Missouri Football Readies For No.9 Kansas State
11/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 12, 2000
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THIS WEEK'S GAME AT A GLANCE
KICKOFF: 11:30 a.m. CST
SITE: Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field (68,349), Natural Grass
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly/John Kadlec/Chris Gervino), on nearly 60 stations, and the internet at www.mutigers.com. Also available by calling Teamline at 1-800-846-4700, ext. 5755.
TV: Fox Sports Net Syndicated (Drew Goodman, Dave Lapham, Chris Spielman and Jim Knox
RANKINGS: Kansas State is ranked No. 9 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and in the Associated Press Poll.
SERIES RECORD: Missouri leads 56-25-5. Kansas State has won the last seven meetings.
HEAD COACHES
Missouri - Larry Smith, 33-45-1 at MU (7th season), 143-125-7 overall (24th season).
Kansas State - Bill Snyder, 97-42-1 at KSU (12th season) and overall
TICKETS
Contact the MU ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS
SEASON FINALE
The Missouri Tigers (3-7, 2-5) will take on No. 9 Kansas State (9-2, 5-2) in the season finale on Saturday at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net as part of its syndicated package.
Mizzou snapped a five-game losing streak and an eight-game road losing streak last Saturday with a 47-22 victory at Baylor. Kansas State is coming off of a 29-28 win over Nebraska last Saturday night in Manhattan, Kan. A victory over Missouri puts Kansas State into the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 4 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
THE MISSOURI-KANSAS STATE SERIES
Missouri leads the all-time series, 56-25-5. The Tigers will look to end a seven-game losing streak to Kansas State this Saturday. The last time Mizzou defeated the Wildcats was back on Nov. 14, 1992 in Manhattan, Kan. by a score of 27-14. Missouri has not defeated KSU in Columbia since the 1989 season. The Tigers won that game by a score of 21-9.
Missouri will be looking for revenge for last season's 66-0 trampling at the hands of the Wildcats in last year's final game in Manhattan.
With the exception of a 35-10 loss in 1996, Missouri has come within two touchdowns of defeating Kansas State in Columbia since 1992. The Tigers dropped a 27-14 decision to K-State in 1992. In 1994, the Wildcats got out of Columbia with a 21-18 victory.
The last time Kansas State visited Columbia, the Wildcats were ranked No. 2 in the country. They escaped with a 31-25 victory, but lost two weeks later in the Big 12 Championship game to Texas A&M.
Missouri fell behind 10-0, but rallied in the second quarter to take a 13-10 halftime lead. Corby Jones scored from five yards out and then connected with Kareem Wise on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers the haltime advantage.
K-State quarterback Michael Bishop got the hot hand in the third quarter. Bishop scored from one yard out, and then led the Wildcats down the field for another score to give Kansas State a 24-13 lead.
Missouri cut the lead to 24-16 after three quarters and then got within two points. Jones (14-for-30, 249 yards) hooked up with John Dausman (6 catches, 169 yards) for a 20-yard score to cut the K-State lead to 24-22.
Bishop and company answered by driving the ball down to the MU 1-yard line. Bishop handed the ball to running back Frank Murphy who fumbled in the end zone. Unforturnately for the Tigers, Murphy was able to recover the fumble for a K-State touchdown.
Missouri scored on its next possession to cut the lead to 31-25. The Tigers had one last chance to score. They got to the Kansas State 42-yard line, but Jones' fourth down pass to Dausman at the K-State 10 was just overthrown and the Wildcats took over on downs and ran out the clock.
SCOUTING KANSAS STATE
Missouri faces a huge challenge this week in the 9th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats. K-State enters the game with the third-best defense in the country. The Wildcats are allowing just 268 yards a game.
Last week against Nebraska, Kansas State held the Huskers to just 239 yards of total offense, including just 39 passing yards.
The Wildcats defense is led by arguably the best front line in college football. Defensive ends Chris Johnson and Monty Beisel had a combined 33 tackles for loss entering last Saturday's game against Nebraska. Senior defensive tackle Mario Fatafchi had 15 tackles for loss going into last week.
Offensively, Kansas State is led by senior quarterback Jonathan Beasley who entered last week's game ranked 16th in the country in total offense. Beasley is second in the Big 12 in passing and second in scoring.
Missouri will have to deal with one of the best receiving duo in the conference in Quincy Morgan and Aaron Lockett. Last week against Nebraska, Morgan caught 7 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
Lockett is the nation's second best punt returner averaging 20 yards per return.
K-STATE IS MISSOURI'S FIFTH RANKED OPPONENT
The Kansas State Wildcats, ranked No. 9 in the country, becomes Missouri's fifth ranked opponent of the season. Earlier, the Tigers took on #17 Clemson, #20 Michigan State, #1 Nebraska and #21 Texas.
Missouri is 1-26 under Head Coach Larry Smith against ranked opponents.
MISSOURI OFFENSE CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS
For the second straight week, the Missouri offense put up over 400 yards in total offense last week against Baylor. Mizzou had its second best offensive day of the season last week, racking up 472 total yards. The Tigers rushed for a season-high 273 yards while passing for 199.
MIZZOU DEFENSE HASN'T QUIT
After playing its worst game of the season three weeks ago in Ames, Ia. against Iowa State, the Missouri defense has earned its pride back in a big way the last two weeks. Missouri has allowed just 409 total yards in the last two games. The Tigers have given up just 67 yards on the ground in the last two weeks.
The Tigers allowed just 201 total yards of offense to Colorado two weeks ago, just 24 total yards in the second half. The Buffaloes were able to rush for just 54 yards against the Mizzou defense.
Last week against Baylor, the Tigers gave up 208 yards in total offense. Baylor had minus 2 yards in total offense at halftime. Just 13 of the Bears total yards were rushing yards.
JUSTIN SMITH SACKS BAYLOR, RECORD BOOK
Junior defensive end Justin Smith enjoyed a memorable afternoon in Waco, Texas last Saturday. The preseason All-American racked up four quarterback sacks against Baylor, tying an MU single-game record with Bobby Bell, who sacked Brigham Young quarterback Steve Young four times in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.
Smith also set the single-season Missouri record with 10. To cap the day off, he also became MU's all-time quarterback sack leader. He now has 21.5 sacks for his career, 3 1/2 more than the former leader, Rick Lyle, who previously held the record with 18.
For the day, Smith had 12 tackles. Seven of those tackles were for losses of 33 yards. He now has 22 tackles for 114 yards in losses on the season.
ZACK AND ZAIN
With redshirt freshman Zack Abron gaining experience and confidence with every game, the Tigers are beginning to get what they have been looking for out of their tailbacks. The original plan was to split time between Abron and junior Zain Gilmore. On Saturday against Baylor, Missouri got the balance it has been looking for out Zack and Zain.
Abron started the game and rushed for 80 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns. Gilmore carried the ball 15 times for 110 yards and scored twice, including a 52-yard scamper down the sideline.
The Tigers accumulated a season-high 273 yards on the ground on Saturday, with quarterback Darius Outlaw adding 48 rushing yards.
WHEN THE TIGERS RUN, THEY WIN
Missouri co-offensive coordinator Bill Cubit has insisted all year that running the football successfully is a major key to MU's new offensive system. Under Larry Smith, statistics will show that when the Tigers run the ball well, they usually win.
Missouri has a record of 20-3 under Smith when rushing for more than 250 yards. The Tigers have only managed that twice and are 1-1 on the season when gaining over 250 yards on the ground.
Mizzou rushed for a season-high 273 yards last week against Baylor and won. Turnovers hurt the Tigers against Iowa State in Ames when they rushed for 256 yards.
MISSOURI HEAD COACH LARRY SMITH
Larry Smith is in his seventh season at Missouri (24th overall) He has a record of 33-45-1 at Missouri. He became Mizzou's 30th head football coach on Dec. 15, 1993. With 18 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 24-year career record of 143-125-7, 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 one of only two active coaches who have taken four schools to bowl games, along with Lou Holtz (South Carolina) and one of only four who've ever done it (Earle Bruce and Bill Mallory). Smith ranks 11th 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.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT ... JUSTIN SMITH
Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star:
"Justin Smith is simply one of the most fascinating players in America to watch. Every single play, practically, he does something absolutely fabulous. He's so quick, so strong, so gifted, and he plays the game so hard. He never stops moving. It's no wonder. Man, what it must be like for him to go out there and just overpower 300-pound linemen, hunt down running backs from behind, leap tall blockers in a single bound. It's his world out there. It's his kingdom."
Gene Wojciechowksi, ESPN The Magazine:
"He's a dean's-listing, sack-loving, carefree workout king who just now is realizing how good he can be."
Moe Ankney, Missouri Defensive Coordinator:
"I've never seen anything like it. I've had very talented freshmen, but even the best ones took some time to climb the depth chart. Justin came in during our first pass-rush drill, and nobody could block him. After that I knew we had a gifted player."
Colorado Coach Gary Barnett:
"I threw him up (on film) for our whole team to watch him. He just plays the game the way you like to see somebody play it. He's just a great player with a great motor. You watch him and you go, `Wow, that's the way you're supposed to play the game."
Missouri Coach Larry Smith: (On using Justin Smith)
"We're going to move him around to make plays in different situations, and he will not come off of the field unless he's hurt."
Nebraska Coach Frank Solich:
"He (Justin Smith) is as good as it gets, period."
Nebraska Quarterback Eric Crouch:
"He belongs in the NFL already. Every week he is so consistent and he works harder than anyone on the field."
Texas Coach Mack Brown:
"Justin Smith is as good a defensive player as there is in America."
Texas All-American Offensive Tackle Leonard Davis:
"He's really good. It will be fun for our fans to watch him play. You don't see many like him anymore.
THREE NEW OFFENSIVE COACHES AT MISSOURI
Much was made in the preseason about Missouri's new offensive system. The Tigers have three new offensive coaches in 2000 that have opened up the Missouri offense.
Co-offensive coordinator Bill Cubit and offensive line coach Sam Pittman coached at Western Michigan University last year and led an offensive attack that was ranked 11th nationally in passing offense (311.8 yards per game) and 23rd in scoring offense (31.1 ppg).
Cubit spent three seasons at Western Michigan and helped the Broncos to a top-25 ranking in passing offense all three seasons behind quarterback Tim Lester. Last season, Cubit's offense broke 26 school and conference records. In 1998, Western Michigan became just the 14th school to have a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard runner and 1,000-yard receiver. The Broncos repeated that feat last season.
Pittman is no stranger to Big 12 football. Before his stint at Western Michigan, the El Reno, Okla. native spent two seasons as the offensive line coach at Oklahoma. His offensive line helped produce the nation's 18th and 34th best rushing attacks in 1997 and 1998.
Missouri's third addition to the offensive coaching staff is no stranger to the Tigers. Chris Tabor, who spent the last three seasons as the offensive graduate assistant, takes over as the Tigers' running backs coach. Tabor worked mainly with the offensive line and scout teams while a graduate assistant. He spent the 1994 season coaching running backs at Hutchinson Community College under current MU Co-Offensive Coordinator Andy Hill.
INJURIES HAVE DEPLETED THE TIGERS
Missouri's team doctors and athletic trainers have earned every penny this season. The injury list has been simply unbelievable. The Tigers have lost five players that they were depending on to season-ending injuries. Five other marque players have missed time or have been severely hobbled.
Here is a closer look at the Missouri injury list:
- DS Ben Davidson (back), expected to be the Tigers deep snapper as he has the last two seasons, never started the season after having back surgery during preseason camp.
- QB Jim Dougherty (elbow), second stringer who tore a ligament in his throwing elbow during preseason camp, done for the season.
- FB T.J. Leon (broken ankle), competed for starting fullback job before breaking his ankle in preseason camp, done for the season.
- WR Brandon Barnes (broken ankle), part of deep receiving corps at the beginning of the season, broke his ankle in the fourth quarter at Clemson on special teams, done for the season.
- WR John Dausman (knee), Tigers top receiver first three of the season, torn ACL in third quarter vs. Nebraska, done for the season.
- CB Julian Jones (dislocated wrist), missed the Nebraska game, has been limited and forced to play with one hand due to a cast on his hand for the last four weeks. Expected to wear the cast for at least another two weeks.
- QB Kirk Farmer (broken collarbone), had a career day vs. Nebraska until breaking his collarbone in the third quarter, has missed six weeks so far.
- ILB Jamonte Robinson (ankle), sprained against Nebraska. Was the Tigers leading tackler and among the top tacklers in the Big 12 before the injury. Had played sparingly the last four weeks until leading the Tigers in tackles against Colorado.
- ILB Sean Doyle (ankle, hamstring, achilles), has missed nearly three weeks of practice time, but has missed just one game. Was limited against Iowa State.
- K Brad Hammerich (dislocated collarbone), missed the Iowa State game and is out indefinitely.
TIGERS ARE FORCED TO GO WITH YOUTH MOVEMENT
With all of the injuries that Missouri has had to play with this season, several youngsters are seeing the field that would normally be redshirting or playing backup rolls to learn and gain experience.
It has been trial by fire for several Tigers. Mizzou is playing with a redshirt freshman quarterback (Darius Outlaw), a redshirt freshman tailback (Zack Abron), two converted wide receivers (Justin Gage and Terrence Curry, both sophomores) and two true freshman receivers (Tay Jackson and Marcus James).
Defensively, four Tigers: DG Cedric Harden, ILB Sean Doyle, CB Antoine Duncan, and SS Gary Anthony are all sophomores.
JUSTIN SMITH CHALLENGING FOR BRONKO NAGURSKI AWARD
In 32 games, junior defensive end Justin Smith has become one of the most dominant defensive players in MU history. Smith has recorded 266 tackles and 21 1/2 quarterback sacks.
"Smitty" has impressed national audiences this season against No. 8 Clemson, No. 25 Michigan State and No. 1 Nebraska. Smith chalked up 13 tackles (11 solo) against the high-powered Clemson Tigers in Death Valley.
Against Michigan State, Smith had freshman quarterback Jeff Smoker seeing No. 96 in his sleep. Smith hit Smoker four times, forced him to fumble it once and batted down a pass that he almost picked off. Smith also had a quarterback sack on Smoker that was called back for a penalty.
Against No. 1 Nebraska, Smith was at it again. He racked up seven tackles, three for loss, and sacked quarterback Eric Crouch twice. Smith also got a number of licks in on Crouch on option plays.
Smith added 12 tackles and two quarterback sacks of quarterback Major Applewhite against Texas. He sacked Iowa State's Sage Rosenfels, becoming just the fifth player to register a sack on the Iowa State QB all season.
On the season, "Smitty" is Missouri's leading tackler with 86. Twenty-two of those tackles are for 114 yards in losses.
Smith, who is playing at 270 pounds this season, bench presses and power cleans 500 pounds. He possesses amazing quickness with 4.5 speed and has a vertical leap of 30.5 inches.
The accolades have begun to mount for the Holts Summit, Mo. native. As a freshman, Smith was tabbed the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and was named first team All-Big 12 last season. Already in 2000, "Smitty" has earned preseason first team All-America honors from Playboy, College Football News, and Football News. Athlon and The Sporting News have chosen Smith to the second team.
"Smitty" was featured in the Aug. 21 issue of ESPN The Magazine in an article by Gene Wojciechowski.
Off the field, Smith was a second team District VII GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American as well as a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection.
OPPONENTS WANT NO PART OF "SMITTY"
Smith's stats are extremely impressive when considering that no team has run the ball to his side all season long. Missouri has seen the rolling pocket go away from Smith all season long, particularly by Western Illinois, Clemson, Oklahoma State and Kansas. Nebraska and Iowa State ran the option at Smith a small number of times in the second half against the Tigers.
Against Kansas, the tape will show that Smith was dealing with three, sometimes four, defenders on every play.
GROWING PAINS
With injuries to last year's starting quarterbacks Jim Dougherty and Kirk Farmer, the Tigers have turned to redshirt freshman quarterback Darius Outlaw to lead the offense. Outlaw's inexperience has been glaring at times, but his talent and heart have also been extremely noticeable.
Outlaw is 2-4 as Missouri's starting quarterback. He led Mizzou to a 24-10 victory over Oklahoma State when he threw for 191 yards and rushed for 22. He rushed for his first career touchdown and threw one touchdown pass.
His second starting assignment wasn't so good Kansas, despite throwing for a career-best 237 yards which included a 60-yard TD pass to Eric Spencer. Outlaw was sacked three times in the game and threw four interceptions.
The young quarterback had his ups and downs against Texas. Outlaw rushed for a career-best 48 yards, but was just 12-for-33 passing for 176 yards. He was sacked three times and threw one interception that was returned for a touchdown.
Against Iowa State, Outlaw may have had his best game. Despite throwing a costly interception, he rushed for a career-high 107 yards and threw for 171. The third quarter interception occured with Outlaw in the grasp of an Iowa State defender. He tried to complete the pass to tight end Brandon Ford, but ISU's Marc Timmons stepped in front and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown. After the game, coach Larry Smith defended Outlaw saying "it was a young quarterback just trying to make a play."
Colorado had Outlaw running for his life. He carried the ball 29 times and gained 120 yards, but he was also sacked a Big 12 record 11 times for 83 yards in losses. He lost 97 yards rushing on the day. Outlaw was 17-for-34 passing and completed 8 of his first 9 passes. He threw for 246 yards, but threw three interceptions.
Outlaw played well last week at Baylor. He threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another in the Tigers 47-22 victory. Outlaw threw for 199 yards, completing 16-of-28, and rushed for 48 yards.
The Powder Springs, Ga. native, who sat out last season as a partial qualifier, saw limited time against Western Illinois and Clemson before being forced into the game at Nebraska mid-way through the third quarter. In that game, Outlaw went 5-for-11 passing and rushed for 29 yards including a 27-yard scramble.
BAD BREAK FOR FARMER
Quarterback Kirk Farmer enjoyed the best game of his career despite a 46-39 overtime loss at Colorado in game five in 1999. He threw for a career-high 182 yards, rushed for 31 yards, including a gutsy 21-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter.
The following week, Farmer broke his leg along the visiting sideline in the second quarter against Iowa State at Faurot Field in a game the Tigers lost 24-21.
In week four against Nebraska, it happened again. Farmer arrived as a big-time collegiate quarterback, putting up career-highs in passing (13-for-25, 214 yards, 1 TD), rushing (9-for-83, 1 TD) and even receiving (1-for-35) ... and then it happened again. With just over seven minutes to play in the third quarter, Farmer broke loose for a 33-yard run and then fell on his shoulder as he was tackled. He suffered a broken clavicle in his left arm that has sidelined him for the last four weeks.
Farmer has practiced the last three weeks, but cannot be released by the team doctors to play until he has established a significant amount of bone growth in the clavicle.
EVERY TEAM NEEDS A DOYLE
If there is one individual on the Missouri roster that describes a football player, it is sophomore linebacker Sean Doyle. Three this season, Doyle has fought through a painful injury to put up huge numbers for the Tigers from his inside linebacker position.
Extremely questionable heading into the Michigan State game with a high ankle sprain, Doyle racked up 12 tackles and was named co-defensive player of the week. He repeated that performance against Kansas. After missing the Oklahoma State game with a badly pulled hamstring, Doyle started against Kansas after just two full days of practice and led the team with 17 tackles.
Doyle has played the last three weeks with an extremely sore achilles. Last week against Baylor, he racked up 10 tackles, two quarterback sacks and had three tackles for loss.
A legitimate All-Big 12 candidate, Doyle has 73 tackles on the season in nine games.
HEART OF A SENIOR
Senior nose tackle Pat Mingucci earned his fifth year of football back. A partial qualifier in 1996, the Jefferson City native did what he had to in the classroom to earn his fifth year of eligibility. Now, Mingucci is getting it done on the gridiron.
While Texas' Casey Hampton is getting all of the attention, Mingucci's performance this season has been outstanding. He has 51 tackles from his nose position and 11 for loss.
He has played his best games against the top running backs. Michigan State's T.J. Duckett got most of his yards running over the tackles instead of going up the middle against Mingucci. Nebraska's Dan Alexander had 13 carries for 34 yards, mainly because of the play of Mingucci. He racked up a career-high 12 tackles against the Huskers.
PICKS COME IN PAIRS FOR DUNCAN
Sophomore Antoine Duncan intercepted two passes on Saturday against Colorado. That was the second time this season that Duncan has intercepted two passes in a game. He picked off two passes in the third quarter against Oklahoma State on Oct. 7
TIGERS DIG DEEP INTO THE DEPTH CHART FOR A KICKER
Last Saturday, the Missouri Tigers incorporated their third kicker of the season. Since junior Brad Hammerich dislocated his collarbone against Texas, the Tigers were going with walk-on true freshman Justin Scott who had two-years of football experience under his belt.
When Scott missed two extra points last week against Baylor, Mizzou turned to yet another walk-on, junior Mike Caldrone. The Kansas City native, who stands just 5-2, booted two PAT in the fourth quarter.
Caldrone won the backup job three weeks ago in a kickoff against three other walk-on kickers.
TIGERS ARE GOOD IN THE RED ZONE
The Missouri Tigers have gotten the job done when they have reached the red zone on offense. Mizzou has been in the red zone (inside the opponents 20-yard line) 35 times this season and have scored 31 times. That is good for 89 percent.
Opponents are scoring at a 77 percent clip when reaching the Missouri red zone. Opponents are 28-for-36 this season.
THE TALL END AND THE SHORT END
Missouri may quite possibly have the one of the tallest and one of the shortest collegiate football players in the country. At defensive tackle, the Tigers have 6-foot-8 inch Michael Gavins. With the injury to Brad Hammerich, Missouri's new second string kicker is 5-foot-2 inch Mike Caldrone.
HAMMER-TIME
The Missouri Tigers truly miss the strong leg of kicker Brad Hammerich.
When breaking down Hammerich's numbers from a year ago, it is easy tell why Missouri feels that he is one of the best in the conference. Despite missing his first PAT of his career against Clemson, Hammerich is 39-for-40 in his career. He is 16-for-23 in field goal attempts - 10-of-11 from inside 40 yards, 6-for-10 from 40 to 49 yards and 0-for-2 from beyond 50 yards. Hammerich pushed a 50-yard attempt against Michigan State about two-feet left and had the distance.
FUMMMMBLE!!!!
The Missouri defense has been opportunistic in the fumble department so far this season. The Tigers are tied for 19th in the country in fumbles recovered this season. Mizzou has forced 13 of them. They have forced 13.
Sean Doyle leads the Tigers with five total fumbles. He has forced three and recovered two.
David Monroe has forced two fumbles and recovered two.
Doyle's forced fumbles have been in huge situations. He forced a fumble against Oklahoma State in the Cowboys end zone that was recovered by Duke Revard for a Missouri touchdown. Against Texas, the Longhorns were looking to score from the 1-yard line, but Doyle forced a fumble that was recovered by the Tigers Gary Anthony in the end zone for a touchback.
12-GAGE IS A LETHAL WEAPON
Yes, he wears No. 12 and his last name is Gage. What a perfect nickname for a guy who is as deadly as the real thing.
Sophomore Justin Gage has become the Tigers "big gun" in 2000. After being moved to wide receiver this past spring, Gage is the man. At 6-5, 200 pounds, Gage has made a habit of jumping over shorter defenders and making fabulous catches.
Gage is in the running for post-season honors. He is Missouri's leading receiver with 38 catches for 629 yards and four touchdowns. He is averaging 62.9 yards per game.
Gage has already broken into Missouri's top 10 in single-season receiving yards. He is currently 10th on that list. He needs six more catches to break into the Tigers' single-season receptions list.
Gage, who played three games at quarterback last season as a freshman, still has a cannon for an arm. Against Michigan State, he hooked up with John Dausman on a double-pass for a 70-yard bomb, the longest pass play at Mizzou in six years. Gage's arm was used again against Nebraska when he caught a screen pass from Kirk Farmer and proceeded to throw it back to Farmer for a 35-yard gain.
By the way, did we mention Gage is also a back-up post player on Quin Snyder's Missouri basketball team? While Gage is taller than his defensive back opponents on the gridiron, he spent last winter guarding guys four and five inches taller than he is such as NBA first round draft picks Marcus Fizer and Chris Mihm.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
Senior fullback Jason Lewis, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship this sea-son, has found that patience and hard work pays off.
The Knob Noster, Mo. native has played most of his five-year career at linebacker and earned playing time last year on the Missouri special teams. This season, with injuries at fullback, Lewis was moved to the offensive side of the football.
Against Colorado, Lewis scored his first career touchdown, a 16-yard pass from Darius Outlaw.
WHITTINGTON PLAYING BIG ROLE
Like his brother Bernard who is in his seventh season with the Indianapolis Colts, Missouri's Daryl Whittington is using his senior season to blossom into a fine football player and potential NFL prospect.
Whittington spent his first four years at Mizzou struggling to add weight to his 6-6 frame. Finally this off-season, Whittington added close to 15 pounds and is playing at nearly 260 pounds.
The atheltic St. Louis native is splitting his time between outside linebacker at defensive end and is playing very well. He accumulated a career-high seven tackles against Clemson after recording a sack and a fumble recovery against Western Illinois. Against Kansas, Whittington notched four tackles, two of those tackles were for loss.
Missouri defensive coordinator Moe Ankney has been quoted as saying: "Daryl is going to make us look really dumb when he is playing on Sundays next year."
MISSOURI BLOCK PARTY
In 1999, Missouri blocked six kicks, tying a single-season record set back in 1994. With three blocked kicks against Western Illinois, one would think the single-season record may be in jeopardy in 2000.
The Missouri "Raiders" team, otherwise known as the punt return team, reaked havoc on the Western Illinois punting unit all night long. On the very first series, WIU botched a snap and the Tigers tackled the Leathernecks' punter at the WIU 2-yard line. Mizzou scored two plays later.
The other big play by the "Raiders" unit was made by walk-on Grant Thornburg. The Palmyra, Mo. native filled in for Justin Smith and came up with a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone by Western Illinois for a safety.
Missouri's other blocked punt was by Justin Gage in the second quarter.
The Tigers Michael Gavins also recorded a block when we wiped out a PAT attempt by WIU.
Missouri has now blocked 31 kicks since Larry Smith came to Ol' Mizzou - 15 PATs, 10 punts and six field goals.
TOAST OF PALMYRA, MO
Redshirt freshman Marcus Caldwell and sophomore Grant Thornburg are the talk of Palmyra, Mo. Both walk-ons have earned significant playing time this season.
Caldwell earned his first career start against Oklahoma State at free safety while both Caldwell and Thornburg have provided Mizzou two very good special teams players.
Caldwell has racked up 27 tackles and two interceptions in four starting assignments while Thornburg blocked a punt against Western Illinois which led to a Missouri safety.
CURRY FINDS A NICHE AT WIDE RECEIVER
Sophomore Terrence Curry has been moved from cornerback to wide receiver to help add depth to MU's receiving corps. The Tigers lost redshirt freshman Brandon Barnes in the Clemson game with a broken ankle and are now without John Dausman.
Against Colorado, Curry put together the best game of his career. He caught three passes for 31 yards and rushed for 16 yards on two carries.
At Kirkwood High School, Curry caught eight passes his senior season, averaging 31 yards per reception. Seven of the eight passes he caught were for touchdowns.
Curry made his first start and caught his first career pass against Oklahoma State.
BAD BREAKS II
Senior wide receiver John Dausman, who was lost for the season last year with a torn ACL, suffered another ACL tear, this time in his other knee against Nebraska. Dausman was blocking down field and got tangled up on the Missouri sideline.
EARNING PLAYING TIME
In Missouri's 50-20 blowout over Western Illinois, at least 23 players saw their first action as Missouri Tigers on Faurot Field. No offense to the movie "Rudy," but the Tigers had a few Rudy's - walk-ons that have put in the time and earned a chance to play in front of 50,000 fans.
Walk-ons Darren Baldwin, Jesse Belfield, Marcus Caldwell, Scott Jones, Michael Harden, Brian Heits, Shan Schauffler and Grant Thornburg
Thornburg made his presence felt by blocking a punt that led to a safety while Jones recorded his first career tackle on special teams.
Thornburg, Jones and Caldwell were all named to Missouri's Champion Club against Western Illinois.
TIGERS SCORE AGAINST HUNGER
Again this year, Head Coach Larry Smith and the Missouri 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 2000. The proceeds help the food bank and more than 120 charities in its 29-county region providing free food to soup kitchens, shelters and food pantries.
For more information, call 1-800-764-3663, or 573-474-1020.
Since the program began six years ago, close to $1 million has been raised and more than 12 million meals have been provided to Missourians in need.
MISSOURI DEBUTS NEW $13.1 MILLION PRESS BOX
The skyline has changed in Columbia thanks to a new $13.1 million press box that adorns Memorial Stadium. The project, which actually started before the 1999 football campaign, was designed by Ellerbe Becket. The contractor of the project was Walsh Construction while the operation was managed by the University of Missouri Construction Management.
The new press box consists of six levels and stands 110 feet high, 321 feet wide. The structure consists of 35 suites, 418 Tiger Lounge seats and 147 working press positions, doubling the amount of the old press box.
TIGER TIDBITS
- The University of Missouri has the highest student-athlete graduation rates in the Big 12 Conference.
- The University of Missouri was rated as the nation's best education value in August, 1999 by U.S. News & World Report.
- Quarterback Darius Outlaw's first pass attempt of his career was a 14-yard touchdown strike to tight end Brandon Ford.
- Senior Jason Lewis has been put on scholarship by Larry Smith. Lewis, from Knob Noster, Mo., has been with the program for four years and is on track to graduate on time.
- Lewis spent three years as an inside linebacker, but was moved to fullback midway through preseason workouts to add depth to that position. With the injury to T.J. Leon, the move has proven to be a good one and Lewis will probably see some playing time at fullback as well as his special teams duties.
- Former Missouri Tiger Mark Alnutt (1993-95) is the new Director of Football Operations. Alnutt has served as a graduate assistant in the MU video department the last two seasons while earning a graduate degree in public administration.
- Alnutt replaces Curtis Jones who has landed a job with Nike.
- Several other former Mizzou football players are helping out the program while earning degrees. Pat Ivey, who played with Alnutt from 1993-95, is the Tigers' new Strength and Conditioning Assistant and just completed his master's this summer in health education.
- Missouri All-American Devin West is now the offensive graduate assistant for the Tigers while former offensive lineman Brad Smith is now a graduate assistant in the Tiger strength and conditioning program as he finishes out his degree.
- Former wide receiver Jamie Scholten is pursuing a master's degree while working in Missouri's Total Person Program.
- University of Kansas Sports Information Director Doug Vance recently asked all SIDs around the country to report playes that bench press over 500 pounds. Three Missouri Tigers were included on that list: Jemarcus Joshua (580 lbs.), T.J. Leon (520 lbs.) and Justin Smith (500 lbs).
TIGERS FOR TIGERS
Although there are many universities with a tiger mascot, the University of Missouri is the first to actively support a comprehensive conservation program for critically endangered wild tigers, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The Mizzou Tigers for Tigers program is a pioneering effort to raise awareness and support to ensure that there will be wild tigers for as long as there are Mizzou Tigers.
For more information, contact Dr. Mary Ratnaswamy, MU School of Natural Resources at 573-882-9424 or Mike Baltz, MU Division of Biological Sciences at 573-882-4854.
