Post-Game Notes
9/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 1, 2007
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1st Quarter
* Six Tigers made their first career starts today, with three coming on each side of the ball. Making their first starts on offense were RT Colin Brown, RG Kurtis Gregory and WR Danario Alexander. On the defensive side, DE Tommy Chavis, LB Sean Weatherspoon and LB Van Alexander each made their first collegiate start...
* QB Chase Daniel connected with TE Chase Coffman on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yardline to give Mizzou a 7-6 lead. The TD reception was Coffman's 14th of his career, moving him into a tie with former MU great Mel Gray (1968-70) for second in career TD receptions. Justin Gage (1999-2002) paces all Mizzou pass catchers with 18 TD grabs.
* WR Jeremy Maclin set up the opening score of the year for Mizzou with a 29-yard run on an end around that set the Tigers up at their own 47-yardline. The St. Louis native also returned the opening kickoff 17 yards and later a punt for 1 yard in the quarter...
2nd Quarter
* S Pig Brown returned a fumble 100 yards for a TD with 4:55 left in the quarter to put the Tigers up, 13-6. The return was not the longest in MU history, that distinction goes to Vince Turner, who returned one 103 yards against Kansas. The NCAA rules have always been that 100 yards is the maximum distance, but the MU record book states Turner's return as the record...
* Keeping on that return yardage thought, technically from an NCAA standpoint, Turner's return is 100 yards, as is Brown's - meaning that both Tigers are tied for the longest return in NCAA history. If that makes sense to you, congratulations...
* Brown again thwarted an Illini drive when he recovered a fumble at the MU 29-yardline with under three minutes left in the quarter and returned it to the MU 31-yardline...
* The Tigers extended the lead to 20-6 with just :20 seconds remaining in the half when Daniel hit St. Louis native WR Will Franklin from 2-yards out to cap a drive that took 12 plays and covered 69 yards in 2:43. The TD was Franklin's 10th of his career...
* Mizzou got its third fumble recovery in a row when LB Andrew Gachkar forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and LB Connell Davis pounced on it at the Illinois 14-yardline with just :14 seconds left in the half. After a short gain and a timeout, PK Jeff Wolfert drilled a 27-yard field goal to make it 23-6 at half...
* Wolfert's FG was his 16th-consecutive made field goal, dating back to last season, when he went 18-of-20 for the season on FGs. He also extended his combined consecutive kicks made streak to 56 with his 2 made PATs and 1 FG on the day. Wolfert made his last 53 combined kicks of last season (15 FGs and 38 PATs)... Wolfert actually extended his streak to 56 with two extra points and a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The streak was snapped late in the fourth quarter when he missed a 49-yard.
* Mizzou scored 16 of its 23 first half points off of Illini turnovers - 6 on the Pig Brown fumble return (2-point try was no good afterward), 6 on MU's final TD of the half (set up by Brown's 2nd fumble recovery), and the final 3 on Wolfert's FG following the kickoff fumble...
* MU held a 216-to-122 advantage in total offense at the half, and held the 23-6 lead, despite having a punt blocked for a TD and having another punt go for zero yards after a high snap impacted the play...
* WR Danario Alexander had 6 catches at halftime (for 31 yards), already surpassing his career-high for catches in a game (5 at Iowa State in 2006)...Alexander finished with a career high nine grabs for 82 yards, including a 33-yarder.
3rd Quarter
* After the Illini drove for a TD to make it 23-13, Mizzou drove right back with a TD of its own, this one a Daniel-to-Maclin 25-yard scoring strike to cap a 7-play, 80-yard drive (2:28 TOP) that extended the lead to 30-13. On the previous play, Maclin made his 1st-career reception (16 yards)...
* Maclin, a St. Louis, Mo., native, continued his big day when he returned a punt 66 yards for a TD to make it 37-13 at the 6:11 mark. It was Mizzou's first punt return (non-blocked) for a TD since 2005, when Marcus Woods returned one 73 yards for a score against Troy State...
Post-Game
* Missouri had seven different receivers finish the game with catches. Martin Rucker led all players with 10 grabs for 86 yards. For his career, Rucker now has 129 career grabs, which is No. 3 all-time at Missouri. Rucker needs 23 grabs to pass Kenny Holly (1990-93) for No. 2 in school history. Justin Gage (1999-2002) is Missouri's career record holder for receptions with 200.
* Rucker's 86 yards receiving give him 1,427 career receiving yards, which is No. 9 in school history.
* Rucker is hot on the heels of teammate Will Franklin, who caught four balls for 46 yards. Franklin now has 1,452 career receiving yards, which is No. 7 all-time.
* Chase Daniel finished the game with a career high 359 yards passing and three scores. The 359 yards pushed Daniel over the 4,000 yard mark for his career. Daniel now has 4,233 yards, which is No. 6 all-time, just 264 yards behind Kent Kiefer (1989-90) for No. 5.
* Daniel has now thrown for better than 300 yards in four consecutive games, dating back to a 310-yards effort at Iowa State last year. Daniel threw for 356 against Kansas and 330 against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
* Daniel's 359 yards passing is No. 6 all-time in school history, while his 37 completions and 54 attempts are No. 2 in school annals.
* Over that four-game stretch, Daniel is 108-of-164 for 1,355 yards and 10 TD's.
