Faurot Field - Columbia, MO
It was a day that brought back memories of Kent Kiefer to Victor Bailey and Kenny Holly. A day when you saw Joe Freeman sprinting around the end. A day when you half expected to look down and see Bob Stull pacing the Missouri sideline.
The Missouri attitude in those days was score as much as you can and just hold on on defense. That is what this day against Iowa State was like. At least for a quarter. Mizzou's first play from scrimmage was a 40-yard completion from Corby Jones to up-and-coming receiver Kent Layman. Three snaps later it was 7-0 Tigers after a TD pass to Eddie Brooks. But just as quickly Iowa State hammered out a 52-second drive that had Missouri fans making sure the Cyclones No. 28 was actually Darren Davis and not his older brother Troy back for another year.
At the end of one quarter, Davis had 82 yards rushing. The Tigers had 14 points and would have had more had Devin West not been stopped on fourth-and-one from the Cyclone 15. And you couldn't help but think back to those teams of the late eighties, especially that of 1988, the last Mizzou squad to put up 50 points in a game.
But then something happened. The defenses decided to show up. At least Missouri's did. "After the first quarter we settled in defensively," said Coach Larry Smith. "With that behind us, we forced them to throw the ball a lot. Give our secondary a lot of credit. We were mixing it up with our coverages, and we were getting some good pressure when we needed it."
The Tigers had just one sack of quarterback Todd Bandhauer, but were in his face all day. They forced one interception, and could have had more had Shad Criss not dropped two sure picks. A Cyclone fumble also led to Mizzou's second score. But even with the resilience shown by the Tiger defense, this was a day for offense, and scoring, and Corby Jones.
Jones ran for 81 more yards, his team-leading total reaching 497. But more impressively, and surely more satisfying to those associated with Tiger football, he threw for a career high 213 yards on 12-of-14 passing. He had two TDs in the air including a beauty of a tight spiral to Kent Layman on a 56-yard post pattern in the third quarter. Jones drew nothing but praise from all sides.
"He's an outstanding quarterback," said the opposing head coach Dan McCarney. "He can throw, he can run. He made the real difference in the football game today. He's a competitive athlete."
Added ISU safety Preston Rhamy: "When he's on he's on, and today he was at the top of his game. Today he hurt us in every way a quarterback can."
Yes, but early in the fourth quarter, the Cyclones hurt Jones too. As the quarterback sprinted for the end zone looking for his third rushing touchdown, and fifth overall, two Cyclone defenders converged. They knocked Jones to the ground, out of bounds at the one. And he stayed there. Missouri fans saw a season flash before their eyes. He got up, but was taken to the locker room, and spent the rest of the day watching from a golf cart. "I got a helmet underneath my thigh pad and I'm very sore. I can't bend it, but my extension is good," Jones said.
The Tigers gained some much needed confidence after this victory. It was over at halftime and the Tigers could relax, a feeling they knew they wouldn't be able to count on the remainder of the season.
"Now we go from the frying pan into the fire," said Smith. "From here on out it just gets tougher and tougher."
Indeed, five of Missouri's last six opponents will have been ranked at some point during the '97 season.
| IOWA STATE | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | - | 21 |
| MISSOURI | 14 | 14 | 7 | 10 | - | 45 |
| M - Brooks 5 pass from Jones (Knickman kick) |
| IS - Heavens 6 run (Kohl kick) |
| M - Olivo 9 run (Knickman kick) |
| IS - Davis 2 run (Kohl kick) |
| M - Jones 9 run (Knickman kick) |
| M - Jones 4 run (Knickman kick) |
| M - Layman 56 pass from Jones (Knickman kick) |
| IS - Watley 23 pass from Bandhauer (Kohl kick) |
| M - West 1 run (Knickman kick) |
| M - FG Knickman 25 |
| ATT - 44, 386 |
| Team Statistics | ||
| ISU | MU | |
| First downs | 18 | 27 |
| Rushes-Yards | 30-187 | 64-288 |
| Passing | 10-28-1 | 12-15-0 |
| Passing Yards | 111 | 213 |
| Total Offense | 298 | 501 |
| Return Yards | 6 | 78 |
| Punts-Avg | 7-41.7 | 2-47.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-95 | 7-55 |
| 3rd Down Conversions | 0-8 | 9-17 |
| Time of Possession | 22:28 | 37:32 |
| Individual Leaders |
| RUSHING - ISU: Davis 18-130, Heavens 7-35, O'Neil 1-13, Rosenfels 1-13, Moses 1-13, |
| Bandhauer 1-0, Gomez 1-0. MU: West 24-114, Jones 16-81, Olivo 10-52, Rhodes 5-22, Janes 3- |
| 14, Blackwell 5-13, Layman 1-3. |
| PASSING - ISU: Bandhauers 7-23-0-80, Rosenfels 3-5-0-31. MU: Jonews 12-14-0-213, |
| Douglass 0-1-0-0. |
| RECEIVING - ISU: Davis 3-19, Watley 2-36, O'Neil 2-18, Williams 1-19, Brantley 1-13, |
| Heavens 1-6. MU: Brooks 4-39, Layman 3-115, Coleman 3-41, Olivo 1-10, Janes 1-8. |