Game 9 - Nov. 1, 1997
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Folsom Field - Boulder, CO
It doesn't take long to forget 14 years of your past. At least it didn't for the Missouri Tigers on this Saturday afternoon in Colorado.
Moments after a 41-31 win clinched Ol' Mizzou's first winning season in 14 years, coaches, players, and probably fans all over the country broke down in tears. Fullback Ron Janes, who earlier in the year had said he wanted to turn the program around so when he came back to Columbia in 15 years he would feel welcome, was so choked up he could barely do post-game interviews. Coach Larry Smith cried. Again.
This was retribution. For years of losing. For so many close calls and moral victories. For guys like Jeff Handy, and Victor Bailey, and DeMontie Cross. And even, dare we say it, for the "fifth down."
The scoreboard didn't tell the story on this day. Missouri whipped Colorado into submission. Buffalo coach Rick Neuheisel said as much after the game: "I didn't think Missouri could do to us what they did today." The Tigers ran for 353 yards. They led the entire second half. They were winners.
Mizzou led 17-12 late in the first half when Marcus Washington picked off a Corby Jones pass and ran it back for a 70-yard touchdown and hearts all over Missouri sunk. But the play didn't count. Colorado had 12 men on the field. The Tigers took the second chance and turned it into a Scott Knickman field goal for an eight-point halftime bulge. A 52-yard pass from Jones to Kent Layman highlighted a nine-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a Brock Olivo touchdown and the Buffaloes were never within ten again.
The stats were unreal. Missouri averaged 6.2 yards a play. Jones threw for 152 yards. Layman went over 100 yards in receiving again. Olivo led four Tigers with over 50 rushing yards by gaining 97 and scored twice.
But the secret to Mizzou's success lie in one area: the Tigers held the ball for more than 42 minutes. Colorado's offense was never on the field long enough to put a real scare in the Missouri defense.
All they could do was sit on the sideline and watch Corby Jones, Brock Olivo, Ernest Blackwell and Kent Layman erase 14 years of misery in less than four hours. And as the Tigers celebrated in their locker room, a gathering of faithful fans sat in the Folsom Field bleachers chanting "Goalposts!" It was just one afternoon, but it had already changed so much.
| MISSOURI | 7 | 13 | 7 | 14 | - | 41 |
| COLORADO | 12 | 0 | 7 | 12 | - | 31 |
| C - Stiggers 37 pass from Hessler (kick failed) |
| M - Jones 1 run (Knickman kick) |
| C - Hessler 1 run (run failed) |
| M - Blackwell 34 run (Knickman kick) |
| M - FG Knickman 22 |
| M - FG Knickman 21 |
| M - Olivo 1run (Knickman kick) |
| C - Cherrington 7 run (Aldrich kick) |
| M - Layman 38 pass from Jones (Knickman kick) |
| C - Cherrington 1 run (kick failed) |
| M - Olivo 5 run (Knickman kick) |
| C - Stiggers 22 pass from Hessler (pass failed) |
| ATT - 43,119 |
| Team Statistics | ||
| MU | CU | |
| First downs | 29 | 18 |
| Rushes-Yards | 69-353 | 29-127 |
| Passing | 9-14-0 | 11-16-2 |
| Passing Yards | 164 | 179 |
| Total Offense | 517 | 306 |
| Return Yards | 36 | 0 |
| Punts-Avg | 2-27.5 | 2-47.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-48 | 8-95 |
| Third Down Conversions | 9-15 | 5-7 |
| Time of Possession | 42:20 | 17:40 |
| Individual Leaders |
| RUSHING - MU:Olivo 21-97, Jones 16-74, Blackwell 11-84, West 13-52, Janes 7-28, Layman 1- |
| 18. CU: Hessler 8-44, Cherrington 9-42, Troutman 12-41. |
| PASSING - MU:Jones 9-14-0-164-1. CU: Hessler 10-15-2-154-2, Toler 1-1-0-25-0. |
| RECEIVING - MU: Layman 4-119, Brooks 2-17, Murchison 1-11, Janes 1-10, Olivo 1-7. CU: |
| Stiggers 3-67, Chiaverini 3-46, Troutman 2-28, Green 1-16, Heffner 1-13, Savoy 1-9. |
