December 28, 1998
By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
TUCSON, Ariz.- No one was surprised a player named Jones was the MVP of the Insight.com Bowl. It just wasn't the Jones most expected.
Corby Jones is Missouri's star quarterback, and he had three touchdowns in his team's 34-31 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night, his final game for the Tiger.
But it was Julian Jones, a sophomore cornerback who usually doesn't even start, who earned the outstanding player award with a multipurpose performance that included a blocked punt, intercepted pass, 39-yard kick return and 10 unassisted tackles.
"He's gonna be good," Corby Jones said.
And he only started because senior Wade Perkins, who led the Big 12 in interceptions, was suspended for the game for violating team rules.
No. 23 Missouri (8-4) won a bowl game for the first time since 1981. But leave it to the younger Jones to describe the Tigers' season that might have been.
"We could have been 11-1," he said. "We've talked about that the last three weeks. There was a lot of hunger to win."
The Tigers' only one-sided loss was to Ohio State, then the nation's No. 1 team, 35-14, in the third game of the season. Missouri's three Big 12 losses were 20-13 at Nebraska, 17-14 at Texas A&M and 31-25 at home against Kansas State.
The Tigers' victory carried added emotion because of the death in July of Corby Jones' father, Curtis, a Missouri assistant.
"Coach Jones is always watching over us and we knew he would be watching tonight," said Tigers' standout tailback Devin West, who rushed for 125 yards in 30 carries in his last collegiate game. "I want to thank him for everything he has done for us."
Against West Virginia (8-4), Missouri shot out to a 31-10 lead behind Jones' scrambling and two big plays by the special teams. Early in the game, Jeff Marriott blocked Jay Taylor's 48-yard field goal try and Carlos Posey returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. Moments later, Julian Jones blocked Taylor's punt out of the end zone for a safety.
"It's amazing that we have a field goal blocked like that, and then a punt," West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said.
Marc Bulger brought the Mountaineers back with a school-record passing performance, completing 35 of 51 passes for 419 yards and four touchdowns.
"They had no chance to stop our passing game, and they know that," Nehlen said. "But it was not quite enough."
Close, but no victory. Instead, West Virginia lost its eighth bowl game in a row, tying South Carolina for the longest post-season skid ever in NCAA Division I.
Maybe next year. Bulger will be back for his senior season, and maybe Amos Zereoue will too. The Mountaineers' tailback, the No. 6 rusher in the nation, managed just 32 yards in 22 carries. He won't say whether he will return for his senior season or make himself eligible for the NFL draft.