Tigers Begin 1998 Campaign
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
August 31, 1998
The Missouri Tigers, fresh off their first winning season and bowl appearance since 1983, enter the 1998 campaign with 16 returning starters and the firm conviction that they are "Ready for More."
The season begins on Saturday when the Tigers host the Bowling Green State Falcons. Game time on Faurot Field is 6:30 p.m.
The Tigers have been ranked by a variety of pre-season polls, including a high of 16th by Sports Illustrated, but were among other teams receiving votes in the two polls that count - AP and USA Today/ESPN.
The Tigers have won four of their last five regular-season games, nine of their last 13, and 13 of their last 23. Last season, they had their first winning record at home (4-2) since 1993.
Missouri is 5-3 the last two years in games decided by eight points or less. That puts their mark in such contests to 11-33-5 since 1983.
The MU-Bowling Green Series
Bowling Green won the only previous meeting, 17-10, in 1995. The Tigers squared their record against teams from the Mid-American Conference when they opened last season with a 44-24 win over Eastern Michigan in Columbia.
Scouting the Falcons
The Bowling Green Falcons went 3-8 a year ago and were picked to finish fifth in the MAC East Division this season.
The Falcons return six starters on offense, including senior quarterback Bob Niemet. Defensively, BGSU has switched to a 3-4 alignment after allowing a school-record 341 points last season. Six starters return there, too, paced by junior linebacker Joe O'Neill, who has made 173 tackles the last two seasons.
Bowling Green played the nation's eighth most difficult schedule last season, and things won't be much different this year. Next week, the Falcons play at Penn State.
Ties That Bind
Missouri has plenty of ties to Bowling Green and the MAC. Head Coach Larry Smith and assistants Moe Ankney and Jerry Berndt are all Bowling Green graduates. Ankney was the Falcons' head coach from 1986-90, and Tiger secondary Coach Jon Hoke, a Ball State grad, had the same position at Bowling Green from 1983-86. Tiger athletic trainer Rex Sharp is also a Ball State graduate, while football administrative associate Mike McHugh was an assistant football coach at Eastern Michigan (1989-92) and business manager Peter Fields has worked at both Kent State and Toledo.
Larry Smith is a member of the Bowling Green Athletic Hall of Fame.
Head Coach Larry Smith
Larry Smith begins his fifth season at Missouri (22nd overall) with a record of 18-27-1. He became Mizzou's 30th head football coach on Dec. 15, 1993. With 17 years as a head coach in NCAA Division I, before coming to MU, Smith was the most experienced coach ever hired by a Big Eight Conference school.
He has a 21-year career record of 128-107-7, and coached previously at Tulane (18-27, 1976-79), Arizona (48-28-3 (1980-86), and Southern California (44-25-3, 1987-92). He was out of coaching in 1993.
Smith is the only active coach who has taken four different teams to bowl games, and one of only four who've ever done it (Earle Bruce, Lou Holtz and Bill Mallory are the others). Smith ranks 12th among active coaches in career victories.
A native of Van Wert, Ohio, Smith is a 1962 graduate of Bowling Green State University. He served as a collegiate assistant coach at Miami (Ohio), Michigan and Arizona before beginning his head coaching career.
MISSOURI COACHES IN THEIR 5th SEASON
| COACH | 5th SEASON | W-L | TOT. SEASONS |
| Gwinn Henry | 1927 | 7-2 | 9 |
| Don Faurot | 1939 | 8-2 | 19 |
| Dan Devine | 1964 | 6-3-1 | 13 |
| Al Onofrio | 1975 | 6-5 | 7 |
| Warren Powers | 1982 | 5-4-2 | 7 |
| Bob Stull | 1993 | 3-7-1 | 5 |
| LARRY SMITH | 1998 | ? | 5 & counting |
Tigers Score Against Hunger
Again this year, MU Head Coach Larry Smith and the Tigers have teamed up with the Central Missouri Food Bank to stop hunger in its tracks. Interested persons can pledge money for every point the Tigers score in 1998. The proceeds help the Central Missouri Food Bank and more than 120 charities in its 29-county region provide free food to soup kitchens, shelters and food pantries.
For more information, call 1-800-764-3663, or 573-474-1020.
Last year's campaign, thanks to the record 368 points scored by the Tigers, netted nearly $250,000.
Missouri in Season Openers
Missouri has an all-time record in season-opening games of 66-36-4. Since Larry Smith came to Tigerland in 1994, MU is 2-2 in openers, having beaten North Texas, 28-7 in 1995, and Eastern Michigan, 44-24, last year.
In home openers, Mizzou's record stands at 74-29-4.
The Last Time: Bowling Green 17, Missouri 10 (9/9/95)
Despite dominating the first half and moving to a 10-0 lead, the Missouri Tigers couldn't hold on against the Bowling Green Falcons. The visitors scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to win, 17-10, at Faurot Field.
Brock Olivo scored on a 29-yard run and Mark Norris kicked his first career field goal to give the Tigers the halftime lead.
Although the Tiger defense forced four turnovers, two of them pass interceptions by senior Bo Adams, BGSU quarterback Ryan Henry was effective working the underneath routes. He completed 24-of-38 passes for 170 yards anad two touchdowns. His longest completion was just 13 yards.
Injuries, fumbles and penalties doomed the Tigers. Quarterback Brandon Corso left the game after pulling a hamstring on a 37-yard run down the left sideline. Defensive backs Clayton Baker, DeMontie Cross and Shad Criss suffered injuries, too.
Corso's injury forced sophomore Misael Alvarado into the fray for only his second career appearance. He completed five-of-11 passes, but misfired on four consecutive attempts with just over three minutes remaining and the Tigers operating from the Bowling Green 38-yard line.
The Tigers also lost three critical fumbles, one near the goalline by fullback Ernest Blackwell, and were penalized eight times for 85 yards.
Experience Counts
Larry Smith has talked throughout the pre-season about the depth of experience on the 1998 Missouri roster, and the Tigers' two-deep chart bears him out.
If the depth chart that is included elsewhere in this release holds true, only a handful of players will be making their first career starts on Saturday.
On offense, left tackle Chris Meredith, fullback Rob West and wide receiver Kareem Wise will be the only newcomers to the starting lineup. On defense, inside linebacker Pat Duffy and true freshman defensive end Justin Smith are the only rookie starters.
The kicking game, though, will be manned by a number of newcomers. Long snapper Ben Davidson, holders Ryan Douglass and Jim Dougherty, and placekickers Alexander St. Peter, Brad Hammerich and Tim Geiger are all new to the task.
If It Goes to Overtime
Missouri has a 3-1 record in overtime, having beaten Oklahoma State in Columbia, 35-28, and, Baylor, in Waco, 49-42 (three overtimes) in 1996, and Oklahoma State 51-50 (2 OT) last season. MU's first OT defeat came on Faurot Field, last year, when Nebraska prevailed, 45-38.
Turnover Margin is a Key for MU
Last season, Missouri scored 93 points as a result of 21 turnovers by the opposition, while MU foes managed just 20 points off of Tiger mistakes. That was a far cry from 1996, when MU gave up 136 points following its own turnovers.
Since Larry Smith came to Missouri, the Tigers have forced 82 turnovers and committed 76. They've forced at least one turnover in 39 of 45 games since Smith became the head coach. And the Tigers have scored six defensive touchdowns during the Smith era, the most recent coming in last year's regular-season finale when defensive guard Justin Wyatt ran 92 yards with a pass interception vs. Baylor.
Jones Begins All-Star Campaign
Missouri's Corby Jones is poised for a senior season that he hopes is as magical as last year when he was the all-Big 12 Conference quarterback. Now he's being recognized as one of the nation's best players.
He's already the only player in MU history to rank in the career top-10s in rushing, passing, total offense and scoring.
He could move up the ladder in two of those categories against Bowling Green. He has 1,997 career rushing yards, and could pass number-six Bob Steuber (2,030) and number-five Tommie Stowers (2,077) with 81 rushing yards. He stands fifth in career scoring with 162 points. A touchdown would boost him past Tim Gibbons (166) and, if scored on the ground, would be his 28th which would set a new school record.
In 28 career games as a Tiger, Jones has accounted for 44 touchdowns (scored 27, passed for 17), and he's posted five of the top 10 rushing days ever recorded by a Missouri signal caller. In fact, he's the only quarterback to appear in that top-10 list more than once.
New to the Tiger Camp
Not included in the 1998 Missouri Football Guide but prominent on the depth chart are a pair of juniors - defensive tackle Terrell Jurineack (#79) and tailback DeVaughn Black (#26).
Jurineack reported with the Tiger veterans on August 11 after being released from his letter-of-intent by the University of Arizona. He's presently running number-two behind junior Steve Erickson.
He was an all-America defensive end last season at Coffeyville Community College, where in 1996 he teamed with current Tiger outside linebacker Marquis Gibson. A native of Orlando, Fla., Jurineack made 13 quarterback sacks last season for 110 yards in losses. More than half of his 66 total tackles - 36 - were behind the line of scrimmage. During his two years at Coffeyville, he played on teams that had a cumulative record of 18-5.
Black rejoined the team during its two-a-day stay at Wentworth Military Academy after regaining his academic standing. On the first play of Friday night's scrimmage, he ran for a 43-yard gain.
Black played at Tennessee State as a true freshman in 1995, after being a high school teammate of MU center Rob Riti at Hazelwood West High School in St. Louis. He then transferred to Mizzou and sat out the 1996 season, but practiced with the team. He fell victim to academic ineligibility last year.
Black is also on the second unit, contending with freshman Zain Gilmore to be the understudy to Mizzou's feature back - senior tailback Devin West.
Homegrown Tigers
Missouri's depth chart reveals that 32 members of the two-deep roster are from the State of Missouri - 21 on offense and 11 on defense.
Missouri's Attendance Increase Was Big 12's Biggest
Missouri averaged 52,484 fans per home game last season. That was up from 39,171 in 1996 giving MU the largest increase in the Big 12 Conference and the fifth largest jump in the nation.
Although MU doesn't have marquee matchups at home this season like a year ago when Ohio State, Nebraska and Texas came to town, MU is likely to hold close to that figure since season ticket sales are running about 25 percent ahead of last year.
Five of the top 11 home crowds Mizzou has had since '84 have come since Larry Smith became Missouri's head coach in 1994. The 66,846 who attended the Nebraska game represented MU's biggest home crowd since 1984.
BIG CROWDS SINCE 1984
| 9/29/84 | 70,915 | Notre Dame 16, Missouri 14 |
| 10/19/85 | 62,733 | Nebraska 28, Missouri 20 |
| 11/9/85 | 50,321 | Oklahoma 51, Missouri 6 |
| 10/31/87 | 55,594 | Nebraska 42, Missouri 7 |
| 10/14/89 | 55,620 | Nebraska 50, Missouri 7 |
| 10/24/92 | 53,337 | Nebraska 34, Missouri 24 |
| 9/3/94 | 55,263 | Tulsa 20, Missouri 17 |
| 10/22/94 | 50,537 | Nebraska 42, Missouri 7 |
| 9/6/97 | 52,514 | MISSOURI 44, E. Michigan 24 |
| 9/27/97 | 58,882 | Ohio State 31, Missouri 10 |
| 11/8/97 | 66,846 | Nebraska 45, Missouri 38 (ot) |
Ross gained 90 yards on three kickoff returns, in Stillwater, including a 49-yarder. He had a 15-yard punt return at Colorado, and a 47-yard kickoff return against Nebraska.
The last five games, Ross has caught 10 passes for 201 yards (20.1 yards per reception).
- Sophomore defensive tackle Steve Erickson gets his first career start today in place of injured senior Brian Cracraft. Erickson made a career-high 9 tackles last week against Nebraska.
His brother, Jon, is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman for Baylor.
- Ernest Blackwell had an uneventful Thursday, as far as we know. That hasn't been the case the last two weeks. On Thursday prior to the Colorado game he underwent a root canal. Last Thursday, he spent Thursday evening getting married (new wife Amy). Some may say, which was worse. Just kidding.
- Here's an oddity for you. Missouri used three different punters against both Texas and Nebraska - Vince Sebo, Jason Smith and Corby Jones. Jones has punted five times in his career, and four were downed inside the opponent's 10-yard line.
- Missouri's 21-point win at Tulsa was its biggest margin of victory on the road since 1988, when the Tigers thumped Kansas State, in Manhattan, 52-21.
Missouri has won four of its last six road games and has a road record under Larry Smith of 8-12-1.
- DeMontie Cross, MU's all-time leading tackler and now a graduate assistant on Larry Smith's staff, has organized Tiger players to serve as "Team Buddies" with the Columbia Youth Football League.
Among the group attending the CYF games on Sundays at Cosmo Park are: Mitch Henderson, Kevin Ford, Eddie Brooks, Terrence Binion, Donnell Jones, Kareem Wise, Ernest Blackwell, Shawn Sundall and Craig Heimburger.
- Just five players remain from Bob Stull's last Missouri recruiting class in 1993 - OT Travis Biebel, FB Ron Janes, ILB Kevin Ford, NT Donnell Jones and OLB Shawn Sundall.
- A year ago, Missouri was outscored 130-48 in the fourth quarter. So far this season, Missouri has out-pointed its opponents 97-63 in the final period.
- Sophomore linebacker Barry Odom made nine tackles against Tulsa and the first pass interception of his career and was honored as the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Week. The pick was the first of three second-half turnovers forced by the Tigers that helped MU turn a 28-21 lead into a 42-21 victory.
Odom is the third linebacker so honored during Larry Smith's tenure at Mizzou. Marc Pedrotti received the Big Eight defensive award against Hawaii in 1994, and Joe Love was honored for his play against Kansas last season.
- Add another chapter to the Brock Olivo folk tale at Ol' Mizzou.
- It seems that Brock is more than a little superstitious when it comes to having his ankles taped. He insists on graduate assistant trainer, Dave Hammons, performing the daily task.
- Well, on Saturday morning, prior to the Iowa State game, MU was staging its annual fall Black-Gold Baseball Game at Simmons Field when the time came for Olivo to hit the training room. Hammons is Missouri's baseball trainer, and as such, was working the baseball game.
- No fear, Brock jumped on a golf cart, was zipped across the street to the ballpark, and Hammons taped Olivo in the dugout.
Tiger Texans
Missouri has 13 players from the state of Texas, the most from any state other than Missouri. That total includes four defensive starters - DT Steve Erickson (Dallas), LB Kevin Ford (Denison), CB Shad Criss (Denison) and SS Caldrinoff Easter (Houston). Mizzou's regular punter, Vince Sebo, is also a Texan (Spring).
Other Tigers from Texas include: TE Jayson Hughes and C Michael Valadez (Corpus Christi), TE Brandon Ford (Galveston), OT Paul Carrizal (Grand Prairie), OG Adrian Cole, CB Andre Roberson and SS Jaimiaal Jordan (Houston), and ILB Jared Angelica (Pasadena).
Knickman, Olivo, Jones Assaulting Scoring List
Senior walkon Scott Knickman, the man who wasn't even supposed to be Missouri's kicker this season, is about to carve his name in the Tiger record book.
With 70 points this season, he's just two away from the Missouri record for points by a MU kicker (72, Tim Gibbons, 1975). Knickman has booted 11 field goals and 37 extra points. Gibbons tallied his 72 points with 13 FGs and 33 PATs.
Knickman is also close to the season record for PATs - 41, by Jeff Brockhaus, in 1978.
In the season opener vs. Eastern Michigan, Knickman nailed FGs of 47, 42 and 39 yards and booted five extra points. His 14 points scored were just two off the school record for points by a kicker. His 47-yarder was the longest by a MU kicker since 1994, when Kyle Pooler had one of 51 yards.
For the season, he's nailed 11-of-12 field goal attempts, following in the footsteps of Mark Norris, who converted 8-of-10 last season. Knickman's percentage of .917 is the best in school history.
Brock Olivo has scored 30 career touchdowns, three shy of breaking the record of 32 set by Bob Steuber from 1940-42. He has scored 182 career points, fourth best in MU annals.
Olivo and Corby Jones have tallied 26 career rushing TDs, tied for the MU record, also held by Steuber.
