Oct. 16, 2004
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Mizzou went toe-to-toe with the nation's 9th-ranked team, but a pair of mistakes that Texas turned into 14 points proved to be the difference, as #9 Texas held on for a hardfought 28-20 win over Missouri in Austin.
Missouri entered the game as 14-point underdogs, and no-one outside of the Tiger lockerroom gave MU a chance of even staying close with the Longhorns. Early on, it looked as if the pundits would be right, as Texas jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter.
Texas' first score came on defense, as MU took over on its own 3-yardline after being pinned there by a Texas punt. Mizzou QB Brad Smith tried to throw an out pass from his endzone, but Texas' Brian Robison jumped high and somehow caught the rocket from Smith, landed and stepped into the enzone for a 2-yard return to put UT up, 7-0.
Mizzou recovered to drive into Longhorn territory on its next possession, but the drive stalled after reaching the UT 41 yardline. Texas took over on its 20 after a punt , and put together a 4-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a scintillating scramble from QB Vince Young that he took 23 yards for a TD and a 14-0 lead with 23 seconds left in the quarter.
The Tigers were undaunted, however, as they quickly responded, and scored TDs on their first two possessions of the 2nd quarter. The first was a 9-play, 66-yard drive that was capped with a Brad Smith to Sean Coffey 4-yard TD pass to cut the deficit to 14-7 at the 6:44 mark. Mizzou's defense pitched in on Texas' next possession, as CB Shirdonya Mitchell jumped in front of a Young pass to set MU up at the Texas 33 yardline.
It took just one play for MU to tie it up, as TB Damien Nash took a handoff and raced untouched around left end for a 33-yard TD run that made it 14-all with 5:26 left in the half.
Momentum further swung to Mizzou's side, as S Nino Williams II grabbed another errant Young throw on Texas' next possession, and returned it 23 yards to the UT 32. Just when it appeared MU was poised to take the lead, disaster struck, when Smith was intercepted on 4th-and-5 from the Texas 27. Texas' Aaron Ross returned the interception 64 yards to the Tiger 12 yardline, and it took Texas just 2 plays to punch it in, and the Longhorns led, 21-14 at halftime.
After a scoreless 3rd period, Texas got a little breathing room after an 11-play, 71-yard drive that ended in Cedric Benson's 2nd rushing TD of the day, to make it 28-14 with 12:52 left. Texas converted a key 3rd-and-10 during the drive, and also survived Benson's 3rd fumble of the day, when he fell on his drop caused by MU's Jason Simpson.
Mizzou responded with a 16-play, 77-yard drive capped off by a Brad Smith 1-yard keeper with 5:25 left to cut it to 28-20 (the PAT failed), and the Tigers got one more defensive stop and had the ball as far as their own 45 yardline before Texas held and got the ball back to run out the clock.
Point off turnovers proved to be the difference, as Texas capitalized on MU's 2 mistakes to score 14 game-swinging points, while MU could manage only 7 points of its own off 3 Longhorn giveaways.
Other than that, Mizzou fared very well statistically, as it outgained Texas by a 358-to-299 total yardage figure. The Tiger defense played quite well, as it held Texas to 193 yards rushing and just 8-of-20 passing for 106 yards. Texas had entered the game ranked 2nd in the nation in rushing (313.60 ypg) and 10th in total offense (470.80 ypg), but were held in check for most of the day. Texas converted on only 3-of-12 3rd downs, and MU held a time of possession advantage of 34:26-to-25:34.
Texas also had some fortune on their side, as the Longhorns fumbled 4 times on the day, but 3 of them bounced right back to the burnt orange-clad team.
