Sept. 10, 2001
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THE MISSOURI-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
The Missouri Tigers and the Michigan State Spartans will meet this Saturday for the eighth time. Michigan State leads the all-time series 4-3. Missouri makes its' first trip to East Lansing since 1945. The Tigers and Spartans met last season for the first time since 1945 in Columbia. Michigan State won the game by a score of 13-10. Michigan State is 2-1 all-time against Missouri in East Lansing. In 1936, the Spartans defeated Mizzou by a score of 13-0. In 1941, the Tigers scored a 19-10 victory over Michigan State. The Spartans won the last meeting between the two teams in East Lansing by a score of 14-7 in 1945.
MISSOURI vs. MICHIGAN ST.
1936 - MSU 13-0 at East Lansing
1937 - MSU 2-0 at Columbia
1938 - Missouri 6-0 at Columbia
1941 - Missouri 19-10 at East Lansing
1944 - Missouri 13-7 at Columbia
1945 - MSU 14-7 at East Lansing
2000 - MSU 13-10 at Columbia
MISSOURI vs. THE BIG TEN
The Missouri Tigers have an all-time record of 39-53-4 against the Big Ten Conference. A victory on Saturday against Michigan State would end a four-game losing streak against Big Ten opponents. The last victory for Missouri against the Big Ten occurred in 1993 when the Tigers defeated Illinois in Columbia by a score of 31-3. Since that victory, Missouri has suffered losses to Illinois (42-0, 1994), Ohio State (31-10, 1997), Ohio State (35-14, 1998) and Michigan State (13-10, 2000).
HEAD COACH GARY PINKEL
Head Coach Gary Pinkel is in his first season at Missouri. In 10 seasons at the University of Toledo, Pinkel established himself as one of the most successful head coaches in Mid-American Conference history. He enters Saturday's contest with a career mark of 74-38-3. He is 1-1 as head coach at Missouri. He left Toledo with 73 wins, ranking him fourth among coaches in MAC history. His Toledo teams finished in the top three in the MAC or MAC West Division eight times, including four first-place finishes. Three of those teams advanced to play in the post-season and captured one MAC Championship and three MAC West Division titles.
PINKEL RANKS HIGH ON ACTIVE COACHES WINNING PCT. LIST
Gary Pinkel enters Saturday's contest against Michigan State ranked 14th among active Division 1-A football coaches in winning percentage. His 74-38-3 career record gives him a winning percentage of .656. Only two current Big 12 coaches rank higher than Pinkel, R.C. Slocum at Texas A&M (6th, .756) and Bill Snyder at Kansas State (10th, .697).
PINKEL vs. THE BIG TEN
Head Coach Gary Pinkel is 3-4 all-time vs. the Big Ten. Last year, his Toledo team defeated Penn State in "Happy Valley" by the score of 24-6. Pinkel also owns two victories over Purdue (1992 and 1997). Saturday's meeting with Michigan State will be Pinkel's first against the Spartans.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State enters Saturday's game with a record of 1-0 after defeating Central Michigan by a score of 35-21 at Spartan Stadium last week. The Spartans (5-6 in 2000), have won their last three games and four of their last five dating back to last season. Head Coach Bobby Williams is in his second season at Michigan State. He spent 10 years as the Spartans' running backs coach before being appointed head coach in December 1999. The Spartans are led by junior tailback T.J. Duckett who reached the 2,000-yard career rushing mark last week against Central Michigan, ran for 122 yards on 22 carries. Michigan State also has was one the best tight ends in the country in senior Chris Baker. Baker has started 36 consecutive games for the Spartans and has 95 career receptions. Senior linebacker Josh Thornhill leads the Spartans defensively. He had 113 tackles last season.
LAST YEAR: MSU 13, MU 10
Michigan State kicker David Schafer's 27-yard field goal with 10:48 to go in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner in Michigan State's 13-10 victory over Missouri in Columbia last season. The Tigers got out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Brad Hammerich connected on a 25-yard field goal and Zack Abron scored on a 7-yard run on the Tigers' next possession. Missouri was unable to break the Michigan State defense after that. The Spartans got on the board with 2:47 remaining in the first half on a 22-yard field goal by Schafer. Michigan State tied the game at 10-10 with 5:21 left in the third quarter on a 7-yard TD run by T.J. Duckett (33 carries, 133 yards). Schafer's fourth quarter field goal with 10:48 to go capped a 14-play drive by the Spartans.
LAST SATURDAY
The Missouri Tigers used two safeties, two blocked kicks, a solid running game and excellent defensive play to earn their first victory of the season last Saturday against Southwest Texas. Missouri's 40-6 victory over the Bobcats was its' first under new head coach Gary Pinkel. The Tigers were led by junior running back Zack Abron who rolled up a career-high 108 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns. Freshman tailback Tyrone Roberson made his collegiate debut on Saturday night and rushed for 74 yards on 13 carries. Junior wide receiver Justin Gage also scored two touchdowns for the Tigers, one on an 8-yard TD reception from quarterback Kirk Farmer, the other on a blocked punt return. With 9:20 to go in the game, sophomore cornerback Michael Harden came off of the edge and blocked the Southwest Texas punt attempt. Gage scooped up the ball and sprinted 18 yards into the end zone. The Tigers' first safety of the game occurred on a botched punt by the Bobcats in the first quarter. The snap went over SWT punter Marvin McCurry's head and ended up in the end zone. McCurry recovered the errant snap and punted the ball on the run from the end zone. The low punt deflected off of Missouri's David Monroe and back into the hands of McCurry who was tackled in the end zone by the Tigers' Gary Anthony for the safety. The second safety occurred in the second quarter when Missouri defensive tackle Cedric Harden tackled SWT running back Lee Davis is the end zone. Harden also recorded his second blocked PAT of the season. The Missouri defense held the Bobcats to 116 yards of total offense, including just 23 yards rushing. In the previous week, Southwest Texas rushed for 405 yards against Arkansas-Monticello.
ALL-BIG 12 PERFORMERS LEAD THE MIZZOU DEFENSE
The experience on the defensive side of the football is talented. Five returning defensive players have been All-Big 12 selections. Both linebackers, Jamonte Robinson and Sean Doyle, have been honorable mention All-Big 12 picks. Defensive backs Antoine Duncan and Clarence Jones were honorable mention All-Big 12 selections last season and junior defensive tackle Cedric Harden has also been an All-Big 12 pick.
MORE MISSOURI "D"
The Missouri defense allowed just 116 yards in total offense last week against Southwest Texas. That is the lowest output by a Missouri opponent since Sept. 5, 1998 when the Tigers held Bowling Green to just 93 yards in total offense.
MISSOURI DEFENSE RANKED 18TH IN THE COUNTRY
The Missouri defense enters Saturday's game ranked 18th in the country in total defense. In its' first two games, the Tiger defense has allowed an average of 229 yards per game. Missouri is also ranked 17th in the nation in pass defense. Tiger opponents are averaging only 120 yards through the air per game.
SACKS FOR EVERYONE
Missouri's defensive front four had a tremendous game last Saturday against Southwest Texas. Defensive ends Antwaun Bynum and Dan Davis each recorded their first career quarterback sack. Defensive tackle Keith Wright not only posted his first quarterback sack, he also had an interception off of a deflection . Fellow defensive tackle, Cedric Harden, also had a quarterback sack for the Tigers.
12-GAGE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gage is Missouri's best offensive weapon. Gage is off to a very good start. He has recorded 13 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown. Gage has scored two touchdowns on the season, the other coming on an 18-yard blocked punt return. His 9 receptions in the season opener vs. Bowling Green were a career-high. Playing wide receiver for the first time in his life last season, Gage earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and was the MU offensive MVP. His 44 receptions ranked 10th among Missouri single-season leaders. His 709 receiving yards was seventh-best in school history. The 6-4, 208-pounder is perhaps the Tigers' best overall athlete. A former quarterback, Gage has completed 16 passes in his career, two of them for touchdowns. Gage has also been a key reserve each of last two seasons for Quin Snyder's basketball team.
RICKER ON RIMINGTON
TROPHY WATCH LIST
Sophomore center A.J. Ricker is among 21 players in the nation on the Rimington Trophy "watch list." The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the best offensive center in college football, and is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. The Klein, Texas native started all 11 games as a redshirt freshman last year. He snapped the ball 654 times without committing a single penalty. He recorded 45 knockdowns and allowed just seven hits on the Tigers quarterbacks.
ROBERSON BURSTS ONTO THE SCENE
Freshman tailback Tyrone Roberson made his collegiate debut last Saturday night against Southwest Texas. Roberson carried the ball 13 times for 74 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Roberson's speed looks to be a positive addition to the Tigers' offense. The Missouri backfield looks to have a solid one-two punch with the power of Zack Abron and the speed of Roberson. The duo combined for 180 yards on the ground last Saturday.
TIGERS EARN PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Three Missouri Tigers were named preseason honorable mention All-Americans by Street & Smith's. Wide Receiver Justin Gage, offensive guard Mike Hayes and linebacker Sean Doyle were all recognized by Street & Smith's. Hayes was also named to The Sporting News "All-Underrated Team."
ROBINSON TACKLES THE CHARTS
Senior linebacker Jamonte Robinson is climbing the career tackles chart at the University of Missouri. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native has 289 career tackles, ranking him 11th in school history. Robinson needs 11 tackles to become the 10th player in school history to record 300 tackles. With six tackles on Saturday against Michigan State, Robinson will move into the top 10 all-time at Missouri. He needs 57 tackles to crack Missouri's all-time top-five.
HAMMER-TIME
Senior kicker Brad Hammerich is off to a great start in 2001. The Chesterfield, Mo., native connected on field goal attempts of 30 and 51 yards, improving his already impressive career numbers. Hammerich is 45-of-46 in his career in PAT attempts. He is 18-for-26 in field goal tries. Just one of those missed field goals has come on attempts of under 40 yards. He is 11-of-12 from inside 40 yards in his career and 7-of-14 from beyond 40 yards. Hammerich has a big-time leg, evident by a 56-yard field goal in the Black and Gold Game in the spring. His 51-yard field goal in the season opener against Bowling Green was the longest of his career.
TACKLES COME IN BUNCHES FOR DOYLE
Junior linebacker Sean Doyle racked up 17 tackles in the season opener against Bowling Green, equaling his career-high. It was the fifth time that Doyle has recorded double digit tackles. It was also the third time that Doyle has posted 15 or more tackles in a single game. Last year against Kansas, the Rockhurst High School graduate had 17 tackles. In his first career start in 1999, Doyle posted 15 tackles against Texas A&M.
HARDEN BLOCK PARTY
The Missouri Tigers have blocked two PATs and one punt. The two blocked PATs belong to junior defensive tackle Cedric Harden, giving him four blocks for his career. The Missouri blocked punt was by sophomore cornerback Michael Harden. No relation to Cedric, Harden's blocked punt resulted in an 18-yard touchdown return by Justin Gage.
JAMES AMONG NATION'S BEST IN PUNT RETURNS
Sophomore Marcus James enters Saturday's game at Michigan State ranked 16th in the country in punt returns. James is averaging 13.2 yards per return. He took over punt return duties midway through the 2000 season. He averaged 5.9 yards per return last season.
"TOUCHDOWN JOE" STRIKES AGAIN
Junior R-back Joe Chirumbolo earned the nickname "Touchdown Joe" two years ago after catching three touchdown passes as a fullback and rushing for another. It seems like every time Chirumbolo touches the ball, good things happen. "Touchdown Joe" is back in 2001. He has three receptions on the season, two of them are touchdowns. Against Bowling Green. Chirumbolo capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone for the Tigers' first touchdown of the season. Last Saturday against Southwest Texas, Chirumbolo pulled in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Darius Outlaw.
2001 TIGER CAPTAINS
Six seniors were voted captains by their teammates in the spring for 2001 season.