setters--but I'm not holding my breath. Meanwhile, Na Yang is 1 kill away from moving into Mizzou's Top 5 for all-time kills.

Mizzou Sanity Roundtable: Week 4

2007-09-25T14:03:00.000-05:00

And here we go once again...

1) While your team was expected to go 4-0 to start the season, now that it's actually happened, what has been the most pleasant development of the first month? (And for those mizzou fans out there, you can answer "Jeremy Maclin," but that's pretty predictable. Just sayin'.)

2) As things begin to shake down, who are your North and South sleepers?

3) Offensive Freshman of the Year: Jeremy Maclin, Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, or Michael Crabtree? Seriously, how good are the freshmen in the conference this year??

4) Is it possible to come up with a worse slate of Big 12 games than the foursome of OU-CU, NU-ISU, KSU-UT, and BU-ATM? If there's an upset in that bunch, which one is it?

Bonus) MU-Nebraska kicking off at 8:15pm...a good thing or a great thing?

---

The Beef: The most pleasant surprise for me has been Martin Rucker’s season to this point. What I truly wanted was a year where Rucker was the decided focus of the TE touches so he could up his own stock and potentially make it so that Chase returns next year to do the same, all the while giving our TE recruits time with him. Rucker’s season has been great so far and his plays of dragging people are just fun to watch.

My North sleeper is whoever wins between ku and ksu…though I don’t know when they play. The winner of that game could potentially have a shot at the top depending on how things fall.

My South sleeper is...um...aTm. I only say that because I think the Miami loss knocks them back to a point where not as much is going to be expected. However, if there are issues with Lane and the coaches or whatever, I reserve the right to change my vote to no one.

Sam Bradford wins it….

If there is an upset in there, it is NU/ISU...but I really doubt it. The others...ugh...just ugly.

I only say good thing on the game and its placement because I believe we will be joined in progress and not have our own start. While that seems small, I think it counteracts much of what our fans assume will happen with this game. Our crowd will be SO jacked at the beginning that you NEED to have that on TV from an exposure standpoint, and the starting time potentially negates that. A small thing, but if you are going to be on ESPN, you want it all and this is not likely to give it to us.

Doug: 1) The ability to do what is expected. Say what you will about the schedule KU has for non-conference games, but the fact remains the Jayhawks took care of business. They didn't fall victim to letting teams back in late or allowed themselves to fall behind and have to crawl back (Nebraska). However, they are not always goingt to play with a runaway lead, and K-State will be a huge test of how this team handles major adversity.

2) North sleeper - Kansas. If KU gets the win over K-State on the road, that puts them in a very good position to win the North especially with Nebraska, Iowa State and Baylor in Lawrence, and yes, they lose homefield against Missouri, but hopefully the team will be playing with sky-high confidence at that point.

South sleeper - I guess I'll go Oklahoma State since they beat Texas Tech over the weekend, but in the South, everyone not named Oklahoma should be considered a sleeper... or at least sleeping.

3) Yeah, come on down... Sam Bradford. Who da thunk it?

4) Upset picks? I'll take Iowa State to cover against Nebraska and Baylor over Texas A&M.

Bonus - How many drunk fans can you fit into Missouri's stadium? You'll find out the answer on Saturday.

Michael Atchison: 1) That Illinois and Ole Miss appear to be pretty decent teams. Illinois has gone on the road and pretty easily handled two BCS-league programs, and Ole Miss put a little scare into Florida this weekend. Frankly, though, when it comes to Mizzou, Maclin is the only big positive surprise. I expected Coffman, Rucker and Franklin to be as good as they’ve been, I expected Daniel to be a little sharper than he’s been the past couple of weeks, I expected our running game to break more big plays than it has, and I hoped against hope that the interior of our defensive line would hold up against the run better than it has. The first four games have given me reason to be both hopeful and terribly nervous.

2) Does “sleeper” mean a team that has a shot to make it to the Big 12 championship game other than Texas/Oklahoma and Missouri/Nebraska? If so, in the south, the answer is NO ONE. Really, right now there are some guys playing touch football on Stankowski Field who have exactly as much chance of winning the south as Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. In the north, I suppose the answer is Kansas. I know the schedule has been soft, but they’ve completely obliterated the competition. Really, though, the race might be wide open. I still think the schedule favors Mizzou, but would any of you really be shocked if Kansas, K-State or Colorado stepped up and won a couple of games they shouldn’t? I wouldn’t. And if one or more of those surprise wins comes against the Tigers or Huskers, it throws the race into chaos.

3) I’ve personally seen Maclin play three times and score six touchdowns. Normally, I couldn’t fathom that there’s a player who could take the award from him, but he’s probably no better than third in the race right now. Murray isn’t going to win it because he’s splitting carries with Allen Patrick and is on the same team as Bradford. Strictly from an offensive perspective, Maclin probably doesn’t win it because so much of his impact is on special teams, and he’s one of four relatively equal receivers at Mizzou (along with Rucker, Coffman and Franklin, and Danario Alexander is coming back). Crabtree is posting video game numbers: 52 catches, 775 yards, 11 touchdowns. In four games. Are you kidding me? But as good as Crabtree has been, I suspect the answer is Bradford. He’s the most important player on the league’s best team, and he’s not just managing games, he’s dominating them, completing 78% of his passes for over 1,000 yards in four games, with 14 touchdowns and just two picks. If he’s anywhere near that good during the conference slate, he’s not just offensive freshman of the year, he’s offensive player of the year.

4) I bet someone could construct an algorithm to come up with a worse group of games, but not by much. Oklahoma and Texas are unupsettable (how’s that for a word?) in these games. Iowa State appears to be the lousy fighter with the big right hand. They got outboxed by lightweights Kent State, Northern Iowa and Toledo, but they coldcocked Iowa. Given Nebraska’s suspect state of mind (they’re two plays away from owning a three-game losing streak), I wouldn’t be shocked if the Cyclones pull it off. I certainly don’t expect it to happen, but it’s more likely than Oklahoma or Texas taking the fall.

Bonus) You know, I really don’t care. Beat ‘em in the morning, beat ‘em in the evening, makes no difference to me. Personally, as someone who brings two young kids to the games, though, it stinks, as I know there’s every chance that I won’t be there at 11:45 when it’s over. But I also know it’s not about me. I’m sure it will be a supercharged atmosphere, which will be fun. I’m also convinced, though, that some of our fans will, um, fail to properly pace themselves. Take care of each other, people, and stay away from the brown acid.

ZouDave: Even sitting at home sick I'll still get my response in quickly!

1 - Uh...Jeremy Maclin? Yes, that's pretty predictable. I guess the real question is: Besides Jeremy Maclin, what's been the most pleasant development of the first month? Well, Seth definitely took what is in my opinion the next best answer which is Rucker's dominance. The guy has been amazing, at another level than I ever thought he could be on. And other than those two things, I'm not (pleasantly) surprised by anything. So maybe that's my answer: I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that my high expectations are being met so far. We've only trailed once all year, and that was 6-0 against Illinois. When we took the lead back 7-6, I told my dad and the friends I was watching with that we were not going to trail again for the rest of the season. I was obviously kidding, but here we are and I'm still right!

2 - Another fairly easy answer that Seth already took: the winner of kansas and KSU. Personally, I'm picking KSU in that game, but if ku goes in there and wins then you can officially count me as impressed by them.

3 - I think this is a trend we're seeing all over the country, and I can't explain it. From the ones you've mentioned, to players like Noel Devine at West Virginia or Stafon Johnson at USC or Tim Tebow at Florida last year or Darren McFadden 2 years ago at Arkansas. There are freshman all over the place that are just incredible. Kids these days *grumble grumble*.

And of course, the best one in the Big XII is Jeremy Maclin.

4 - In my opinion, the ONLY one that could possibly go against the norm is ksu-UT. And it's only because UT has not looked good this year, and ksu has a strong enough defense that it could cause problems early and take the crowd out of the game. I'm not picking them to win, I'm just saying it's the only one I see as possible.

BONUS - Couldn't ask for anything better than this. It's exactly what we'd want, everything is setup precisely how any of us would have done it if it was all our choice back in August, and this is our time. I can't wait for 10/6.

The Boy: 1) Honestly, the answer might simply be that Chase Daniel took some chances and was reminded of which throws he can and can't make. Better he's reminded of it against Western Michigan and Illinois State than Nebraska and Oklahoma. I guess there's a chance that these INT's are signs of things to come (in a bad way), but knowing how he learned from his mistakes last year, I think the odds are in his favor on this one.

2) I was prepared to say Kansas even though I realized that their odds of winning in Manhattan next week aren't altogether fantastic...but then I looked at their schedule. There's a chance 5-3 wins the North again, but I'd say the odds favor 6-2. Being that Kansas plays at College Station and Stillwater (where OSU is 10x the team they are on the road), a loss in Manhattan would significantly injure KU's chances, though NU and MU have definitely proven fallible enough that said loss wouldn't knock them out of the race by any means.

3) I understand that Sam Bradford will win it if he doesn't nosedive simply because he plays QB for the conference's best team. That said, Michael Crabtree's numbers are absolutely astounding. It's one thing to put up ridiculous numbers against UTEP and Rice...it's another to do it in conference. Granted, OSU's defense is worse than Missouri's (I think), but still...considering Tech will play 13 games, Crabtree has a legit chance to hit 2000 yards and 30 TD's. Atch is right--that's video game numbers. And considering he's doing it as a freshman...good god...they had him return a couple kicks against OSU too. If he breaks a couple of long returns, then there's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't squeeze his way into Heisman consideration. I know he plays for Tech, but...no other Tech receiver has done what he is doing right now. I guess we finally see what happens when Mike Leach's system gets its hands on a high-profile WR recruit.

4) Honestly, I'm going with ATM-Baylor. 2006 aside, Baylor has played ATM well in recent years, and being that a) the game is in Waco, b) ATM's been getting (justifiably) railed for their horrid (coaching) performance on national TV last Thursday, and c) while Baylor isn't good, they're still confident after a 3-1 start, the Bears will have a chance. Of course, ATM could respond to the criticism by playing their absolute best and destroying BU, 44-3, but I still think this one's the most ripe for an upset. I think ISU is d-u-n after blowing that lead to Toledo (they blew a late two-TD lead without Toledo's offense touching the ball), I think the revenge factor is enough to limit KSU's chances against Texas, and I don't think CU's offense will get more than about 150 yards against OU...so that leaves Baylor.

*) Another 6:00 kickoff (a la 2003) would have been perfect, but still...the later the better. It is definitely a shame that the ESPN audience likely won't see the beginning of the game, when the atmosphere is guaranteed to be three steps beyond electric, but that's the only negative. That, and the fact that the odds of this game finishing before midnight are minimal.

Okay, I have a meeting shortly, but...time to open up the floor. Any outstanding issues? Who's Atch going to piss off this week? :-)

The Beef: Well...it was me in week 1 and Dave in week 2...should we unleash him on the Hawk or is that just not fair.

Michael Atchison: I’ll take on any of you pencil-necked geeks™ (1962, “Classy” Fred Blassie). Who wants to dance? Anybody? Thought so.

The Beef: Does anyone else find it ironic that the smallest of Sanity members in size talks the most crap? Like one of those little barking dogs...all the time barking...

ZouDave: What does that make you and me, then?

The Beef: Big dumb animals I believe...

The Boy: Big dumb animals who apparently don't have any outstanding issues for the group...

ZouDave: you're an outstanding issue.

I've got nothing. We're basically right where I thought we'd be. We're not quite as good on defense as I'd thought, but I wasn't expecting much. I'm happy with our receivers, I'm happy with our running backs, I'm happy with our line, and despite his "poor" performances over the last 2 games I'm happy with Chase Daniel.

And I'm happy we haven't attempted a 2pt conversion since the Illinois game.

Michael Atchison: I’m a fit six feet tall and 165 pounds. That’s Marvin Hagler in his prime, baby.

Mizzou-Illinois State: Beyond the Box Score

2007-09-25T13:53:00.000-05:00

I never really shared too many thoughts about Saturday’s game; while part of that is simply because it was a relatively un-memorable affair, I’ll try to add some observations throughout this Beyond the Box Score bit.

Another note: some time in the next week or so, I’m going to analyze Mizzou’s performance as a whole through the first four weeks, comparing it to that of our next opponent, Nebraska. Anyway, on with the show...

Success Rate by Quarter

All Plays
Q1 – Missouri 52.9%, ISU 41.2%
Q2 – Missouri 61.9%, ISU 57.9%
Q3 – Missouri 60.0%, ISU 61.1%
Q4 – Missouri 58.8%, ISU 52.2%
TOTAL – Missouri 58.7%, ISU 53.2%

Close (within two possessions)
Q1 – Missouri 52.9%, ISU 41.2%
Q2 – Missouri 61.9%, ISU 30.0%
Q3 – Missouri 60.0%, ISU 58.8%
Q4 – N/A
TOTAL – Missouri 58.6%, Illinois State 45.5%

As with every other game this year, Mizzou was relatively dominant when the game was within two possessions (i.e. less than 17 points), but things evened up when the rout was on. And again, that’s not the worst problem in the world to have. Bottom line is, we’ve been up 20+ in all four games this season. Only putting up 38 points (tied for our lowest total this season) was a little disappointing, but the offense moved the ball efficiently the entire game. The missed field goal and the three INT’s (two of which came relatively deep in ISU territory, both in the fourth quarter) were the drive-killers, not offensive inefficiency.

QB Success Rate

I think I’m going to still label Daniel as the QB in all of the plays where others (Rucker, Maclin, Temple) take the direct snap. Daniel’s still on the field, and it’s still his offense—it’s just that the offense goes into quite unique formations from time to time.

That said, only two QB’s were on the field on Saturday when the game was close.

Mizzou
Chase Daniel – 34-for-58 (58.6%)

ISU
Luke Drone – 20-for-44 (45.5%)

Run Success Rate

Mizzou
Tony Temple – 9-for-15 (60.0%)
Marcus Woods – 2-for-4 (50.0%)
Derrick Washington – 1-for-2 (50.0%)
Chase Daniel – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Earl Goldsmith – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Jimmy Jackson – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Jeremy Maclin – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
TOTAL – 16-for-25 (64.0%)

ISU
Geno Blow – 8-for-13 (61.5%)
Luke Drone – 2-for-3 (66.7%)
Parrish Fisher – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Rafael Rice – 0-for-4 (0.0%)
TOTAL – 11-for-21 (52.3%)

Considering the teams we’ll be facing over the next couple of months, 52.3% is just too damn high for Illinois State. It’s like when Rice left the game, we just decided they wouldn’t run the ball anymore. Offensively, however, I don’t think you could ask for much more than this. Chase Daniel only ran once, which is fantastic for a meaningless game like this, and Tony Temple’s backups went 5-for-8. Everybody was running with confidence, and I was pleased to see the way Chase has been taking two steps forward during the handoff...something obviously designed to give the RB’s more of a running start, especially up the middle. We seem to have strayed somewhat from the ‘hand the ball to the RB while he’s standing still 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage’ plays, though they were still utilized a bit.

Receiver Success Rate

Mizzou
Jeremy Maclin – 4-for-5 (80.0%)
Martin Rucker - 3-for-4 (75.0%)
Chase Coffman - 3-for-3 (100.0%)
Will Franklin - 2-for-2 (100.0%)
Tommy Saunders - 2-for-2 (100.0%)
Tony Temple - 1-for-2 (50.0%)
Jimmy Jackson - 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Jason Ray - 1-for-1 (100.0%)
TOTAL – 18-for-21 (85.7%)

Illinois State
Meredith – 3-for-3 (100.0%)
Mickle – 2-for-2 (100.0%)
Salem – 2-for-2 (100.0%)
Geno Blow – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Chandler – 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Harcar – 0-for-2 (0.0%)
TOTAL – 9-for-11 (81.2%)

The emergence of Jeremy Maclin has pretty much allowed Mizzou to keep Will Franklin in reserve and just dust him off when necessary. The opening TD went to Franklin, then he only saw one other meaningful ball. The more I think about it, the more I like the fact that Maclin and Rucker have dominated a good portion of the non-conference action (sans Franklin’s first half against Ole Miss). Franklin and Coffman are kind of drifting under the radar right now, plus Alexander is still on pace (I believe) to return for NU. It’s pretty nice knowing that you have 5 guys who could go for 100 (or 150) yards receiving on any given Saturday.

Line Yards

Mizzou
Rushing – 25 attempts, 96.0 yards (3.84 per carry)
Total – 58 plays, 223.2 yards (3.85 per play)

ISU
Rushing – 22 attempts, 79.3 yards (3.60 per carry)
Total – 44 plays, 129.7 yards (2.95 per play)

Defensive Success Rates

Defensive Line
Tommy Chavis – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Ziggy Hood – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Lorenzo Williams – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Stryker Sulak – 3.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (33.3%)
Tyler Crane – 1.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
TOTAL – 7.5 tackles, 4.0 successful (53.3%)

Linebackers
Brock Christopher – 3.5 tackles, 2.5 successful (71.4%)
Sean Weatherspoon – 5.5 tackles, 3.0 successful (54.5%)
Van Alexander – 1.0 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
TOTAL – 10.0 tackles, 5.5 successful (55.0%)

Defensive Backs
Castine Bridges – 0.5 tackles, 0.5 successful (100.0%)
William Moore – 3.5 tackles, 2.0 successful (57.1%)
Pig Brown – 6.0 tackles, 2.0 successful (33.3%)
Carl Gettis – 2.0 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Justin Garrett – 1.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Hardy Ricks – 1.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Darnell Terrell – 1.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
TOTAL – 16.5 tackles, 4.5 successful (27.3%)

So coming into this game, I wanted to see good things from the following players: Van Alexander, Ziggy Hood, Stryker Sulak. Alexander did next to nothing. Take the “close game” filter off, and he was outplayed by Luke Lambert. Hood did next to nothing. Sulak had a nice sack and continues to make a bunch of ‘almost’ plays...but did next to nothing otherwise. Not encouraging. Also not so encouraging: that the secondary had to make that many tackles. Once I have more data together, I’ll be able to start looking at what % of tackles you see from each unit on good defenses compared to shaky ones. Needless to say, I’m pretty sure the 48.5% made by the DB’s is way too damn high.

Turnover Costliness

Mizzou1: Q1, 14-3 MU, 1st-and-10 from the Mizzou 31 (Interception by Nelson): 4 points
Mizzou2: Q4, 38-10 MU, 1st-and-goal from the ISU 7 (Interception by Roberts): 3 points
ISU1: Q4, 38-10 MU, 3rd-and-13 from the Mizzou 18 (Interception by W. Moore): 3 points
Mizzou3: Q4, 38-10 MU, 2nd-and-10 from the ISU 37 (Interception by Nelson): 2 points

Total
Mizzou: 3 turnovers, 9 points (3.0 avg)
ISU: 1 turnover, 3 points

Statistical MVPs

Offense: Once again, the statistical MVP directly coincides with the “watched with my eyes” MVP. It’s gotta be Jeremy Maclin, who was ‘successful’ on 5 of 6 opportunities (83.3%) and scored two TD’s. Tony Temple (10-for-17, 58.8%, 1 TD) is probably the runner-up.

Defense: We’ll go with William Moore, who made 2.0 ‘successful’ tackles from the safety position and had an INT worth 3 points. Runner-up: Sean Weatherspoon, who led the team with 3.0 ‘successful’ tackles.

Mizzou Links, 9-25-07

2007-09-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Dave Matter's got some notes about MU/NU, Jeremy Maclin and Mike Gundy. And then he's got a little more about Gundy on his blog, as does the Missourian. I'm a bit surprised by the amount of coverage this is getting...if Mike Leach had gone off like this, everyone would have just said, "Crazy Cap'n Mike is at it again!" and that would have been the end of it.
So apparently Bob Davie posts on Tigerboard...he rightly gets lacerated by Stewart Mandel for bitching and moaning that "I think there ought to be an NCAA rule -- 25 times a game you have to put two backs in the backfield." Yeah, Bob...tell that to Florida, kinda sorta the defending national champion.
Mike Dearmond has a blurb about Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week Jeremy Maclin. And speaking of the Dearmonds, PowerMizzou has a little Like Father, Unlike Son action for you.
It's Mid-Major Monday over at Sunday Morning QB. Poor Iowa State...
Also blogging at the Trib: Steve Walentik, with more from his interview with Kareem Rush. Walentik also links to this Big 12 Shootaround at the Dot Com. I was a bit taken aback when I realized that Richard Roby still has eligibility left. He has to be CU's all-time leading scorer by now considering he's averaged 15+ PPG for 9 straight years.
Inside Mizzou catches up with Mizzou commit Laurence Bowers.

It's official...

2007-09-24T11:05:00.001-05:00

...Mizzou vs Nebraska will be on ESPN at 8:15pm CST. Yeah, baby.

Monday Musings

2007-09-24T08:26:00.000-05:00

So The Boy stole my Appalachian State joke, so I have nothing to really lead this off with. I guess I will just throw myself right into this, but also with the caveat that if you care or want to respond to this, please always feel free. Better to know I have some people reading this and disagreeing with me at least than no one reading it at all.

Football:

We made it through unscathed for the most part…that is really all that needs to be said at this point. With the exception of Alexander’s injury (which did lead to the break out of Jeremy Maclin, so I guess it must be some sort of positive), we came through without too many lingering effects other than a 4-0 record and a top 20 ranking. Offensively, I cannot help but think we have regressed a bit in the last two games, or at least I believe Chase Daniel would tell you that. Tony Temple did top 100 yards in this game, and that was nice to see. I believe he has done better since the Illinois game and seems to be running with more confidence. However, I think the most important thing I saw yesterday was his catching the ball out of the backfield (other RB’s as well). This is a piece I believe we are going to need since I think teams will try to nullify our attack by bringing a lot of pressure.

Defensively, I still feel we kept a lot of our looks off the field and in hiding for conference play. We were better in this game than we had been in any of the other games, but we are still going to need to be able to line up and get pressure without the use of looks and stunts and blitz packages. I know it seems like I say that every week, I probably do. The only other concern at this point is starting to be the place kicking game. I will not say anything that has not already been said by people here and on other sites, but we are going need for Wolfert to be really solid inside of 45 yards as we go on from here. I know he can be, he was last year. Just need to see it again now.

Soccer:

It was a great effort by the ladies under the saddest of circumstances with the passing of their former teammate. It was quite the shock to all of us in the stadium when the result of their battle against #19 Cal was announced and that they had trounced the Bears 4-0 on Friday night. The women followed it up with a strong, but probably sloppy showing against TCU 6-2 Sunday afternoon. The Tigers got out to an early lead, but allowed the Horned Frogs to get it back to 3-2 before putting it away.

So, as has happened before, the ladies finish up the non-conference season very strong with two wins over ranked (At the time) teams and two other tremendous showings against top teams. But now it is conference time. And what a way to start it off, with #4 aTm coming to Walton Field on Friday evening. The triumvirate of Andrighetto, Collins and Bonnick, who have combined for 17 goals and 10 assists (and are 2 sophs and a frosh) will need to grow up some more and lead the team. Clearly Mizzou will carry a top 20 record into conference play, and could make a huge move by winning Friday and taking out Baylor back on the road on Sunday. Will be an interesting weekend, that is for certain.

Volleyball:

Well, there is no one in the entire country who has probably played as many five game matches as Mizzou has (five of them now if you are counting at home) However, winning barely any of them will really hurt come the end of the season when the team might come up a bit short of an NCAA berth unless some improvement happens soon. Dropping two five-gamers in conference this past week to Kansas and Iowa State. The loss of Klein has apparently made the ladies a little too one-dimensional on offense and we have yet to find the player who can step up and fill that roll as another go-to hitter.

In looking a little deeper at the stats, no one is jumping off of the page as either terribly great or just terribly terrible. What I think the problem has become is that if people are going to be solid from game to game on the team, we need more of them to be solid each game. I do not believe we can get by with only two good players in each game (and we seem to have singled out Na Yang and Wendy Wang as the two) but need at least one more to put us over the top each time. Amanda Hantouli and Megan Wilson are the candidates, time will tell if they step up.

The ladies will travel mid-week this week to play the Wildcats. KSU is looking solid with a 3-1 conference start and 11-3 overall record. The Tigers will return to Hearnes this weekend to take on conference leader (currently) OU. Tough week to say the least for the ladies.

Men’s Golf:

The men traveled to Zionsville, Indiana this past weekend (no….I have no idea where that actually is) to compete in the Wolf Run Invitational at the par 71, 7,195 yard course (that is a SOLIDLY long course, especially at par 71). Mizzou took something of a younger team, likely a mix of some of their experience in Peter Malnati and Bud Reynolds (junior and sophomore respectively) and then a triumvirate of freshman. If it means anything, they finished in order of experience, with Malnati coming in 24th in the tourney, and guiding the team to a 12th place finish.

Again, the fall season of golf is kinda funny, since there are never any tournaments which truly “count” for anything, just experience. I suppose at some point in these tourneys I would like to see us starting to play better, but I think we may also still be a year or two away. I do know that Coach Leroux has gained some decent recruits, and I imagine that should improve even more with the opening of the new home course. However, fall golf is the time you really won’t see that, so patience (I suppose) is a virtue here. The men return to the links at the Windon Memorial Classic in Glencoe, Ill. on Oct. 7-8.

Women’s Tennis:

The ladies were out in Maryland this past weekend for the Terrapin Invitational, and I believe really had another positive showing on their young season. This time, the team was a mix of many of the younger players who have come flying out of the gate, as well as some of the experience. The doubles team of Svetlic (senior) and Weber (freshman) took the doubles title, while freshman Maureen Modesto continued to impress by advancing to the finals of her flight before falling to the #2 ranked player in the field. Junior Racqual Wagner also made the finals of her flight before falling in a 3-set match.

Overall Coach Starkey sounds very upbeat and positive about the team, and from the looks of things, for good reason. The team appears to have good balance in terms of players' ages and experience, as well as young talent stepping up very early on. The ladies have shown very well by all accounts in their first two tournaments on the fall season, and will look to keep it going in a couple of weekends (Oct. 12-14) at the Mizzou Tiger Invitational.

Random Musings:

I really don't mind seeing the Green Bay Packers being 3-0, but the overkill by ESPN as this goes on may become too much to bear at some point.
Penn State...ugh...I do not know how Michigan STILL has their number, but there goes that thought. Anthony Morelli has not really impressed.
LSU and Florida will be a fun game. Tim Tebow's stats the other night were sick with 34 pass attempts I believe and another 27 carries.
Always a fun week in baseball as teams start to clinch...and somehow, there is a little bit of excitement. My Mets are 2.5 up...Sox 1.5...still a little room in the NL Wildcard, the west and the central in the NL are not set either.
If a puck drops on the ice in preseason and no one is there to see it, does it make a sound?

Mizzou Links, 9-24-07

2007-09-24T05:55:00.000-05:00

After everybody writes and writes on Sunday, the Monday links seem to always be pretty thin...oh well...

Dave Matter empties the notebook on Mizzou football. He's guessing the MU-NU game will get the 8:15pm ESPN slot when announced later today. I cannot put into words how fantastic that would be. Lots of other interesting notes as well...including a bit about the apparently thin-skinned Mike Gundy.
The Missourian has hopped on the "Bring On the Huskers!" article bandwagon...
Graham Watson plays Monday Morning QB. And speaking of which (sort of), Sunday Morning QB has an entertaining wrap-up...
Mutigers.com has gameday features on Pig Brown and Steven Blair.
In basketball recruiting, Inside Mizzou has the inside scoop on Eshaunte Jones. Meanwhile, Gabe at PowerMizzou has a quick blurb about Kim English's visit to Cincinnati.
Good results for Mizzou Soccer this weekend. With their play dedicated to Meggie Malm, Mizzou whooped #19 California on Friday, 4-0, then took out TCU on Sunday, 6-2. I should probably mention that, due likely to the success of Dave Matter's football blog (and Steve Walentik's basketball blog, for that matter), the Trib has also set up a Soccer blog run by Ryan Nilsson. He has lots of quotes about Malm and a wrap-up of the TCU game. Looks like a promising site. Meanwhile, the Missourian has a feature on freshman Michelle Collins.

Mizzou Links, 9-23-07

2007-09-23T12:09:00.001-05:00

'Twas Appalachian State-level hot hot hot yesterday...I think the cheering crowd at the end of the game was just reacting to the fact that it was the end of the game, not that Mizzou had won or anything...

Official Box Score and Interactive Stats (Missourian)
Official Game Recap
Recaps: Missouri Beats Illinois State (Missourian), Tigers top Redbirds despite lack of focus (Post-Dispatch)
Nebraska: Bring On the Cornhuskers (Trib), Tigers can focus on Nebraska after waltzing by Illinois State (KC Star), Ready for the Big Red (PowerMizzou)
Offense: Tigers Offense Clicks against Redbirds (Missourian)
ISU: Redbirds Fail to Counter First Punch (Trib), Illinois State quarterback’s family support staff travels to Tiger game (Missourian), Illinois State falls at Mizzou 38-17 (Pantagraph), ISU-Mizzou about dollars, experience (Pantagraph)
Defense: Terrell leads Tigers' defense against Redbirds (Missourian), Freshman Sheds his Redshirt (Trib)
Notes: Game Notes (Trib), Mizzou notebook (KC Star), Tigers notebook (Post-Dispatch), Missouri Graphic (KC Star)
Grades: Report Card (Post-Dispatch), Tiger Grade Card (PowerMizzou), Questions & Answers (Trib)
Recruiting: Smith enjoys unofficial visit to Mizzou (PowerMizzou)
Vlogs!: Tigers tapdance around matchup with Nebraska (Mike Dearmond's vlog)
Other football: Big Ten Has Seen Better Days (Missourian)

And some non-football links...

Alden's contract extended (Trib), UPDATED (Behind the Stripes), Alden confirms two-year contract extension (KC Star)
Kareem Rush pays visit to Missouri basketball scrimmage (Missourian), Rush ready for Round 2 (Trib)
Missouri volleyball team drops third straight (Trib)

Post-game open thread...

2007-09-22T18:59:00.001-05:00

I'll have more thoughts tomorrow once the sunburn fades a little and I can actually think for now, but...what did folks think? Jeremy Maclin's vision is just sickening...probably as good as Brad Smith's, though it's hard to say that because he receives the ball in the open field way more than Brad did. Anything else worth noting?

Western Michigan Highlight Video

2007-09-22T01:25:00.000-05:00

Meggie Malm, 1985-2007

2007-09-21T14:58:00.000-05:00

Margaret "Meggie" Malm, a four-year soccer player at the University of Missouri and a highly decorated student, died Thursday in Iowa from injuries suffered in a car accident. Just 22 years old, she was working toward her MBA at Mizzou.

You can read her bio and view a slideshow here.

Ne plus ultra, Meggie.

Fran Fraschilla, stone cold thrilla . . .

2007-09-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

picks the Tigers to finish fourth in the upcoming Big 12 hoops race. Is there anyone here who wouldn't be happy with that?

Mizzou-Illinois State Preview

2007-09-21T13:22:00.000-05:00

Repeat after me.

Illinois State is not Appalachian State. (Illinois State is not Appalachian State.)

Illinois State lost to Drake. (Illinois State lost to Drake.)

Illinois State’s offense is nowhere near as good as Western Michigan’s. (Illinois State’s offense is nowhere near as good as Western Michigan’s.)

Illinois State is worse than Western Michigan, and we beat Western Michigan by 28 points despite not playing particularly well. (Illinois State is worse than Western Michigan, and...that’s too many words to repeat at once.)

Look, I’m not really aiming to denigrate Illinois State here. Honest. I totally respect them for almost knocking off K-State last year. I’m just getting sick of the “REMEMBER APPALACHIAN STATE!” crap. There’s a reason Appalachian State’s win over Michigan was so momentous—because it never happens. ASU’s probably the best team Division 1-AA has had to offer since the early-‘90s Marshall teams (yes, I said 1-AA, not Division 1 Championship Subdivision), and Missouri crushed one of those early-‘90s Marshall teams. Yes, ISU almost beat KSU last year—KSU was devoid of a QB and was breaking in a bunch of newcomers (especially since Ron Prince scared off every Bill Snyder recruit sans Jordy Nelson...and he just decided not to play him until the last month of the season). Yes, Montana State beat Colorado last year. Illinois State is not Appalachian State, Missouri is not 2006 Colorado, and Illinois State will lose badly to Missouri tomorrow. Sorry, but it’s true.

What’s strange is, that mini-rant right there is mostly in response to an article in which Graham Watson does indeed pick Mizzou to win by 5 TD’s. While Graham doesn’t mess around in her predicition, she gives ISU a 6-4-1 advantage in the ‘categories’ in which she bases her preview. I like Graham quite a bit--she is a friend of Sanity, after all--but...if you’re going to do that, you might as well suck it up and pick a 28-27 ISU win or something. Don’t say “Watch your backs! ISU has a chance!” and then pick them to lose by 5 TD’s. Don’t say that ISU has the advantage in all of their offensive categories—and both kicker categories—and then say they’re only going to score 3 TD’s to Mizzou’s 8. Go all the way.

MU QB vs ISU Defense

There is no debate about this one, even from the most hand-wringingly of hand-wringers. Edge: Mizzou.

MU RB’s vs ISU LB’s

Injuries seem to have beset an ISU LB corps that wasn’t exactly on top of the world to begin with. Edge: Mizzou.

MU WR’s/TE’s vs ISU DB’s

There is no debate about this one, even from the most hand-wringingly of hand-wringers. Edge: Mizzou.

MU OL vs ISU DL

Injuries seem to have beset an ISU D-line that wasn’t exactly on top of the world to begin with. Edge: Mizzou.

ISU QB vs MU Defense

From what I’ve been able to gather, ISU’s offensive scheme is a lot more Ole Miss than Western Michigan. Ole Miss torched our defense once we were up big, and I figure ISU is capable of doing something similar...when we’re up big. ISU’s Luke Drone is an all-conference performer, and that’s fine. But I’m making a point here. When the game is close (and that’s all that’s important), ISU will do next to nothing on offense. Edge: Mizzou.

ISU RB’s vs MU LB’s

I’ve read quite a bit about Rafael Rice lately, and it really does sound like he’s a strong performer. Mizzou, meanwhile, has 2/3 of a strong LB corps. That should be enough. Even though Graham says Rice “will have little trouble getting through a Missouri defense that has struggled against the run this year,” WMU was ‘successful’ (See Beyond the Box Score posts for what ‘successful’ means) on only 3-of-10 rushes when the game was close, and while Rice might do a hair better than that, it won’t be enough. Edge: Mizzou.

ISU WR’s/TE’s vs MU DB’s

ISU has two strengths here: 1) top WR Jason Horton has had a strong first quarter of the season, racking up 17 catches for 283 yards and 2 TD’s, 2) the name “Jason Horton” hasn’t been particularly kind to Mizzou. Assuming we once again keep all of our blitz packages in our pockets until the Nebraska game, Luke Drone will occasionally have some time to throw the ball, and Horton will get open a few times, I’m sure. And once Mizzou’s up big, he’ll probably get open a few more times. But when the game is on the line, Missouri will do enough. Again, I’m making a point here. Edge: Mizzou.

ISU OL vs MU DL

I hope Mizzou’s DE’s are good enough to do some damage against the one of the worst O-lines they will see this year, especially considering Stryker Sulak began to show signs of life last week. But even if the DE’s are neutralized, ISU will not be able to handle Lorenzo Williams in the middle; hopefully Ziggy Hood will show signs of life himself. ISU’s line has only given up 2 sacks, but they’ve been blown up occasionally, giving up 4 tackles-for-loss per game. Williams might get four himself. Edge: Mizzou.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Track record still applies a bit here. Yes, ISU’s Tyler Funk (FUNK!) has made both of his FG’s and all of his PAT’s this year. But even with another lackluster crowd of 50,000 (or less) on Saturday, he’ll be kicking in a more hostile atmosphere than he’s used to. Meanwhile, Jeff Wolfert has one more miss left on his 2006 grace period, and then I start to worry. Both teams’ return games have been solid, but MU’s has been solid against D1 athletes, so they get the advantage there. Punting is a wash. Edge: Mizzou.

COACHING

The main job of a 1-A coach in preparing his team to play a 1-AA team is to make sure they’re focused and clear-headed. Yes, the NU game is lingering on the calendar, but a) there’s an off-week next week—that helps, and b) every quote I’ve read this week from a Mizzou player has toed the company line correctly, as best signified here: “You spend just as much time preparing yourself for what’s going to be thrown at you as you would an Oklahoma, Miami or Nebraska. They’re a great team. They like to play some Cover 2, Cover 4. They blitz a lot. They play a lot of two-man stuff. We look forward to that.”

In other words, Edge: Mizzou.

KARMA

You don’t want to overlook a team like this, otherwise karma will bite you in the ass. Between Chase’s quote above and the fact that we have fans on message boards who have actually said “I’m worried about this game,” I’d say that’s not a problem. Edge: Mizzou.

SUMMARY

Mizzou fans (and those who cover Mizzou) are always very good at talking themselves into being super-afraid of things. I’m the same way to an extent—I’m always at my most paranoid the day or so before the game. But...seriously, why waste energy worrying about this? Look, anything can happen—of course it can. We could fumble 12 times. They could fumble and have the ball bounce right into the hands of an O-lineman running full-speed toward the endzone. What? That one already happened? Well it could happen twice then. Hell, there could be a freak accident on the sideline where the bench collapses and breaks the femur bone of every scholarship offensive player at the same time. We’d really be in trouble then! And I’ll be due for one helluva mea culpa! But you know what? As always, anything probably won’t happen. You know I’m right. MU 51, Illinois State 6.

Stats Stats Stats: 2006 (O-Line)

2007-09-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

I’ve fallen off the wagon in terms of the 2006 stat analysis, but here’s your next installment. So far I’ve looked at success rates for QB’s, RB’s, and WR/TE’s...now it’s time to look at line play.

There is no perfect tool for evaluating an O-line without watching every play of every game and grading each player out like coaches do. I wouldn’t have the time for that even if I had access to tapes of all the games. Just ain’t gonna happen. That said, Football Outsiders use a tool called Line Yards. I’ve used it for my ‘Beyond the Box Score’ bits, and I’m going to dig it back out now to measure run-blocking effectiveness.

Line Yards is once again defined by Football Outsiders as follows:

• For a play that resulted in negative yards, the O-line is granted 120% of the effort (i.e. a 3-yard loss would be a 3.6-yard loss for the O-line).

• For a play that resulted in a 0-4 yard gain, the O-line is granted 100%.

• For a play that resulted in a 5-10 yard gain, the O-line is granted 50% of the yards over 4 (i.e. an 8-yard gain would be a 6-yard gain for the O-line).

• For a play that resulted in a 10+ yard gain, the O-line get no extra credit—by that point, the runner is into the secondary, and the line won’t get much chance to block. Therefore (if the math in my head is correct), the most credit an O-line can get is 7.5 yards.

Obviously this tool is far from perfect, as it doesn’t pay heed to the abilities of the people running or throwing the ball. You open up the same-sized hole for Adrian Peterson or Jon Cornish as you do for Paul Mosley or Stevie Hicks, and you’re not going to get the same yards every time. The RB still has to hit the holes and maybe break some tackles. That said, capping the possible gain at least takes an RB’s explosiveness (and the occasional big-play outlier) out of the equation. Whether an RB gains 10 yards or 20 or 80, the O-line did its job, and it gets max credit for it.

So here are the 2006 line yards. Two qualifiers: these are only conference games, and these stats—like most others I use—are only for when the game is within two possessions. If you’re down 30 and the other team brings in its second-string nickel package, you can probably run for 8 yards a pop no matter who you are...and it would prove nothing.

2006 Line Yards (Conference Average: 2.86)
1. Kansas – 222 attempts, 763.5 yards, 3.44 average (Value Over Average* : 1.20)
2. Oklahoma State – 260 attempts, 851.8 yards, 3.28 average (VOA: 1.15)
3. Nebraska – 279 attempts, 877.8 yards, 3.15 average (VOA: 1.10)
4. Texas – 214 attempts, 673.1 yards, 3.15 average (VOA: 1.10)
5. Colorado – 220 attempts, 685.9 yards, 3.12 average (VOA: 1.09)
6. Texas A&M – 330 attempts, 993.8 yards, 3.01 average (VOA: 1.05)
7. Oklahoma – 314 attempts, 878.9 yards, 2.80 average (VOA: 0.98)
8. Missouri – 192 attempts, 532.4 yards, 2.77 average (VOA: 0.97)
9. Kansas State – 188 attempts, 511.4 yards, 2.72 average (VOA: 0.95)
10. Texas Tech – 84 attempts (!!), 217.3 yards, 2.59 average (VOA: 0.91)
11. Iowa State – 174 attempts, 438.5 yards, 2.52 average (VOA: 0.88)
12. Baylor – 104 attempts, 188.0 yards, 1.81 average (VOA: 0.63)

* Value Over Average just signifies a team’s performance/value compared to the conference average. 1.00 = conference average. 1.20 = 20% over the conference average. 0.80 = 20% below the conference average. Et cetera.

Thoughts:

• Jon Cornish led the league in rushing, so it would make sense that Kansas would be #1.
• Oklahoma State at #2 surprised me simply because I figured a lot of their yards came off of big runs (I suspected the same out of K-State and was correct on that one). Instead this shows a pretty decent consistency.
• Texas A&M and OU were rated #1 and #2 in most unit rankings coming into this season, but their totals weren’t nearly as high as I would have thought.
• I’m thinking Colorado didn’t run the ball enough, eh? With Bernard Jackson’s arm and the Buffs’ cruddy receivers, Coach Nick Nolte’s offensive schemes didn’t really match the talent. And by “didn’t really match” I mean “was terribly, disastrously at odds with.”
• When games were within two possessions, Texas Tech averaged about 10.5 rushes per game. That’s insane. I mean, I knew it would be a small number—duh, they’re Texas Tech—but that’s...well, insane.

Okay, so that works pretty decently for a line’s performance in the rushing category. What about passing? What’s an O-line’s main job in pass blocking? Not getting the QB sacked, of course. It would make sense, then, that a statistic like Sack Rate (sacks divided by passing attempts) could be used. Now, this comes with the same “everybody’s different” issues as Line Yards. A sack rate could depend just as much on a QB’s ability to avoid oncoming rushers and make a quick decision or the overall ability of the WR’s and TE’s to actually get open. But as with Line Yards, the Sack Rate will tell something, right?

As we delve into Sack Rate, we should take into account the fact that there’s a higher rate of sacks on third (and fourth) downs than on first and second. Makes sense. Third downs see more pass situations and therefore see more blitzes. So since preventing sacks on first/second downs and third/fourth downs are really sort of two different skills, what we’re going to do here is look at both the sack rates for both and hold them as separate entities, comparing them both to the overall conference averages, and figuring out a way to make some judgements based off of that.

First/Second Down Sack Rate (Conference Average: 5.46%)
1. Texas Tech – 1.94%
2. Oklahoma State – 3.94%
3. Oklahoma – 4.13%
4. Missouri – 4.55%
5. Kansas – 4.88%
6. Texas A&M – 4.90%
7. Texas – 5.77%
8. Baylor – 6.15%
9. Kansas State – 6.75%
10. Iowa State – 7.94%
11. Nebraska – 8.24%
12. Colorado – 9.47%

Third/Fourth Down Sack Rate (Conference Average: 8.10%)
1. Oklahoma – 5.00%
2. Missouri – 5.19%
3. Texas Tech – 5.56%
4. Oklahoma State – 6.45%
5. Colorado – 7.55%
6. Texas A&M – 8.57%
7. Baylor – 8.82%
8. Nebraska – 8.89%
9. Texas – 9.23%
10. Kansas State – 10.45%
11. Iowa State – 10.71%
12. Kansas – 11.25%

So if we combine those two figures two the conference average, we can come up with some sort of rough “Value Over Average” (VOA) number. If you really want to know the formula I used for this, let me know...otherwise I’m thinking that a boring explanation of it would just distract from the numbers themselves.

Sack Rate VOA – O-Line
1. Texas Tech – 1.41
2. Oklahoma – 1.17
3. Missouri – 1.14
4. Oklahoma State – 1.11
5. Texas A&M – 0.98
6. Kansas – 0.93
7. Texas – 0.92
8. Baylor – 0.92
9. Colorado – 0.88
10. Kansas State – 0.86
11. Nebraska – 0.86
12. Iowa State – 0.82

Thoughts:

• This really might be a pretty decent measure, as it doesn’t seem to give any benefit to the more elusive QB’s in the conference, like Bernard Jackson. Graham Harrell’s as stationary as they come—though he also gets rid of the ball quicker than anybody in the world—and Tech was far and away #1.
• I think it’s safe to say that Kansas was horrid at protecting from blitzes. On first and second downs, they were as good at avoiding the sack as anybody (outside Lubbock, anyway). On third and fourth downs, they were worse than Iowa State. Guess that might say something about the abilities of Kerry Meier, Adam Barmann, and Todd Reesing to make quick decisions, but it also says something about the O-line.

Okay, so now what happens if we combine the two “VOA” figures? Despite all of the limitations I mentioned above, this would still give us a decent read of who did the best job in combination run/pass blocking, right?

In this case, I guess you could say 2.00 = conference average, since it’s combining two averages.

Combined VOA – Offensive Line
1. Texas Tech – 2.32
2. Oklahoma State – 2.26
3. Oklahoma – 2.15
4. Kansas – 2.13
5. Missouri – 2.10
6. Texas A&M – 2.03
7. Texas – 2.02
8. Colorado – 1.97
9. Nebraska – 1.96
10. Kansas State – 1.81
11. Iowa State – 1.70
12. Baylor – 1.55

I think this does a pretty good job of comparing a team’s O-line talent to how it matches up with the offensive system. I’m sure Oklahoma (#3) and Texas (#7) had more NFL talent than Tech (#1) and OSU (#2) last year, but that didn’t allow them to do a better job. I do find ATM’s standing (#6) interesting considering how good people seemed to think they were this offseason. These numbers suggest that ATM’s rushing performance last year was due much more to the McGee-Goodson-Lane attack than the performance of the O-line...which makes sense to me. Mizzou didn’t have a problem with ATM’s running game last year until having to tackle Lane and chase Goodson 90 times (it felt like 90, anyway) caught up with them.

Next time, I’ll look at D-line performance using the same approach.

Mizzou Links, 9-21-07

2007-09-21T06:06:00.000-05:00

Now this is pretty cool: the Mizzou-Iowa State volleyball match will be on FSN Midwest tomorrow at 6:30. Well...it's cool as long as Mizzou wins...

Speaking of volleyball, here's The Trib's recap of Wednesday's disappointment against KU.
And now it's on to football: here are Dave Matter's weekly picks. He's already 0-for-1 after ATM's poor showing last night. Needless to say, I was encouraged to see ATM's defense give up 275 yards passing to Kyle Wright...in all, though, ATM just didn't have that edge that they need to have this year if they're going to compete for, well, 2nd place in the North. And they're still at a major disadvantage against fast teams. Cal embarassed them last year, and Miami almost did...OU's gotta be salivating at the chance to play them (MU's gotta be a little excited too). Plus, they now have to worry about possible chemistry issues after Jorvorskie Lane got all of 2 carries last night. I don't know if he's hurt or something, but if he wasn't, it was absolutely horrendous coaching on Franchione's part not to try to balance Miami's speed advantage by throwing Lane at them 25 times.
Lots of solid coverage from the Missourian today: a Coffman/Rucker feature, an "REMEMBER APPALACHIAN STATE! BEWARE 1-AA!!" story, 10 things you always wanted to know about Illinois State (but were afraid to ask), the Mizzou football Name Game (with answers), and even a Marching Mizzou feature. What more could you ask for?? An OU-Tulsa preview too? You got it!
The Trib's Steve Walentik, The Star's Senior Dearmond, and PM's Junior Dearmond discuss Derrick Washington's redshirt being torn off (I approve, by the way...as does Washington's family apparently) and speculate on how many carries he'll see this season.
The Post-Dispatch discusses MU's D-line depth...or lack thereof...
I'd be remiss if I didn't link to Gabe Dearmond's tear-jerker about Tommy Saunders and his grandpa. And while we're linking to PM, here's the latest Tiger Mailbag.
Here's a quick MU-ISU preview in the KC Star. Meanwhile, here's a more detailed breakdown by Graham Watson. She puts more work into this than I was planning. Then again, she's getting paid...that makes a difference...
Finally, some odds and ends on Steve Walentik's Trib blog...he's playing with fire talking about Oden...I'm just warning him now...

More Big Ten Conference Talk...

2007-09-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

This time, it comes from Stewart Mandel of SI.com and he doesn't mention MU. But, Bill has this thing for the Big Ten, so I thought I'd mention it.

In his article, Mandel talks about the perfect match that is the Big Ten and Notre Dame. And, he has a lot of strong points. It is no longer 1988 when there were 25 indepedent D-1 football programs. Notre Dame needs the help that being able to play a weak non-conference schedule at the start of the season against the service academies would provide.

While the Big Ten does not need to add Notre Dame to legitimize the conference, but it's new cable network sure could use the help. As Mandel says, even just having a couple of Notre Dame road games each season would probably get the Big Ten Network on cable networks outside of the Great Lakes and the Northeast.

Does it happen? Probably not. But, I think it has a far better chance than the Big Ten welcoming in any other school in the near future.

Mizzou Links, 9-20-07

2007-09-20T06:04:00.000-05:00

It's mid-week, so you know what that means...it's Cut to the Chase time!
Graham Watson gets to know Illinois State. Meanwhile, it sounds like Illinois State RB Parrish Fisher might dislike Ron Prince more than I do!
Read enough about Jeremy Maclin yet? I didn't think so. (See Mike Dearmond's Vlog for more.)
The Trib has a nice story (complete with a giant front page picture in the paper version) on spread QB's like Chase Daniel, Colt Brennan, and Graham Harrell, and their trying to debunk the "product of the system" myth.
Mutigers.com has a nice feature on late Tiger great Clay Cooper.
In football recruiting news, Jeff Ermann at Inside Mizzou gives you a freebie: a story about Mizzou's building interest in New York QB James Brady. Meanwhile, according to Power Mizzou it looks like Raytown DE Aldon Smith will be in town for the MU-NU game.
Here's the official recap of last night's volleyball heartbreaker. The Missourian's recap is a little less disappointed and a little more critical. I was being nice last night with the "KU won with its defense" line...they also won because MU made a lot of errors...which I guess is better because it's relatively fixable.
Meanwhile, Mizzou Women's Basketball has announced its official 2007-08 schedule. A rather ho-hum affair, though I do enjoy that they get to play in three tournaments. Tournaments are always better than cupcake games, even if the tournaments have nothing but cupcakes in them. They are.
Do you smell the greatness? That's right...Brad Smith's got an official website.
And finally, Sunday Morning QB celebrates Talk Like a Pirate Day the only way he knows how: YARRRR, it's Cap'n Leach! (As always with Cap'n Leach, I'll simply mention that I love that he's in our conference, and I love that he's not my team's coach.)

Volleyball Match #11: Kansas 3, Missouri 2

2007-09-19T21:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I know two things for sure: 1) Volleyball is a game of ridiculous runs, and 2) Mizzou might be in trouble this year.

In tonight's match against Kansas...

* Kansas won 20 of the first 28 points.
* Missouri won 14 of the next 20.
* Kansas won 14 of the next 22.
* Missouri won 21 of the next 32.
* The teams split the next 28 points.
* Missouri won 25 of the next 38.
* Kansas won 9 of the next 12.
* The teams split the next 28 points.
* Kansas won 21 of the last 32.

That's a long way of saying Missouri lost the Game 1 (30-23), won Games 2 & 3 (30-26, 30-20), and went up 24-22 in Game 4 before falling in Games 4 & 5 (30-28, 15-7). For the third time this season, Missouri lost a match in which they outscored their opponents.

Kansas won this match with defense, scoring an impressive 16 blocks and 65 digs, which suggests we were a little too predictable (in Klein's absense, we went to Na Yang 55 times). Nobody hit particularly well for Mizzou. Na (24 kills, .200) tried her damnedest, but she didn't get much contribution from the youngsters scrambling to replace Julianna Klein. Amanda Hantouli had a .500 kill %, but on only 10 attempts. Beyond that, freshman Weiwen Wang had 12 kills on 35 attempts (.143), sophomore Megan Wilson had 12 kills on 34 attempts (.176), and freshman Catie Wilson had 12 kills on 31 attempts (.161).

This is not an encouraging result, as Kansas was 0-2 in conference play heading into tonight's match. The team will improve as Wang and C. Wilson get more and more used to volleyball at this level, but in the meantime, trouble could be a-brewin'.

Next up for Mizzou is a trip to Ames on Saturday. Lose that, and there's some serious trouble, as Iowa State is rarely good (though they did sweep ATM last week at home).

Mizzou-WMU: Beyond the Box Score

2007-09-19T09:09:00.000-05:00

It's time once again for me to interest only myself by delving into game stats from a different angle...

Success Rate by Quarter

Once again, “success” is defined as follows: 40% of needed yardage on 1st down, 70% of needed yardage on 2nd down, or 100% of needed yardage on 3rd or 4th down. This looks at the rate of success for each team by each quarter. Its goal is to see how the game flowed from one quarter to another.

Q1: MU 55.6%, WMU 43.8%
Q2: WMU 50.0%, MU 43.5%
Q3: WMU 35.3%, MU 30.4%
Q4: MU 69.6%, WMU 65.4%
GAME: WMU 50.6%, MU 49.4%

Alarming? Not so much. Here’s the success rate for only plays taking place when the score was within 16 points or less (i.e. two possessions):

Q1: MU 55.6%, WMU 43.8%
Q2: MU 57.1%, WMU 25.0%
Q3: N/A (the game was never within 16 points)
Q4: MU 83.3%, WMU N/A (MU got the ball up 14 and immediately drove down for a TD)
GAME-CLOSE: MU 61.3%, WMU 40.0%

Again, this shows what we’ve been seeing all season—Mizzou takes its foot off the gas when up big. And again, this problem could be worse...we could not be up huge in every game.

For the season...

Q1: Mizzou 47.8%, Opp 39.0%
Q2: Opp 53.2%, Mizzou 48.5%
Q3: Opp 50.0%, Mizzou 48.3%
Q4: Opp 49.3%, Mizzou 48.3%
GAME: Opp 48.7%, Mizzou 48.2%

For the season, in close games...

Q1: Mizzou 47.8%, Opp 39.0%
Q2: Mizzou 52.0%, Opp 48.6%
Q3: Mizzou 75.0%, Opp 25.0%
Q4: Mizzou 41.9%, Opp 37.5%
GAME-CLOSE: Mizzou 49.4%, Opp 40.8%

Now you see why I only look at stats when the game is within two possessions. That’s what I’ll solely observe for the rest of these numbers.

QB Success Rate

This looks at the success rate of every play in which a specific QB takes the snap.

Mizzou
Chase Daniel: 19-for-30 (63.3%) (SEASON: 81-for-165 (49.1%))
Martin Rucker: 0-for-1 (0.0%) (SEASON: 4-for-6 (66.7%))
TEAM: 19-for-31 (61.3%) (SEASON: 85-for-172 (49.4%))

WMU
Tim Hiller: 8-for-20 (40.0%)

Run Success Rate

Mizzou
Tony Temple: 6-for-6 (100.0%) (SEASON: 11-for-32 (34.4%))
Jeremy Maclin: 2-for-4 (50.0%) (SEASON: 5-for-7 (71.4%))
Chase Daniel: 2-for-2 (100.0%) (SEASON: 8-for-17 (47.1%))
Martin Rucker: 0-for-1 (0.0%) (SEASON: 3-for-5 (60.0%))
TEAM: 10-for-13 (76.9%) (SEASON: 27-for-66 (40.9%))

WMU
West: 2-for-6 (33.3%)
Bonds: 1-for-4 (25.0%)
TEAM: 3-for-10 (30.0%) (OPPONENTS, SEASON: 19-for-50 (38.0%))

Temple and MU's rates are slowly improving from the disaster that was the Illinois game.

Receiver Success Rate

Mizzou
Jeremy Maclin: 4-for-4 (100.0%) (SEASON: 10-for-11 (90.9%))
Martin Rucker: 2-for-4 (50.0%) (SEASON: 14-for-18 (77.8%))
Will Franklin: 1-for-1 (100.0%) (SEASON: 10-for-13 (76.9%))
Tommy Saunders: 1-for-1 (100.0%) (SEASON: 4-for-5 (80.0%))
Jared Perry: 1-for-1 (100.0%) (SEASON: 3-for-4 (75.0%))
Jimmy Jackson: 0-for-1 (0.0%) (SEASON: 0-for-1 (0.0%))
TEAM: 9-for-12 (75.0%) (SEASON: 58-for-74 (78.4%))

WMU
Ledbetter: 1-for-2 (50.0%)
West: 1-for-2 (50.0%)
Martin: 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Middleton: 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Simmons: 1-for-1 (100.0%)
Bonds: 0-for-1 (0.0%)
TEAM: 5-for-8 (62.5%) (OPPONENTS, SEASON: 30-for-38 (78.9%))

Line Yards

Again, here are the rules for Line Yards, an attempted measure of O-line (and D-line) effectiveness:

• For a play that resulted in negative yards, the O-line is granted 120% of the effort (i.e. a 3-yard loss would be a 3.6-yard loss for the O-line).

• For a play that resulted in a 0-4 yard gain, the O-line is granted 100%.

• For a play that resulted in a 5-10 yard gain, the O-line is granted 50% of the yards over 4 (i.e. an 8-yard gain would be a 6-yard gain for the O-line).

• For a play that resulted in a 10+ yard gain, the O-line get no extra credit—by that point, the runner is into the secondary, and the line won’t get much chance to block. Therefore (if the math in my head is correct), the most credit an O-line can get is 7.5 yards.

As a whole, it makes a lot more sense in regard to running plays (the line’s responsible for creating lanes necessary for the RB moving up the field) than passing plays (most of the time, the line’s only responsible for the QB getting the pass off comfortably).

Mizzou-WMU

Mizzou
13 rushes, 64 yards (4.92/carry)
31 total plays, 130 yards (4.19/play)

WMU
10 rushes, 30.8 yards (3.08/carry)
20 total plays, 52.1 yards (2.61/play)

Season

Mizzou
66 rushes, 185.6 yards (2.81/carry)
173 plays, 552.2 yards (3.19/play)

Opponents
50 rushes, 144.1 yards (2.88/carry)
120 plays, 319.9 yards (2.67/play)

And as a point of reference...

2006 Conference Numbers

Mizzou
251 rushes, 687.5 yards (2.74/carry)
551 plays, 1628.5 yards (2.96/play)

Opponents
306 rushes, 1006.2 yards (3.29/carry)
548 plays, 1644.4 yards (3.00/play)

You would want your non-conference numbers to be better than last year’s conference numbers, and they are across the board. How that translates to 2007 conference numbers, we’ll have to wait and see. Either way, though, the line yards figures show improvement against WMU as compared to previous weeks...one would hope so, as WMU likely isn’t as good as UI or Ole Miss were.

Defensive Success Rates

I’m going to do this one a little differently this week. The last couple of weeks, I’ve laid out these stats as follows: total tackles (when the game was within two possessions), the number of those tackles that resulted in a successful play for the offense, and the overall success rate. That was fine, except it was a little confusing, as the lower the success rate was for a defender, the better. It makes more sense for a higher number to signify success (this isn’t golf), so I’m now defining the “successful” plays listed below as whether a play was successful for the defense (i.e. was not a successful play for the offense). Make sense? I’m sure it does. So now, if a defensive player has a 100% success rate, that’s good.

And as I’ve mentioned before, you have to kind of figure that the DL will have a better rate than the LB’s, and the LB’s better than the DB’s, just thinking about how close to the line of scrimmage (and the ‘success’ line) they line up on a given play.

MIZZOU VS WMU

Defensive Line
Lorenzo Williams – 3.5 tackles, 3.5 successful (100.0%)
Tommy Chavis – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Charles Gaines – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Ziggy Hood – 0.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
TOTAL – 6.0 tackles, 5.5 successful (91.7%)

Linebackers
Sean Weatherspoon – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Brock Christopher – 2.0 tackles, 1.5 successful (75.0%)
TOTAL – 3.0 tackles, 2.5 successful (83.3%)

Defensive Backs
Castine Bridges – 1.5 tackles, 1.0 successful (66.7%)
William Moore – 2.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (50.0%)
Justin Garrett – 0.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Carl Gettis – 2.0 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Pig Brown – 1.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Hardy Ricks – 1.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
TOTAL – 9.0 tackles, 2.0 successful (22.2%)

SEASON

Defensive Line
Lorenzo Williams – 8.0 tackles, 8.0 successful (100.0%)
Jaysen Corbett – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Charles Gaines – 1.0 tackles, 1.0 successful (100.0%)
Tommy Chavis – 2.0 tackles, 1.5 successful (75.0%)
Stryker Sulak – 1.5 tackles, 1.0 successful (66.7%)
Ziggy Hood – 3.5 tackles, 1.0 successful (28.6%)
TOTAL – 17.0 tackles, 13.5 successful (79.4%)

Linebackers
Brock Christopher – 13.0 tackles, 8.5 successful (65.4%)
Sean Weatherspoon – 11.5 tackles, 7.0 successful (60.9%)
Van Alexander – 3.0 tackles, 0.5 successful (16.7%)
TOTAL – 27.5 tackles, 16.0 successful (58.2%)

Defensive Backs
Castine Bridges – 1.5 tackles, 1.0 successful (66.7%)
Justin Garrett – 1.0 tackles, 0.5 successful (50.0%)
Pig Brown – 9.5 tackles, 4.0 successful (42.1%)
William Moore – 9.0 tackles, 3.0 successful (33.3%)
Hardy Ricks – 7.0 tackles, 2.0 successful (28.6%)
Carl Gettis – 6.0 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Del Howard – 3.0 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
Darnell Terrell – 2.5 tackles, 0.0 successful (0.0%)
TOTAL – 39.5 tackles, 10.5 successful (26.6%)

The only comments I have about this are as follows:

• All Lorenzo Williams does is make big plays. He has well over half of the D-Line’s ‘successful’ plays for the season. That’s both good and bad, I think. I’ll get into that one more later.

• We really, really, really need for three guys to start making positive contributions: Ziggy Hood, Stryker Sulak and Van Alexander. Hood has officially made 1.0 successful plays this year, not counting his 2nd quarter fumble recovery against WMU (which does factor into consideration a bit). Sulak caused that 2nd quarter fumble and was a lot more noticeable against WMU, though all of his plays came with Mizzou up comfortably. Alexander, meanwhile, is leading the team (by my count, anyway) in missed arm tackles, while his ‘success rate’ is significantly far below that of Weatherspoon and Christopher. We have two-thirds of a successful LB corps, but that’s not nearly enough. Either Alexander needs to improve, or somebody like Luke Lambert needs to step up and steal some playing time.

• Pig Brown hasn’t done much since the Illinois game. He makes some nice hits, but they’re all coming after big gains.

Turnover Costliness

The super-primitive formula for this can be found here. As always, if you have a better idea for this formula, let me know. One of these days, I’ll get a response to that request.

WMU1: Q1, 7-0 MU, 3rd and 5 from the WMU 42 (Christopher INT) – 3 points
MU1: Q2, 21-3 MU, 3rd and 10 from the MU 35 (Gebhart INT) – 3 points
WMU2: Q2, 28-3 MU, 1st and 10 from the MU 45 (Sulak FF, Hood FR) – 1 point
MU2: Q3, 31-3 MU, 3rd and 7 from the MU 30 (C.J. INT for TD) – automatic 5 points

Total: MU 6 points on 2 turnovers (3.0 avg), WMU 4 points on 2 turnovers (2.0 avg)

Season: MU 15 points on 4 turnovers (3.8 avg), Opponents 36 points on 9 turnovers (4.0 avg).

So I guess you can say that not only does MU have a +5 turnover margin for the year, they have a +21 turnover costliness margin.

Mizzou Statistical MVPs

Offensive: You don’t need to delve to deeply into the box score to notice Jeremy Maclin’s diverse and effective day. He did a little of everything—run, catch, return kicks—and he did it all effectively. Martin Rucker had an amazing day as well, but more of his came when the game was a little less tight.

Defensive: Brock Christopher’s been the defense’s rock this year, and he showed it here. He only made 1.5 ‘successful’ defensive plays (when the game was within 2 possessions), but he also had an INT (worth 3 points). That bumps him ahead of Lorenzo Williams and his 3.5 successful plays.

For the season...

Offensive: Really, the only guys who have brought their A-game all three games so far are Chase Daniel, Maclin, and Rucker. Compared to others at his position, Rucker is by far the biggest success of the three guys, but I really can’t give a ‘season MVP’ award to anybody other than Chase Daniel.

Defensive: Just as with the WMU game, Brock Christopher gets the slight nod over Lorenzo Williams for the season because of the successful plays/turnovers combination...and because of the D-line's overall ineffectiveness. Williams is the Mizzou defense’s version of Cris “All he does is catch TD’s” Carter—all he does is make big plays. And as with that original quote about Carter, that’s not a 100% good thing...at least not when compared to the defense as a whole.

The D-line needs to make more plays, period, if this defense is going to play well enough for Mizzou to win the Big 12 North. I’m sure Williams could be doing more, but as I said above...he’s made 8 of the D-Line’s 13 successful plays. Guys like Hood, Sulak, etc., need to do something...anything. Sulak had a nice game against WMU, though most of it came with Mizzou up comfortably. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come, though.

Mizzou Links, 9-19-07

2007-09-19T06:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, why is ESPN covering the latest OJ charges? OJ's not even remotely a sports figure anymore. That ended about 10 years ago. He's not "O.J. Simpson, former running back" anymore. He's "O.J. Simpson, crazy man and pop culture figure."

And I'm sorry, Roger Cossack, but how much is ESPN paying you to make observations like "Guns make crimes very serious"? I'm in the wrong line of business.

Okay, another question for you Rog...how much money have you made off of OJ in your life? And how does that make you feel? Okay, pretty good, I imagine...anyhoo...

The big news today is that backup DE John Stull was arrested for third degree assault yesterday after apparently punching dude over money owed or something. Stupid. No word on disciplinary actions, though I guess it's good timing to have happened the week of the Illinois State game...in case a 1-game suspension is in the works. Also, freshman Kendall Irving and redshirt freshman Jesse Hernandez have left the program. Eh, attrition happens. More scholarships for this recruiting class! Oh, and Steve Redmond was also arrested last weekend, for a noise violation. Can't imagine a suspension comes from that one, but...jeez, busy weekend. And I guess we can count our lucky starts that we don't have Texas' situation at the moment. Funny stuff. (Here's the real post about Texas' issues.)
Here's the weekly release for ISU. Mizzou is looking for its 14th ever 4-0 start...it's third under Pinkel. Pretty sure they'll get it.
Illinois State has now lost two 5th-year senior starters to season-ending injury, which stinks for them.
Jeff Wolfert is still looking for his groove...and not in an Angela Bassett sort of way.
PowerMizzou has its Tuesday Top Tigers.
Dave Matter unleashes his weekly power poll.
The CNNSI.com headline for this story was "Police: No Charges in MU Sex-Assault Probe." I thought I had failed catastrophically as a blogger for missing this one...I had no idea there was a sexual assault probe going on at MU! Oh...Millersville University...naturally...because that's the first MU that comes to people's minds...thanks, CNNSI...

Alright, some non-football news...

There will be another open practice for Mizzou Basketball at 10am before the Saturday football game.
Mizzou Volleyball plays Kansas tonight to kick off the the Border War, er, Showdown. The Kreklows look to move to 13-2 versus the Beakers. It'll be the first volleyball match of the year for the wife and I...hooray...
Looking ahead to the spring, Rivals.com says Mizzou Baseball has sick pitching and something to prove...that's a pretty good combination. Seriously, we might have the best pitching staff in the nation in '08...this might be the earliest I've ever looked ahead to baseball.
RSFr x-country runner Ben Brammeier was named Big 12 Runner of the Week after his strong performance in Nashville.
Okay, you twisted my arm...one more football link. It's never too early for bowl projections!! I mean really, it's not like anything's going to change over the next 12 weeks or so. Gator or Holiday...no no no, I want Cotton.

And by the way...

2007-09-18T15:21:00.000-05:00

...posts like this are why blogs were created.

Mizzou Sanity Roundtable: Week 3

2007-09-18T15:15:00.000-05:00

I probably should have split this into two parts, but...well...as you'll soon find, the entire second half of this exchange is 100% without substance, and I would feel bad if you were to wait till tomorrow for Part Two and then went, "This is what I waited for??" So instead you get all ~4,000 words at once.

1. We're almost through with the non-conference slate. At this point, what's your biggest concern regarding your team? (And be more specific than "offense," "defense," or "special teams.")

2. Are you more or less confident about your team's chances of winning the North now than you were at the beginning of the season?

3. What have been the biggest surprises (good and bad) in the Big 12 as a whole so far?

4. Prediction for your team's game this week?

Bonus question: how freaking bad is the Big Ten this year?

The Beef: 1) My biggest concern is that we do NOT have any sort of blitz packages. I have only seen us blitz a handful of times over these first three games, and I keep thinking/hoping/praying that we are keeping things intentionally vanilla on defense. Now, we should be doing a better job of creating pressure just lining up 4-3-4, but we are going to need those packages (both run and pass) to do what we want to do come conference season.

2) I am equally as confident. I think our defense is a little worse than I thought it would be (right now) and our offense is a hair better. I also think the league as a whole is weaker than I thought it would be.

3) OU winning the way they have. kU taking care of business they way they have. UT doing it the way they have. ISU winning last weekend….good for them.

4) Since I have to believe I came the closest last week on the score prediction (missed by 3 points total) I feel confident in saying, I think we will win. I don’t think Daniel sees the 4th quarter and I think Derrick Washington scores his first TD in some extended work in the 4th quarter. I like Mizzou 48-17.

5) Penn State all the way baby!!!

Doug: 1) The impending over-use of Aqib Talib. In two straight series against Toledo, an offensive possession and defensive set, Talib was on the field for every single play. I understand that he's probably the best play-maker KU has had in quite awhile, and Mark Mangino is trying to take advantage of that fact, but you can't wear the man out, otherwise you lose the best corner in the conference.

2) Actually, more confident. KU has really be clicking on offense, yes, they started slowly against Toledo, but eventually they piled up the points and shook off the turnovers and miscues in the first half. The biggest test for Kansas in winning the North comes immediately at the start of conference play when they travel to Manhattan. If KU beats KSU, a strong possibility, I think the Jayhawks will be in great shape to win the North.

3) The good and the bad in the Big 12 comes from the Sooner State. Oklahoma is really good. I mean, really, really good. Like causing-major-frustration-for-the-BCS-in-November good. And, as good as Oklahoma is... that's how bad Oklahoma State is. The Cowboys were supposed to be a break out team this year, especially with a question mark of team for Texas. Instead, the Cowboys just seem broken.

4) Ned's coming to Lawrence! Does that mean FIU is breaking their D-I leading losing streak? Hell 2 da naw. KU 42 FIU 10.

Michael Atchison: 1. The third quarter lull. This is a symptomatic of something we’ve seen repeatedly in recent years, namely the inability to handle prosperity. We’ve seen it before where a big win is followed by an uninspired performance. Now, we’re seeing big leads being built up in the first half, only to be followed by relatively passive play to open the third quarter. To be as good as they can be, I think this team needs more of a mean streak, a go-for-the-throat mentality, and I haven’t seen that yet.

2. About the same, really, maybe about one percent less confident. The rushing defense scares me still. I’m worried that there’s going to be a game or two where the offense sputters or gives up a big play – an interception or punt returned for a touchdown – and the opponent is going to go up by 10 or 14 points and control the game with the run. With that offense, Mizzou is always going to be in the game because a touchdown seems to be a possibility on almost any play. But there’s not much room for error.

3. Off the top of my head, I’m surprised how hard Texas has had to work to make it to 3-0. I just assumed that they’d roll people, and that hasn’t happened. I’ve only seen a little bit of one of their games (against TCU) so I’m in no position to diagnose it, but it looks funny on paper. I’m also a little surprised at how easy Kansas has made it look. I realize that their schedule has been pretty slight, but that hasn’t stopped them from yakking on their shoes before in the non-con. I expected that they’d win all of those games, but I thought that they’d look bad in doing it at least once. But it has been clear sailing.

4. The only thing that keeps me from thinking that the score will be completely out of hand is Gary Pinkel’s reluctance to run it up. That said, I think it will be tough for the Tigers NOT to score 50 this week. I’ll take Mizzou, 56-13.

Bonus question: I don’t know. The knee-jerk reaction is to pile on and savage them, and Michigan, Minnesota, Northwester and now Iowa (wow, didn’t see that coming) certainly have some ugly losses. But Michigan bounced back and beat down Notre Dame, which is a bad team, but it was a thorough destruction, and Illinois went on the road and whipped Syracuse (again, bad team, but thorough beating). Don’t get me wrong, the league isn’t good, but I’m not sure it’s as bad as everyone would have you believe.

ZouDave: If not for me doing a presentation at 8:00am, I think this would have been our fastest roundtable yet. Ultimately, I'm responsible for that and it's up to me to fix it. We just have to get better.

1 - Run defense. I was really hoping we'd have an easy time against WMU, who came in with I believe -25 yards rushing on the season. Ok, not really, but they hadn't run at all this year. And they didn't exactly gash us, but they did still more than double their previous 2 games' effort in one game against us. It was working just well enough that they didn't have to abandon it, and they actually used it to make a minor comeback. This is WMU and we were at home, nothing should have been easy about them running the ball. It's a concern. Nebraska is a strong running team, Texas A&M is a strong running team and Oklahoma is a strong...everything. We're simply going to have to get these 14 - 21 point leads against NU and aTm otherwise I'm not sure we can stop their ground game long enough to score.

2 - Since I was pretty confident that this was the year, I'm going to say the same. I haven't seen anything from Nebraska that makes me fear them more. I already knew that the game against them is the one we have to win to have ANY chance at winning the North. It's not going to be an easy game, but I just don't see from them a team that is clearly better than us at any position. And while ku has certainly looked strong, we have no idea how much of it is because they're actually really good or if they're just playing against opponents that make them look good. We may not know the answer about ku until November, because even if they lose some conference games that might not mean they're necessarily good or bad. Getting way ahead of myself here, but what if the game at Arrowhead between Mizzou and ku is a winner-goes-to-the-title-game event? As Andre the Giant says "Dere will be no soo vye vohs!"

3 - Uhhh, Christ I don't know. I'm not surprised ISU sucks, but I am surprised they beat Iowa and not their other 2 opponents. I'm not surprised Mizzou is 3-0. I'm not surprised NU is 2-1. I'm not surprised ku is 3-0, and only mildly surprised they're beating teams by 40. I'm not surprised Oklahoma is this good, as I predicted them to be undefeated champs of the Big XII. I'm mildly surprised Texas is struggling. Not surprised by aTm, Tech, Baylor, Colorado or k-state. Who's left? Oh yeah, Oklahoma State. Yeah, I'm REALLY freaking surprised by them. They suck out loud. They're Mizzou 2004 only not as skilled, all the way down to losing at Troy on national television. I was counting on them to beat both of the kansas schools and I'm not sure I see that happening now. Both games are in Stillwater, so maybe things are better by then or maybe both teams continue their road struggles but them being down really throws the whole North back into a quagmire. OSU could easily be 0-3 against the North this year. Too bad they're not on our schedule.

4 - This one is hard to predict because I don't know where Pinkel will take his foot off the gas, but I do know it will happen before halftime. We have to score heavier in the first half than we ever have if we want this one to be the laugher it should be. I think Chase makes up for his "bad" game last week and comes out like he did against Ole Miss. 300 yards and 4 scores in the first half, focusing on Franklin and Coffman this time since last week was the Rucker and Maclin show. Temple will get another rushing TD, but won't get enough carries to get 100 yards. Chase Patton gets the 3rd and starts the 4th, and Dominic Grooms gets to finish the game out. Washington will see extended time. Maclin will be on the field most of the game, getting more yards. Jason Ray gets his first score from Patton in the 3rd. Final is 52-13.

BONUS - Not bad enough that ESPN will stop talking about them. No matter what the Big Ten does, it's news. And no matter how much noise the Big XII makes, we're still terrible.

Doug: Oh yeah, on the Big Ten. It's really not that shocking. Every year, teams lose players to elegibilty and the Draft, and it is becoming harder and harder for the powerhouses to just reload. That said, I think Ron Zook is actually a pretty bad coach, Lloyd Carr needs to retire and no matter what the Big Ten does, ESPN will always pimp the conference hardcore, because the Big Ten is the Yankees-Red Sox of college sports.

The Boy: 1. Ditto on the run defense. WMU's RB's were far from strong, and they ran around the corner untouched numerous times. That will be an eensy teensy problem when Nebraska comes to town. I've said on numerous occasions that Marlon Lucky can't create much on his own, but he's pretty competent at running fast in open space. I do think we're holding back on revealing blitz packages and things like that, and I think we'll have some tricks up our sleeves on 10/6 in that regard. However, Lucky will get his yards. And double ditto on the fact that ATM and OU can indeed run the ball. KSU possibly can too. Luckily we're capable of winning shootouts. It ain't preferrable, but we're capable of doing so.

2. Maybe a hair less confident...which is funny because I've actually been less impressed with Nebraska than I thought I would be. I think my drop in confidence simply stems from the fact that I always get less confident when the big moment approaches. I've been scarred too many times, yadda yadda yadda.

3. I guess I'm willing to cut OSU one single ounce of slack for their suckage because they've been beset by injuries. The troika of Reid-Bowman-Savage was supposed to carry them to success, but Savage has missed the last two games and Reid got banged up against FAU. That said, watching the team against Troy, there was a definite smell of "2004 Mizzou-level cancer"...with Reid laughing on the sidelines in the fourth quarter. It's definitely easy to suspect that there are two different camps forming on the OSU sideline, and that's just deadly. Bottom line is, OSU's season rides on the Texas Tech game this Saturday. Win that, and there's plenty to play for. Lose that, and the road to 6 wins gets almost unmanageable. After presumably beating Sam Houston next week, they'd still have to win 4 of 7 against Texas A&M (road), Nebraska (road), K-State, Texas, Kansas, Baylor (road), and Oklahoma (road). That means pulling at least one strong upset, and for a team with apparent chemistry problems, that's damn near impossible.

Then again, those chemistry issues could all be only in my head. We shall see.

4. Being that we do have a competent 2nd string offense, it really will be pretty hard to stop before 50. And being that the defense only gave up 17 points to WMU, I don't see ISU hitting double digits. I'll say 52-6...though our 2nd string defense is so young and thin that I guess a late ISU TD is possible.

Eh, screw it...52-6.

5. Bad enough that I could see Illinois doing us a favor and reaching 6 wins. Seriously, Oklahoma "Chemistry Problems" State beats Schnellenburger Atlantic by 36, then Minnesota loses to them? Ugh.

And now...just like last week...I open up the floor. Anybody have any questions for the Sanity Quorum?

The Beef: Can Atch and I fight again about something?

ZouDave: Are you asking for permission?

The Beef: Well…gives us something to fight about and let us go “Good Cop, Bad Cop” on it…we have to entertain our 7 readers

The Boy: Go ahead...by all means...

The Beef: Ok….but we need something to fight about…gold pants? Attendance? Time of game? Good fans vs. people with kids? :-)

The Boy: I must say, I love how the NCAA created the running clock rule last year, realized that one tiny little portion of it (the fact that the clock started even in the last two minutes of each half) didn't work too well, and scrapped the whole thing. I've ranted about this before, though, so I'll stop there.

And there's nothing better than an old gold logo on yellow pants. Mmm, mmm, mmm...

The Beef: Alright…how about this….

Because of the spread offense being so popular and so many passes being thrown, as well as the departure from the wishbone and option which kept the clock running, are we stricken now with 3 and a half hour games or is there something that can be done?

ZouDave: An argument on the Subscribers board on Tigerboard is centered around the idea of whether or not it's okay to be annoyed by people who wear Mizzou shirts to football games that are not Mizzou colors. I did see a lot of people on Saturday wearing green, blue and red shirts that said "Mizzou" on them. I'll admit it, this annoys me. I'm okay with girls wearing pink shirts, because at least nobody is going to confuse that shirt for that of another school or something. But when I see blue or red in the Mizzou crowd, I immediately assume this person is NOT here for Mizzou.

So what say you, oh wise ones? Should Mizzou fans make more of an effort to wear team colors at our games? And should I have the right to slap people wearing Cardinals hats, Rams hats or (for the love of God) Joe Montana Chiefs jerseys at a Mizzou home game?

And I think "stricken" is the wrong word. I'm not at all concerned with the length of the games, because I love college football. If we're getting more plays in a game, I'm okay with it. It's not like it's inherently helping one team over another, so there isn't a clear advantage that can't be countered with controlling the ball when you have it.

Bring on the games and damn the length. I'm all for it.

The Beef: I am just trying to be mindful of fans who look for any and all excuses…and I am waiting for “the games are too long” to start entering the fray.

The Boy: My wife wore a gray Mizzou shirt Saturday, only "MIZZOU" was spelled out in red. Basically looks like an OU shirt...which makes sense, since she grew up a big OU fan (10 minutes from OKC). From afar, though, it was simply a grey shirt, and it blended in with the others. That, plus the fact that she brought some great muffins to the tailgate, made it an okay thing in my book.

As for the games...the only part I mind is a) it seems to add like 20-30 to live blogging, which sucks, and b) it takes longer for me to enter the play-by-play into my database when there are an extra 15-30 plays. In other words, it only affects the nerdiest portion of my brain.

Doug: The easiest thing that can be done is change the clock stoppage on first downs to only the last two minutes of the first half and the end of the game.

I think you would shave a few minutes off the game that way. I think the NCAA had the right idea with starting the clock once the ball was set on change of possession. I think that gave new wrinkle to game planning that coaches did not want to even attempt to adjust for that change and so the NCAA caved. Limit the clock stoppage and I think you'll see the pace move along nicely.

Michael Atchison: Holy cow, the FC (fanatical correctness) movement kicked into overdrive this week. I don’t have much interest in arguments over what makes “good fans,” as they always devolve into some form of “I enjoy my leisure activities with more vigor than you enjoy yours!” It’s quite possible that you obsess over football more than the average person, but that’s not exactly an accomplishment, you know? I probably enjoy a nice viognier and the collected works of The Hold Steady more than you, but I don’t think that makes you less of a person. Since Saturday, I’ve read lectures about when and if it’s ever appropriate to fail to attend a game, the colors fans should wear (including a budding movement to outlaw gold – one of our colors – in favor of a theoretical sea of black that will never happen), when standing is not only appropriate but mandatory, and whether it’s traitorous to prefer an early kickoff to a late one. Would it make for a better atmosphere to have the whole stadium color-coordinated? I suppose. I always wear the colors for football (though I don’t always do the same for pro sports; I’ve shelled out $150 for tickets, parking and concessions so guys can make seven figures to play a game; do I really have to dress like them, too?), but I can’t get too fired up if a handful of folks are in pink, purple or mauve, as I really don’t think it affects much of anything. I can’t imagine shuffling out of Faurot Field after a heartbreaking two-point loss, pointing at the girl in the green shirt and shouting “j’accuse!”

People care about different things at different levels of intensity. If someone bothers to spend the time and money to attend a game, I’m not going to get too exercised over what they wear.

And you should always have the right to slap any grown man wearing any jersey of any sort. It’s the equivalent of wearing Underoos.

The Beef: We are going to have to point most of our folks to reference.com to figure out what viognier is/are.

I go gold unless it is blackout…then I go black…unless it is too cold…then I wear a jacket that happens to be yellow’ish but not by design. I will say my first Mizzou sweatshirt was blue with white letters…

Black out will never happen…but it does make us look more slimming…the best blackout we ever had was the 2003 NU game…which when it started raining ironically became one of the better gold rush’s because of all the rain ponchos.

And really? I cannot wear a Jets jersey when I see them play at home in a couple of weeks? It is Wayne Chrebet though. I got it on sale…in Baltimore no less (don’t ask).

Michael Atchison: Well, obviously, there’s an exception for Wayne Chrebet.

I sort of enjoyed Mike Leach’s rant last year wondering why the NCAA Football committee was trying to make sure that games would include less football. Though sometimes, as I sit through the fourth quarter of a 90-degree scorcher or a 40-degree rainstorm, I wish the games moved more quickly. The 20-minute halftime is here to stay because marching bands are sacred. The NCAA probably ought to adopt some NFL-style rules and limit the stoppages. Is it really important to stop the clock to move the chains in the first quarter? The pros seem to manage without it. Let’s only stop the clock for out-of-bounds plays and first downs in the last five minutes of each half. How’s that for a start?

ZouDave: I know it may not be "cool", but I like wearing jerseys to games. They're comfy, they're going to fit the color scheme, and I just don't mind them at all. I don't own very many, and generally only wear them on game day or maybe an old one to mow the yard, but I'm good with jerseys.
Besides, ESPN says it's ok!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=rules/070905 (rule 10)

Michael Atchison: Rule 10 says it’s OK only if you belong to an age demographic that I departed some years ago. And mind you, it’s ESPN. They think it’s OK to put Skip Bayless on the air.

Obviously, it’s a matter of personal taste. If you’re the kind of person who wore a Darth Vader costume to the last Star Wars movie (Revenge of the Ewoks, or whatever it was called), you should feel perfectly comfortable pretending you’re a 21-year-old college student who plays football. Who am I to judge?

ZouDave: That's it! You're only about a 5 minute drive from me. I'm kicking your ass!

Michael Atchison: Oh, hell, you wore the Vader costume, didn’t you?

ZouDave: you're dead to me

Michael Atchison: I’ll be at the Gymboree in downtown Parkville (just a stone’s throw from your office) at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow if you want to settle this like men in the giant pit of ambiguous foam rubber shapes.

Doug: Hmmm... yeah... I got nothing.

The Beef: So can we just rename these Sanity Roundtables, “Who will Atch piss off this week?”

Michael Atchison: I give you guys tips on how to dress for success and what wine pairs with spicy Asian cuisine, and somehow I become the villain. The era of the Esquire man is over.

The Beef: I already knew how to pair wines...I just did not know how to spell viogneir...and clearly neither does Microsoft.

Doug: I think we should just be saving all of this for "Mizzou Sanity: The Unauthorized Story"... you know when we hit the big time.

The Beef: I wonder how much of this our esteemed leader decides to leave in there.

Doug: I think every sports-related blog needs at least some Skip Bayless bashing at least once a week.

The Boy: Oh it's all staying. I unexpectedly got pulled into a meeting and came back to a long conversation about ambiguous foam shapes, Vader costumes, and yelling "J'accuse!" at sorority girls or something. If I had to read it all at once, Sanity readers do too.

Mizzou Links, 9-18-07

2007-09-18T05:58:00.000-05:00

Dave Matter says Danario Alexander is in danger of being "Wally Pipped"...meaning he misses a game (or games), and his backup (Jeremy "Lou Gehrig" Maclin) takes a star turn (Mike Dearmond mentions the same thing). I say it doesn't really matter who starts. They'll all end up with the ball in their hands. But in the meantime, here's another "Jeremy Maclin is turning heads!" feature.
Mike Dearmond also has a nice feature of Mizzou's small-town O-line.
Gary Pinkel Media Day quotes! Whadda ya know...he references Appalachian State. And it's a Chase Daniel chat! He's single and looking! (More Pinkel quoty goodness here)
Graham Watson wonders what to think about this coming game in her 'Tuesday Musings'. (I swear, she must read Sanity..."Musings"?) And apparently Illinois State has a solid ground game. Uh huh.
Dave Matter has more about Monday Media Day.
In recruiting news, Inside Mizzou has Q&A's with both Blaine Dalton and Aldon Smith. And if that's not enough Dalton for you, head on over to Power Mizzou for another interview.
Mizzou Basketball will have a Mizzou Madness the Friday night before the OU football game.
Mizzou Soccer stayed in the Top 25 after their losses to the #1 and #3 teams in the country. Good to see. They will host #20 Cal Friday night...they're 'Playing for Pink'! The Missourian has a nice feature on team player Mallory Forst.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Big 12...

2007-09-17T20:18:00.000-05:00

1. Oklahoma

I was actually a bit shocked that a) they gave up a field goal, and b) they didn’t score 60. Sam Bradford even threw an INT! They stink!

Crimson & Cream Machine gives out the grades.

2. Kansas

They’ve done exactly what they should do so far, and sadly that’s enough to get them the #2 slot in the conference. Again, this isn’t any kind of prediction or ‘power poll’ or anything...this is simply a ranking of who’s proven themselves the most so far.

3. Missouri

I feel like I’m a homer for this—and I’m sure I am—but Texas has played two teams no better than Illinois or Ole Miss and sweat their wins out even more than we did. The defense is still a bit frightening, but the offense has an even higher ceiling than I thought. The O-line is horrid against Illinois, and we put up over 400 yards and 40 points. The short yardage game is poor, and receivers drop some passes against Ole Miss, and we put up over 500 yards and 38 points. Chase Daniel has his shakiest game since last year against Nebraska, and we put up over 600 yards and 52 points.

Every True Son with the Good, Bad, and Indifferent.

4. Texas

I’m still not all that worried about them, but I’m pretty sure recovering on-side kicks to clinch wins over Arkansas State and Central Florida really wasn’t in the cards.

Burnt Orange Nation hits 10 out of 10 on the Oklahoma Fear Factor.

5. Texas A&M

Bounced back after an poor performance versus Fresno State.

6. Nebraska

Nebraska appears to be a team that will take advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses but not create any weaknesses or mismatches of their own. That’s a strange, vague thing to say, but...that’s really the only way I can think to put it. Against a team with weaknesses—like Mizzou’s run defense, for instance—they’ll put up good numbers. However, if you have a solid front seven, they’re not going to run the ball well. If you have a solid pass rush or cover skills, they’re not going to throw the ball well. They’ll take what you give them, and nothing more. When they play a team with few weaknesses—like USC—they’ll get pummeled.

Oh, and in case you were wondering...those 389 yards Sam Keller passed for against USC? 169 of those came in the fourth quarter. He was 22-35-2-220 (0) the first three quarters (passer rating: a decent 104.22), and 14-19-0-169 (2) in the fourth (passer rating: 183.14), which started with USC up 42-10. Just so you know.

Husker Mike from Corn Nation is, shall we say, unimpressed with NU, Callahan, and everyone else involved.

7. Texas Tech

Poor Rice...they probably thought they were doing a good job in keeping up wth Texas Tech’s potent offense, as the score was 21-17 Tech halfway through the second quarter. Fifteen minutes later, however, it as 49-17. In other words, this was pretty much the typical Tech win.

Oh, and Michael Crabtree might be the real deal. The 6’3 redshirt freshman had 11 catches for 244 yards and 3 TD’s. He’s officially on pace for 152 catches, 2152 yards, and 32 TD’s this year. Pretty sure that would be, like, a record or something.

Double T Nation gives out the conflicted grades...

8. Kansas State

When I saw that Jordy Nelson had 15 catches and 200+ yards in KSU’s 61-10 win over SMS, the first thing I did was find the box score to see how many of those catches came in the fourth quarter, when he shouldn’t have even been in the game. To Ron Prince’s credit (I believe that’s the first time I ever typed those words), he only had one fourth quarter catch (for 2 yards).

Meanwhile, that Auburn loss keeps looking worse and worse.

TB from Bring On the Cats has a nice recap of both the KSU game and the Big 12's weekend as a whole.

9. Colorado

It took ESPN announcers almost a full two quarters to realize that all of the “great play-calling” by CU Coach Nick Nolte wasn’t putting points on the board, and that the fact that Cody Hawkins (sorry, guess that would be Cody Nolte) can “make every throw” doesn’t mean he can make every throw accurately, at the right time or place. I like how CU’s defense seems to swarm to the ball, though I was also encouraged by the fact that a lot of FSU’s success came when they spread the defense and, well, used quite a few plays that are also in the Mizzou playbook. Not sure why FSU didn’t do more of that, but whatever. Mizzou probably won’t run for very much at all when they play CU in Boulder, but the passing offense should click along just fine.

Buffs.tv laments missed opportunities.

10. Oklahoma State

During Friday night’s blowout loss at Troy, there was a point in the third quarter when Troy was stalling, and a big play from OSU could lead to a huge comeback. Zac Robinson—starting for a relatively ineffective and at least slightly injured Bobby Reid—threw an off-balance but gorgeous bomb to All-American Adarius Bowman, hitting him in stride for a sure TD...and Bowman dropped it. Ballgame.

I read article after article this offseason about how Bobby Reid had matured into the expectations set for him and was ready for a big year. Two games into the season, Reid lost his starting job to a mediocre-at-best Robinson, and OSU got massacred by Troy to fall to 1-2 on the season. I was ready to believe that OSU was prepped for a big season, but now they’re going to have to fight to win six games. Robinson’s got potential, but the offense has a much lower ceiling with him in the game, and since the optimistic predictions for OSU were based on the explosive offense...well...things don’t look good.

11. Baylor

After pummeling Rice last week, I’m pretty sure the Bears didn’t expect to have to fight tooth-and-nail to beat the former SW Texas State. To their credit, though, they responded to the relatively unexpected challenge and made the plays they needed to make. Blake Szymanski (a.k.a. Blizzle Szyzzle) has responded nicely after a horrid season opener against TCU to put up 823 yards, 11 TD’s, and 2 INT’s against Rice and Texas State. He gets one more tuneup before he has to face another real defense (ATM in College Station).

12. Iowa State

So I guess this means Northern Iowa is the #1 team in the state? Power to the ‘Clones for not completely folding on the season—they always play Iowa well—and for their sake, here’s to hoping they play well against Toledo this coming week.

Apparently the win was so big that it not only knocked out CrossCyed's Internet connection but also caused this fantastic (and extremely R-rated) meltdown.

Monday Musings

2007-09-17T07:26:00.000-05:00

There is just something about getting back from Columbia with sunburn; you know you probably had a great weekend if that happens. Still seemed strange to have the home opener on a weekend when the temperature struggled to get into the 70’s, but I will take that weather over what we have had before any day!

Football:

Having seen all three games, I am pleased with the progression we have made on most accounts. Like The Boy, I am anxiously awaiting the NU game simply to see if our thoughts on how the defense is not showing all their cards right now are going to be proven true. That being said, we still are not doing a great job lining up in the simple 4-3-4 and getting pressure, though we did a better job this past week (albeit against weaker competition). I think it will be important for the defense to gain more confidence over the next two weeks (with one of those weeks being a bye), but that is what I am looking for from them at this point.

As for the offense, not sure what else there is to say. I am a little concerned our passing game was a tad tilted this past weekend with Maclin and Rucker accounting for so many touches (18 of 30 receptions). Franklin and Perry are going to need to step up their game in coming weeks to continue to make up for the fact that Alexander is gone. 1600 yards on the season is pretty ridiculous when we continue to say the offense played decently but not great. Maybe our idea of great is getting somewhat skewed (like how we are all kinda disappointed in Chase Daniel’s 380+ total yard effort). I don’t look for much next week against Illinois aside from continued improvement by the defense and a nice amount of time for the reserves to play in the 2nd half. And good for you Chase Patton, good for you.

Volleyball:

Well, the fears were kinda confirmed this weekend that without Juliana Klein, Mizzou will struggle against top talent in the league. Does this mean their season is over? By no means, but it means they will have to work hard to continue to win the games they can win to keep the momentum of the program going while Klein recovers from her tough setback.

The ladies took on and took down the Roos of UMKC this past week, but fell and hard to UT down at Austin in straight sets, or three games, whatever you want to call it. The ladies take on ku at home in what should hopefully be the first of many well-attended matches on the season before heading out to Ames this weekend. These are matches where the team is going to need to grow up and come together to cover up some of the holes they may have now. Good news is that they have played tough matches on the road already this season and should be able to draw upon that experience as an aid. But it is going to be important for them to win the matches they can win to keep the season rolling along.

Soccer:

I had no idea what to expect out of the team this weekend on the road, facing the #1 and #3 teams in the country. Looking at the results, I would have to say I am pleased with them. The ladies took on #1 Stanford on Friday and tied the score in the 77th minute. Unfortunately, I am guessing talent won out as Stanford notched a late tally and took the game 3-2. Coming back yesterday, the ladies actually held the lead for a good portion of the match off of a goal from Michelle Collins before Santa Clara rallied for a goal late in the first and the winner late in the 2nd.

The ladies come back home this coming weekend to take on a decent Cal team (getting some love in the western regional poll as of last week) and a TCU team I could not find on the rankings. Win them both and I think you have to consider the non-con a real success for the ladies. Backtrack at all this weekend and you will start to hear the nay-sayers about the team and their past start coming out of the woodwork. Basically, keep the momentum going and hit the conference season and get some early wins and confidence.

Cross Country:

The women could not have asked for anything more, as they traveled down to Nashville and took the Commodore (Vanderbilt) Classic by 5 points over Georgia Tech and a group of 15 schools total. The high finisher for the Tigers was a 5th place taken by freshman Kinsey Farren…in her first collegiate race. That is quite the debut. The ladies also took 8th, 10th, 12th and 15th to round out their group and a really nice showing overall.

An interesting and pretty impressive performance by the men this past weekend down in Nashville at Vanderbilt. The men came in 3rd to Belmont (who went 2-3-4-5-7) and Georgia Tech, but did so running all freshmen. All five runners for Mizzou were frosh of some kind (RS or true) and showed we have some good talent in the pipeline since this was a decent field of 15 schools. Overall, the men had four runners place in the top 20, with frosh transfer Ben Brammeier taking top spot with a 10th place finish.

Both teams will be off this week before heading up to Minnesota for their annual appearance in the pretty prestigious Roy Griak Invitational.

Random Thoughts:

Will be interesting to see what sort of tweaking is done to the Fed Ex Cup considering Tiger Woods won it going away and skipped an event entirely. And yes, while he went 2-1-1 in the other three, I do not imagine that was quite what the planners had in mind. The amount of money Tiger won this year got a good deal closer to what he gets from his endorsements, since I believe he won 10 million for the Cup and just over 10 million in regular winnings.

In back to back weeks I have a fantasy football team which has taken on Tony Romo and Carson Palmer

I just heard a “HOLY TOLEDO” from Gus Johnson on replay from last week in the NFL and got excited all over again…I don’t even know what the play was or the game for that matter, but damn that dude can make ordering drive-up food exciting.

Penn State was less than impressive against Buffalo with Michigan on the horizon.

Has there ever been a worse, more publicized start than Notre Dame?

Hopefully some teams will start clinching division titles this week in baseball. The Mets would have run away with it had they not had to play and lose to the Phillies all the damn time.

Mizzou Links, 9-17-07

2007-09-17T05:58:00.000-05:00

Well I guess the big news stemming from yesterday is the fact that Mizzou Football is now ranked #25 in both the AP and USA Today polls. That's cool, I guess. And we should probably move up a few more spots with a win and an off-week...have to figure a few teams ahead of them lose in the next two weeks. Looks like the MU/NU game will pit two teams ranked somewhere around #20.
Ziggy Hood says that Mizzou defenders are over-running the ball. I wholeheartedly agree. We all see the problem with arm-tackling, and over-running is usually the main cause of that. The over-pursuit was also what allowed those trap plays to work. The DE's flew toward the ball before realizing what was going on, and they got sealed off, opening up the outside. Can't happen against a team with an actually good RB. That said, Saturday was definitely an improvement over the previous weeks.
Dave Matter empties the notebook on the WMU game. Good to see that somebody else shares my assessment that those Daniel INT's might end up being a good thing. He seemed to need a reminder of his mortality, and that worked out pretty well. Would have been nice to see him set that record, though.
Graham Watson does a little Monday Morning QB'ing...
I guess there's been a bit of fallout regarding Mark Mangino's ripping into a KU player on the sideline. Uhh...I'm sorry people's ears were offended, but...IT'S FOOTBALL. WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU EXPECT TO HEAR WHEN YOU PLACED A MICROPHONE ON THE SIDELINES??
JUCO forward Keith Ramsey visited Columbia this weekend and apparently enjoyed himself, though he held off on committing. Inside Mizzou and PowerMizzou have more. (And on a side note, I'm seeing that Gabe is doing more of the Huskers Illustrated style of headlines...on the PM front page, the main headline is "Did Ramsey Make a Decision on Visit?" Spoiler alert: no, he didn't...and I hate headlines like that.)
Finally, MU Soccer certainly held its own this weekend in California, but after losing a tight one to #1 Stanford on Friday night (3-2), they fell to #3 Santa Clara yesterday afternoon, 2-1. Michelle Collins scored her fifth goal of the season early on, but MU couldn't quite hold on. I'll be disappointed if they fall too far in the rankings after their strong performance.

Best of the photo albums...

2007-09-16T16:06:00.000-05:00

As time passes, it seems we have more and more fantastic photo albums at our disposal on a week-to-week basis. Here are my favs from Becking.com, Power Mizzou, and the Trib.

First up, from Becking.com.

From Power Mizzou...

And from The Trib (click on the "See Slide Show" link):

Thoughts on Yesterday...

2007-09-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

QB

Lots of people have said this already, but it’s clear that Chase Daniel had a poor game yesterday...and he went for 328 yards passing and 60 yards rushing. His two INT’s were both horrible ideas, and I was actually somewhat glad they happeend. Chase was getting a little too cute and overconfident in floating some passes in, and it was best that he got a reminder of what not to do now than later. Oh, and that hum you heard near 4pm yesterday was the roughly 40,000 remaining Mizzou fans breathing a huge “We’d still be a decent team if—God forbid—something happened to Chase Daniel” sigh of relief when Chase Patton came in and marched the backups right down the field...actually throwing a TD pass (poor Blake May will never get that opportunity back) and running for a TD in the same drive.

RB

I was really happy that Derrick Washington got back into the game after he panicked on his first collegiate carry. He made a couple nice runs after that, and it’s pretty clear that the staff realizes he has more potential than any of Tony Temple’s backups, especially since Marcus Woods’ high ankle sprain is going to prevent him from making much of a lengthy contribution this season. Temple is starting to get the Illinois game out of his system and is running pretty confident again.

WR

It’s safe to say that enough words have already been typed regarding Jeremy Maclin and the job he’s done so far. The only thing I’ll add about him is that he takes really little steps in traffic, a style that reminds me a lot of Brad Smith. His footwork in traffic is even more impressive when you remember that he blew out his ACL about 14 months ago. He’s an unbelievable weapon, and I really look forward to watching him for the next couple years. Assuming Maclin’s back for his junior season, and assuming Danario Alexander is back for his senior season, it’s good to know that the breaking-in process for the new 2009 starting QB will be made at least a little more comfortable with the weapons he’ll have at his disposal.

But it’s probably a wee bit early to start thinking about 2009, eh?

TE

This is working out perfectly. Martin Rucker’s on pace to catch 100+ passes, and Chase Coffman’s numbers—while still impressive—are making it likely that he’ll come back for his senior season. You just can’t say enough about Rucker and the toughness he’s bringing to this finesse offense. He’s trying to hard to set an example for the entire team, and he’s succeeding big-time. I haven’t seen a ton of college games yet this season, but with the way Rucker has played, I’m relatively confident in saying it will be an injustice if anybody else wins First-Team All-American. I’ve never seen a TE play better than he’s playing right now.

But that’s enough raving...for now.

OL

There were decent holes for the RB’s, and like Tony Temple, the OL’s begun to get the wretched Illinois game out of its system, but Chase Daniel didn’t appear as comfortable in the pocket as he did last week against Ole Miss. Daniel will blame himself for that, but still...there’s obvious room for improvement there...a funny thing to say about a line that cleared the way for 619 yards of total offense.

DL

I will say that the D-Line made more plays than it did in the first two games. However, a) WMU is a lesser team than Illinois or Ole Miss, and b) the WMU O-line was still able to seal off the ends on trap-type runs. It didn’t really hurt Mizzou a ton because WMU’s RB’s aren’t very good. However, giving a good RB the outside lane untouched is a scary proposition. As I’ve said before, Marlon Lucky is not an RB who can create a lot on his own, but he’s great at taking what a defense gives him. If we give him the outside lane that easily, he’ll run for 200 yards.

One other thing to mention is that we’ve played things so vanilla so far this season once again that the D-line has been put at a disadvantage. Once we start blitzing the LB’s and things like that (assuming we start doing that at some point), things might get a little easier for the D-Linemen. We’ve got a relatively athletic front four, and I’m thinking they could be strong in zone blitz situations with guys like Sulak and Ziggy Hood dropping back in coverage.

LB

Sean Weatherspoon flies around the field and hits really hard, but Brock Christopher is the defense’s rock. He once again led the team in tackles, and he jumped on a third-down route and made a really athletic interception in the first quarter. A lot’s been said about the LB corps’ lack of depth, and every word has been true. I’m hoping that Luke Lambert steps up as the year progresses...could help with that.

The main problem with the LB’s right now—Van Alexander in particular—is there are just too damn many arm tackles. I’m not going to single Van out—it’s been a defense-wide problem—but you can have all the athleticism in the world, and it won’t matter if you can’t make tackles when you get to the ball-carrier.

DB

I keep reminding myself that Hardy Ricks and Darnell Terrell were both injured in August and are still catching up on their reps...and therefore their coverage will get better as the season moves along. That said, I realize that a lot of WMU’s passing success came simply from the fact that Bill Cubit is a pretty smart guy and used a lot of super-quick passes to WR’s for 4-7 yard gains...and that, combined with the improving but still limited pass rush, is how they managed to complete 70% of their passes (30-for-43). Actually, I saw some of the quick hit plays last night when NU played USC last night. The good news is, we’ll have seen the plays before and will be more familiar with them. The bad news is, of course, that if they worked for WMU...well...

SPECIAL TEAMS

I’m not ready to panic on Jeff Wolfert’s place-kicking yet, but I’m getting closer each week. As for his kickoffs...it looked like we were consciously trying to avoid their relatively dangerous return man and attempting what a lot of teams have been in kicking high to an up man and hoping for a fair catch. The only problem with that was, either the kicks weren’t shallow enough and allowed the main return man to catch the ball on the run at the 20, or the kicks weren’t high enough and allowed the up man to catch the ball and run a ways. In other words, kickoffs and coverage were horrid.

The rest of the special teams were fine. I obviously love Maclin’s returns, and every punt seems to be from the opponent’s 40, so I’m not too concerned with Adam Crossett’s punting average so far...and Crossett scored some bonus points for hitting the Mizzou guy in stride at the 5 in the third quarter.

COACHING

Assuming the defensive gameplan really has been intentionally vanilla, and assuming that the staff really has been playing it close to the vest, then kudos. I’ll give a lot of the defense’s struggles a pass with the “As long as it’s fixed for Nebraska” disclaimer. Offensively...well...we had a mini-funk in the third quarter, but that wasn’t the coaches’ fault. Greg Bracey dropped a sure TD pass, and if he catches that, then the game ends without the fans feeling that familiar “here we go again...another letdown” feeling.

OVERALL

In the end, we gave up our first offensive touchdown over halfway through the third quarter, and we racked up 619 yards of offense. Yes, the score got a hair too close in our weekly second half letdown, but as soon as it got to 38-24, everybody snapped out of it and dominated down the stretch. I'll take that.

Mizzou Links, 9-16-07

2007-09-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

Official box score
Official release
Game recaps: KC Star, The Missourian
Game notes: The Trib, KC Star, Post-Dispatch, PowerMizzou
Report cards: Post-Dispatch, PowerMizzou
Jeremy Maclin rules: Inside Mizzou, The Trib, PowerMizzou
The media jinxed Daniel's INT-less streak: The Trib, The Trib again,
Maclin's recovery from knee injury is mind-boggling (Post-Dispatch)
Tigers Giddy for Gadgetry (The Trib)
Daniel gets 'W' but not Record (Post-Dispatch)
Chase Patton Scores a Rushing Touchdown (The Missourian)
Moving past the misery (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Fans make first-time visits to Missouri football game (The Missourian)
Wrapping it all up in Missouri--it's all about the MAC anyway (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Mike Dearmond's vlog (KC Star)
Questions & Answers (The Trib)
Breaking down Mizzou (KC Star)
Quarter-by-Quarter recaps (The Missourian)

And from other non-football happenings...

Inside Mizzou has a detailed summary of yesterday morning's basketball summary.
As expected, Mizzou Volleyball's reconfigured (a.k.a. Klein-less) lineup wasn't quite ready to beat a Top 10 team on the road. Here's the recap, and here's the mutigers.com live VolleyBlog. And here's a little more from The Trib.
Mizzou Soccer almost pulled off something quite impressive, scoring the tying goal at #1 Stanford with about 13 minutes remaining, but the Cardinal scored in the 88th minute to pull out a 3-2 win. Despite committing six more fouls and allowing three more corner kicks, Mizzou was only outshot 13-12, and almost pulled off a really nice tie. They play #3 Santa Clara at 1pm CST.

Ole Miss Highlights

2007-09-14T22:58:00.000-05:00

All I can say is...

2007-09-14T22:10:00.001-05:00

...OSU probably deserves the beatdown they're receiving right now for scheduling this game despite what happened to us three years ago. They should have known what was going to happen.

Mizzou-WMU Preview

2007-09-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

Best. Weather. For. A. Home. Opener. Ever. Can't wait to hear the rationale for why only 52,000 showed up this time. After years of "It was too cold" or "It was too hot" or "There was a threat of rain," this time it will be "It was too nice. I made other plans." Good times. Anyway...

MU QB vs WMU Defense

The Broncos intercepted 24 passes a year ago—not exactly the team you want to see when your QB’s within striking distance of the all-time ‘consecutive passes without an INT’ record. However...the Broncs have been far from impressive so far against West Virginia and Indiana, and Chase Daniel...is Chase Daniel. Edge: Mizzou.

MU RB vs WMU LB’s

Tony Temple seemed to figure something out in the second quarter against Ole Miss last year. Maybe it was just that the O-line started blocking better, but he was actually fast and elusive. Meanwhile, WMU is missing last year’s MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Ameer Ismail. In two games, they’ve given up 537 rushing yards in two games. Granted, one of those games was against Steve Slaton and Pat White, but...Edge: Mizzou.

MU WR/TE vs WMU DB’s

I don’t think we need to go into detail here. Edge: Mizzou.

MU OL vs WMU DL

Ole Miss didn’t generate much of a pass rush on Chase Daniel last week, and Chase was able to go through his progressions a lot better than he could against Illinois (when Mizzou only gained about 425 yards). Not only that, but Mizzou also put up over 200 yards rushing. That gives me hope that they’re bouncing back from the atrocious effort against the Illini. Edge: Mizzou.

WMU QB vs MU Defense

Seth Adams threw for an insane amount of yards against Mizzou. Assuming Mizzou gets an early lead here, Tim Hiller—a talented-but-turnover-prone sophomore—will have plenty of opportunity to do the same. Mizzou only needs to make a few stops, and I’m sure they will, but Hiller will likely put up a lot more passing yards than we would like. Edge: WMU.

WMU RB vs MU LB’s

Van Alexander hasn’t been much of a playmaker so far, but Sean Weatherspoon and Brock Christopher have been decent. Oh yeah, and Western Michigan has run for 62 yards in two games. Figured I should mention that. Edge: Mizzou.

WMU WR/TE vs MU DB’s

This is the matchup that will likely determine whether this is an easy win for Mizzou or a game that is a little too close for comfort. As Dave Matter pointed out the other day, WMU’s Jamarko Simmons has a sickening 41 catches, 474 yards, and 4 TD’s in his last three (!!) games. For those of you still having nightmares of Hank Baskett, he’s not nearly as explosive as Baskett—those totals above only equal out to about 11.6 yards per catch. However, Darnell Terrell and Hardy Ricks have yet to appear in 100% game shape after August injuries, and they’ve been far from impressive so far. If MU has some semblance of a pass rush, the secondary should at the very least be able to shut everybody else down and wait for Simmons to cramp up from overactivity. If they don’t get pressure on Hiller, however...yikes. Edge: WMU.

WMU OL vs MU DL

The moveable force! The resistable object! Western Michigan gave up 8 sacks to Indiana. Missouri only managed one against Ole Miss. SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE!!! Edge: Push.

MU Special Teams vs WMU Special Teams

Jeremy Maclin is a big play threat every time he touches the ball, Adam Crossett punted relatively well last weekend, the blocking and coverage seemed solid, and although Jeff Wolfert missed his second FG of the season, I’m not worried about him. In other words, I have some confidence in this unit. However, WMU’s no slouch. The kicking game’s relatively mediocre, and I’m not sure about the coverage, but they have a gamebreaker in kick returner Brandon West, who returned a kickoff for a TD last week against Indiana. For now, I’ll give a cautious Edge: Mizzou.

MU Coaching vs WMU Coaching

WMU’s running game is non-existent right now (though that could always change against Mizzou), and their stud WR isn’t a major big-play threat. Sounds like we might be running into a team even more finesse-oriented than we are. Like when an opponent attempts a bubble screen against us and we blow it up, we seem pretty solid in preparing for a team similar to us. Pinkel was angry about the missed tackles last week—he predictably saw that as a bigger problem than vanilla defensive schemes—and I think this team responds well this week. A Cubit-coached team will always have some tricks up its sleeve, but I’m thinking Edge: Mizzou.

Karma

For once, I give the edge in this random category to Mizzou. It’s the home opener, they’ll likely be playing with a chip on their shoulder after another shaky second half last week, and well...my parents will be in town for this one. Mizzou whooped Ole Miss when my parents were in attendance last year, so we’ll say that’s a good omen. Edge: Mizzou.

(I won’t mention that my parents were also in attendance when Kirk Farmer broke his leg in 1999.)

Summary

That’s an 8-2-1 advantage for Mizzou. We should win this game easily, and I really want to predict something like 51-7. However, every time I get ready to pull the trigger on that one, I reel myself in with a reminder that the defense really is probably worse than I want to think it is. WMU will need a couple turnovers to have a chance, and (KNOCK ON WOOD...STAT!) Chase Daniel doesn’t turn the ball over. (Wow, that’s a Mike Kelly-level jinx right there.) I’m attempting to be cocky this week...we’ll go with 48-20.

Mizzou Links, 9-14-07

2007-09-14T06:03:00.000-05:00

Relatively slow link day today...

Honestly, if Martin Rucker keeps up his current level of play, he should be on his way to 1st-team All-American. Anything less would be a travesty, a sham, and a mockery...
The Missourian discusses the potential causes of Missouri's penchant for self-destructing with a lead, while the KC Star looks at Tony Temple and the running game.
Dave Matter makes his Big 12 picks.
Here's Graham Watson's WMU preview...honestly, I'll be surprised if a) the score's that close or b) WMU scores that much, but...well, I'm a homer.
Here's a nice piece on the strange journey of MU Volleyball's Lindsay Smith, the senior who made her college debut just a couple weeks ago.
Here's a really nice article on the 1993-94 Arkansas team that destroyed Mizzou and won the national title. Mike Anderson obviously knows what it takes to win with his system of play, and I'm really interested to see how all these new pieces--Bowers, Denmon, Paul, etc.--fit together. Of course, it's another year before we see any of those guys, but...yeah, reading about this Razorback team that I absolutely despised makes me feel pretty good about the future.
Sunday Morning QB has a, shall we say, interesting preview of the brutal Michigan-ND matchup.
And finally, I'm sorry but...this is really really funny.

As Atchison alluded...

2007-09-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

...after a few months in a strange place, the world is in balance once again. The Sports God has once again decided to screw me in an uncomfortable place. If you root for any of my teams--Mizzou, Portland, Pirates--I apologize in advance for the pain that is once again going to come your way. It was only a brief respite, but I hope you enjoyed it. Storm's a comin'.

Seriously, I think a torn ACL is easier to recover from than microfracture surgery at this point.

Portland pleads with The Boy: "Pick another favorite team, please!"

2007-09-13T14:33:00.001-05:00

The curse strikes again.

It's never too early...

2007-09-13T07:44:00.000-05:00

...to vote for a Mizzou guy. Chase Daniel for Davey O'Brien! Vote online! Vote early! Vote often! VOTE OR DIE!!!!!

Mizzou Links, 9-13-07

2007-09-13T06:08:00.000-05:00

We've got basketball recruiting news! I'll let Atchison go more in-depth on this guy, but Laurence Bowers is on-board. Meanwhile, the pursuit of Notre Dame Prep's Kim English is on.
Speaking of basketball, Mizzou will have a public workout at 10am this Saturday...I tend to avoid these due to the occasional outbreak of stupid optimism on my part.
On to football. Martin Rucker has been disgustingly good so far this season, and Mike Dearmond takes note. Mike D. also says, "Hey MU fans: cheer up!"
It's the latest "Cut to the Chase"! Love these things...Matter also has his latest Power Poll.
Interesting stat from the Trib: "When leading by eight or more points, the defense has allowed 5.9 yards per carry. With a 7-point lead or less, the average shrinks to 3.1." Sounds about right. The Post-Dispatch looks into the defense's struggles as well.
Graham Watson hands her keyboard to a WMU writer.
It's a family conflict!!
Despite the fact that I will be forever bitter about the phantom holding call and the 2006 loss to Iowa State (and trust me, I latch onto bitterness for long periods of time...ask me about the 1998 basketball loss at OU--the one where Brian Grawer got the tying 3-point play, only Johnnie Parker dunked the ball home and negated the basket--at your own risk...and yes, I just spent five minutes digging up that article...), I actually feel a bit sorry for Iowa State fans at this point. They're staring down "the suck" at the moment, and it's not going to be a pretty 3 months...
What's the perfect remedy for a team that just got some horrible injury news? UMKC! Mizzou Volleyball smoked the always-horrid 'Roos, finishing a sweep with a 30-8 win in Game Three. OUCH. Mizzou had 5 errors the entire match. More on this one later.

Mizzou Links, 9-12-07

2007-09-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

So KOMU just broke out footage of the last time Mizzou played WMU in 1999. Kirk Farmer throwing a gorgeous pass to Eric Spencer for a TD...Devaughn Black (RIP) busting a really nice TD run (he had 205 yards in that game)...that must be why I was so optimistic in September of that season. Of course, the next weekend we got obliterated by Nebraska...a couple weeks later, Farmer pulled his 'pushed into the sidelines, break leg, scream, puke, pass out' routine, and Mizzou fell into a three-year black hole. Good times.

I skimmed over this yesterday while linking to Dave Matter's Monday blog post, but he has a full newspaper piece on it today: Chase Daniel is (KNOCK ON WOOD!) 37 passes away from Trent Dilfer's NCAA 'consecutive passes without an INT' record. He set the Big 12 record in the first quarter against Ole Miss. He (KNOCK ON WOOD!) hasn't thrown one since the deflected INT in the second quarter of the Nebraska game. Boy...talk about taking something for granted...I hadn't even noticed.
Dave Matter's been busy since coming back from his buddy's wedding...he goes Inside the Numbers on Western Michigan. Meanwhile, Graham Watson helps you 'get to know' the Broncs.
The Missourian takes a look at defensive leader Lorenzo Williams. Only Pig Brown and Brock Christopher have made more 'successful' plays than Zo so far, but he only makes the big plays...the entire D-line just has to has to has to make more plays.
Mike Dearmond has a quick blurb about Michael Keck's shoulder surgery.
I must have been asleep when Tyler Wilson committed to Tulsa (???), but Jeff Ermann has the latest on a new name popping up on the watch list.
Guess this means Stefhon Hannah is one of the top 4 point guards in the conference...he was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List, along with BU's Curtis Jerrells, Texas' DJ Augustin, and KU's Russell Robinson.
The Missourian has a bit more on Julianna Klein's ACL injury.
Here is the official release regarding the utterly huge weekend for Mizzou soccer...playing #1 Stanford Friday night and #3 Santa Clara on Sunday. Go 1-1 (or even 0-1-1...or 0-0-2, I guess), and the season starts to look a lot brighter.