Game 7 - Oct. 18, 1997
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Faurot Field - Columbia, MO
This is fast becoming a regular occurrence at Faurot Field. After Missouri's fourth win of the year, and arguably its biggest in at least a decade, the goalposts made another trip through downtown Columbia. This could start to get expensive if the Tigers keep winning at home...but nobody minds too much.
The Tigers put their season back on track. A week after what was their worst performance of the season, and what Larry Smith termed "a good old-fashioned butt whipping," Mizzou was firing on all cylinders. The Tigers overcame three fumbles, passed for 266 yards, and beat the reeling Texas Longhorns by eight in a game that wasn't that close by the end.
The key was still Missouri's running game which produced 252 yards and all five TDs. And that success helped set up one of the game's biggest plays.
With Mizzou on top 23-16 in the fourth quarter, Devin West took a handoff and headed around right end. The Longhorns sold out on the run. West pulled back to pass and hit a wide open Kent Layman for 46 yards - Mizzou's longest pass of the afternoon. It set up West for his only score and a two-touchdown lead that Texas didn't seriously threaten.
That was just one of a host of big plays. Ernest Blackwell scored on a 67-yard run that put him over the 1,000-yard mark for his career. Corby Jones scored from 14 yards away for the clincher.
By the time Ricky Williams went up the middle for the final two of his 235 rushing yards, the outcome was decided.
The loss continued a spiral for the Horns. Once ranked No. 11 in the country and favored by some to contend for the national title, they fell to 3-3, and lost to Missouri for the first time since World War I, a span of nine games. MU could sympathize but chose instead to revel in its victory. As did the Mizzou students carrying those goalposts , the weight of which suddenly seemed so light as they paraded down the middle of 9th Street in search of a hacksaw.
| TEXAS | 3 | 13 | 0 | 13 | - | 29 |
| MISSOURI | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 | - | 37 |
| T - FG Dawson 42 |
| M - Olivo 19 run (Knickman kick) |
| M - Knickman 37 FG |
| T - Williams 80 run (Dawson kick) |
| T - Brown 6 run (kick failed) |
| M - Olivo 1 run (Knickman kick) |
| M - Blackwell 67 run (kick failed) |
| M - West 1 run (Knickman kick) |
| T - Lewis 5 pass from Brown (Dawson kcik) |
| M - Jones 13 run (Knickman kick) |
| T - Williams 2 run (Dawson kick) |
| ATT - 48,451 |
| Team Statistics | ||
| UT | MU | |
| First downs | 21 | 25 |
| Rushes-Yards | 32-277 | 53-252 |
| Passing | 15-40-0 | 13-22-0 |
| Passing Yards | 149 | 266 |
| Total Offense | 426 | 518 |
| Return Yards | 52 | 3 |
| Punts-Avg | 8-35.3 | 7-40.6 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 4-3 |
| Penalties-Yards | 5-57 | 9-87 |
| Third Down Conversions | 3-15 | 6-14 |
| Time of Possession | 25:58 | 34:02 |
| Individual Leaders |
| RUSHING - UT:Williams 23-235, J Brown 2-21, R Brown 2-15, Clayton 4-5, Mitchell 1-1. MU: |
| Blackwell 4-85, Olivo 16-81, West 12-45, Jones 15-29, Janes 5-22. |
| PASSING - UT:Brown 15-40-0-149. MU: Jones 12-21-220-0, West 1-1-46-0. |
| RECEIVING - UT: White 5-56, Je Jones 3-48, Lewis 3-27, Epps 2-18, Williams 2-4. MU: Layman |
| 4-103, Brooks 3-58, Ross 2-47, Olivo 2-12, Coleman 1-30, West 1-16. |
