Oct. 8, 2001

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THE MISSOURI-IOWA STATE SERIES
The Missouri Tigers and Iowa State Cyclones will meet for the 94th time on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers lead the all-time series, 53-31-9. Iowa State has won the last two meetings between the two schools. The Tigers are 25-16-7 all-time at home against the Cyclones. Saturday is Homecoming at Mizzou and it will be the ninth time that Iowa State has been the opponent. Missouri is 5-1-2 on Homecoming against Iowa State. The lone loss came in 1999 when the Cyclones outlasted the Tigers, 24-21.

HOMECOMING AT MIZZOU
Missouri will host its 90th Homecoming on Saturday afternoon. The first Homecoming football game was played in 1911 between Missouri and Kansas, a game that ended in a 3-3 tie. The Tigers are 50-33-5 all-time in Homecoming games. They will look to break a current two-game Homecoming losing streak this Saturday against Iowa State. The Cyclones knocked off Mizzou 24-21 in 1999. Last year, Missouri suffered its worst Homecoming loss since 1966 when Kansas defeated the Tigers, 38-17.

TIGERS AFTER 2-1 BIG 12 START
A victory on Saturday would give Missouri a 2-1 record in the Big 12 Conference. It would be the first time the Tigers have gotten off to a 2-1 conference start since the 1998 season when they advanced to post season to play in the Insight.com Bowl. Missouri won its first conference game of the season last Saturday in Stillwater, Okla., with a 41-38 triple-overtime victory over Oklahoma State. Iowa State dropped to 1-1 in the conference as the Cyclones fell to Nebraska by a score of 48-14. Both Missouri and Iowa State's lone Big 12 defeats have come at the hands of Nebraska.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE
The Iowa State Cyclones enter Saturday's game with a record of 3-1 (1-1 in the Big 12 Conference). Last year, Head Coach Dan McCarney led the Cyclones to 9-3 record and a victory at the Insight.com Bowl. It was the first winning season at Iowa State since 1989. The Cyclones are led by All-Big 12 running back Ennis Haywood who rushed for 1,237 yards a year ago. Last year against Missouri, Haywood carried 33 times for 214 yards and 2 TDs. So far in 2001, Haywood has rushed for 458 yards. Quarterback Seneca Wallace was the top JUCO quarterback in the country last season. He has thrown for 810 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 58.8 yards per game. Wallace's favorite target has been wide receiver Lane Danielson, who has 19 catches for 306 yards on the season. Iowa State's defense ranks third in the nation in pass defense. The Cyclones have nine interceptions in the their first four games.

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 75-39-3. He is 2-2 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 Iowa State ranked 14th among active Division 1-A football coaches in winning percentage. His 75-39-3 career record gives him a winning percentage of .653. Only two current Big 12 coaches rank higher than Pinkel, R.C. Slocum at Texas A&M (6th) Bill Snyder at Kansas State (9th).

LAST YEAR: ISU 39 MU 20
Iowa State's Ennis Haywood rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns and Marc Timmons' 78-yard interception return in the third quarter broke the Tigers' backs as Iowa State clinched a bowl berth by defeating Missouri 39-20 last year in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State produced 339 yards on the ground and 495 yards of total offense. Missouri was successful offensively, racking up 256 yards on the ground and 427 yards of total offense. Quarterback Darius Outlaw rushed for a career-high 107 yards on 18 carries for the Tigers and scored the opening touchdown of the game. Zack Abron had 86 yards rushing while Zain Gilmore contributed 67 yards on the ground. After Missouri's opening score, Iowa State scored 26 unanswered points and led 26-14 at halftime. Timmons' interception return for the touchdown at the 6:29 mark of the third quarter ended any chance of a Missouri comeback. Timmons picked off two Outlaw passes in the game. Outlaw completed just 13-of-34 passes in the game for 171 yards. He did hook up with Eric Spencer for a 29-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.

LAST TIME OUT
The Missouri Tigers won their first Big 12 Conference game of the season last Saturday night in a thrilling 41-38 triple-overtime victory against Oklahoma State. Jamonte Robinson blocked a field goal attempt by OSU in the third OT and Brad Hammerich connected on a winning 36-yard field goal, his fourth successful field goal attempt of the evening. Both teams battled back from 14-point deficits. The Cowboys scored first on a 1-yard TD run by Tatum Bell (32 carries, 117 yards). OSU's second touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from Aso Pogi to Rashaun Woods. Missouri fought its way back into the game with two Hammerich field goals in the final 5:16 of the first half. Quarterback Kirk Farmer directed the Tigers on a 9-play, 70-yard drive in the final 1:22 of the second quarter, resulting in a Hammerich 39-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half. Missouri carried the momentum in the third quarter with three straight touchdowns. On the first drive of the third stanza, Farmer connected with freshman Thomson Omboga for 15 yards to cut the OSU lead to 14-12. The two-point conversion failed. Missouri's defense then stepped up and forced two consecutive fumbles, both resulting in Mizzou touchdown drives. Farmer hooked up with Justin Gage (career-high 12 receptions) for a 15-yard TD pass and then Dwayne Blakley hauled in a 20-yard scoring strike. The Tigers converted both two-point conversions and took a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter. Oklahoma State scored with 9:12 left in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard pass play from Pogi to Tim Burrough. The next three possessions all ended in tremendous defensive stands by both defenses. After the Cowboys forced Missouri to punt with four minutes left in the fourth, Oklahoma State embarked on a 13 play, 68-yard drive which resulted in a 21-yard touchdown catch by Woods with 25 seconds left in regulation. The extra point tied the game at 28-28 and sent the game to overtime. It was the third overtime game in the last four meetings between Missouri and Oklahoma State. In the first overtime, the two teams traded touchdowns. Pogi used a quarterback sneak to give OSU the advantage, but Missouri came right back with a 3-yard TD run by Zack Abron to even the score 35-35. Hammerich's third field goal of the game gave the Tigers a 38-35 advantage in the second OT. The Mizzou defense did its' job, preventing the Cowboys from reaching the end zone. Luke Phillips converted a 21-yard field goal for OSU and sent the game into a third overtime. Again, Missouri's defense stepped up, forcing Oklahoma State into a field goal try. This time, the Tigers made the big play when Jamonte Robinson got penetration and blocked the field goal attempt. Missouri came out offensively and set up Hammerich for a 36-yard field goal attempt following three straight rushes by Zain Gilmore (22 carries, 107 yards). Hammerich's fourth attempt of the evening split the uprights for the Missouri victory.

HAMMER-TIME
Senior kicker Brad Hammerich is making a bid to be the best kicker in the Big 12 Conference. The Chesterfield, Mo., native was the hero last Saturday at Oklahoma State, converting four field goal attempts, (47, 39, 31 and 36 yards) including the game winner in the third overtime. Hammerich is now 7-for-8 in field goal tries this season. His only miss was from 50 yards out. He has at least one field goal in each game this season. As a matter of fact, Hammerich has converted at least one field try in his last 10 games. He missed the final four games of the 2000 season after a shoulder injury against Texas. In the season opener against Bowling Green, he nailed a career-long 51 yarder. Hammerich is 46-of-47 in his career in PAT attempts. He is 22-for-31 in field goal tries. Just one of those missed field goals has come on attempts of under 40 yards. He is 15-of-16 from inside 40 yards in his career and 8-of-16 from beyond 40 yards. Four of his eight misses beyond 40 yards have been from beyond 50 yards. He is 1-for-5 in his career from 50 yards out. Hammerich has a big-time leg, evident by a 56-yard field goal in the Black and Gold Game in the spring.

BYNUM TIES MIZZOU QB SACK RECORD
Junior defensive end Antwaun Bynum tied the Missouri single-game record for quarterback sacks last Saturday night against Oklahoma State. Bynum sacked OSU quarterback Aso Pogi four times in Mizzou's 41-38 triple overtime victory over the Cowboys. Bynum tied the record held by Bobby Bell (1983 vs. BYU in the Holiday Bowl) and Justin Smith (2000 at Baylor). Bynum now has five sacks on the season. His career night at Oklahoma State also included a career-high 14 tackles and two forced fumbles. The St. Louis, Mo. native is playing defensive end for the first time in his career. He came to Missouri last year as a junior college transfer from Hutchinson C.C. where he was an All-American linebacker. He recorded 24 sacks in two seasons at Hutchinson.

12-GAGE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gage is Missouri's best offensive weapon. Last week against Oklahoma State, the Jefferson City, Mo. native had yet another great game. He pulled in a career-high 12 receptions for 113 yards and scored a touchdown. He was also on the receiving end of a two-point conversion. He has recorded 28 receptions for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Gage also scored on an 18-yard blocked punt return. His 113 receiving yards on Saturday was his second 100-yard receiving game of the season. Gage has now caught at least one pass in each of his last 15 games. 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.

MISSOURI BLOCK PARTY
The Missouri Tigers have blocked at least one kick in each of the first four games of the 2001 season. The Tigers have blocked two field goal attempts, 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. Keith Wright blocked a field goal attempt by Nebraska, but the most important block of the year was made by senior linebacker Jamonte Robinson who blocked an Oklahoma State field goal attempt in the third overtime of the Tigers 41-38 victory.

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.

FARMER BACK IN THE HUDDLE
Junior quarterback Kirk Farmer returned to the starting lineup against Nebraska for the first time since week four last year. Farmer, who has had to recover from hand and knee injuries so far this season, returned after 10 practices and completed 15-of-39 passes for 128 yards against the Huskers. It was just the sixth start of Farmer's career. After another full week of practice, Farmer continued to make progress this past week against Oklahoma State. He completed 20-of-33 passes for a career-high 247 yards and three touchdowns. Farmer led a scoring drive with 1:22 left in the second quarter that resulted in a field goal to give the Tigers momentum heading into the second half. He then engineered three straight third quarter scoring drives against the Cowboys. The Jefferson City, Mo., native split time with Jim Dougherty in 1999, starting one game before breaking his leg in week six. Last year, Farmer started the first four games of the season before going down with a seperated shoulder at Nebraska in week four, an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

GILMORE JUMP STARTS MIZZOU OFFENSE
Senior running back Zain Gilmore entered last Saturday's game at Oklahoma State listed as No. 3 on the depth chart at running back. The senior got into the game midway through the first quarter and helped the Tigers' offense take off. Gilmore, who rushed for a career-high 169 yards against OSU in 2000, reached the century mark again on Saturday, rushing for 107 yards on 22 carries. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry for the game. Gilmore entered the game with just 36 rushing yards on the season. Gilmore has now rushed for 1,604 yards in his career. He is now 396 rushing yards away from reaching 2,000 yards for his career. He is 226 yards away from cracking Missouri's all-time top 10 list.

DYNAMIC DUO
Missouri linebackers Sean Doyle and Jamonte Robinson have become one of the best linebacking duos in the Big 12 Conference. In the Tigers' first four games, Doyle and Robinson have combined for 99 tackles. Doyle leads the team with 13.0 tackles per game. Robinson is averaging 11.8 tackles per game.

ROBINSON AND DOYLE TACKLES
Robinson Doyle vs. Bowling Green 10 17 vs. SW Texas 9 7 vs. Nebraska 13 17 vs. Okla. State 15 11

ROBINSON TACKLES HIS WAY INTO THE TOP 10
Senior linebacker Jamonte Robinson is climbing the career tackles chart at the University of Missouri. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native has 316 career tackles, ranking him in a tie for ninth place in school history with Lynn Evans. Robinson recorded 15 tackles last Saturday against Oklahoma State, tying a career-high. He has 27 tackles in the last two games. Robinson is one of 10 players in school history to record 300 career tackles. He needs 30 tackles to crack Missouri's all-time top-five. With eight tackles this Saturday against Iowa State, Robinson will jump all the way up to the sixth spot all-time at Missouri.

DOYLE AMONG NATION'S BEST
Junior linebacker Sean Doyle enters Saturday's game ranked among the top 20 in the country in tackles per game with 13.0. Doyle racked up 17 tackles for the third time in his career against Nebraska. The junior recorded 17 tackles in the season-opener against Bowling Green. It was the sixth time that Doyle has recorded double digit tackles. It was also the fourth 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.

DEFENSIVE FRONT FOUR
Missouri's defensive front four was literally pieced together this past spring. Defensive end Antwaun Bynum is a former linebacker, defensive end Dan Davis is a former tailback and defensive tackle Keith Wright is playing inside for the first time in his career. Only Cedric Harden is playing his natural position. This group continues to get better and better with each week. By adding senior defensive tackle Chris Ryan and redshirt freshman Nick Tarpoff into the mix, Missouri's defensive front four have combined for 24 tackles for loss and nine quarterback sacks. They have hit the quarterback 19 times, forced three fumbles and recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and blocked three kicks.

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.

RESHUFFLING THE SCHEDULE
Due to the attack on the United States on Sept. 11, the Missouri Tigers have reshuffled their schedule. The Tigers will makeup their game with Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Saturday, Dec. 1. Missouri has also moved its' game against Kansas State to Nov. 24 to accomodate the Wildcats who will play Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17, the original date for the MU-KSU game. The last time Missouri had a football game postponed or cancelled was back in 1918. The entire season was cancelled due to an influenza epidemic.

TIGERS ON THE ROAD
Missouri's road win at Oklahoma State gave the Tigers their second consecutive road victory. Missouri defeated Baylor in Waco last year in the season's road finale. It is the first time Mizzou has won two consecutive road games since the 1997 season.

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."

JAMES AMONG NATION'S BEST IN PUNT RETURNS
Sophomore Marcus James enters Saturday's game against Iowa State ranked 28th in the country in punt returns. James is averaging 11.83 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. 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.

IF IT GOES TO OVERTIME ...
Missouri has played five overtime games since overtime was instituted into college football in 1996. The Tigers are 4-1 in OT with three of those victories against Oklahoma State. In 1996, Mizzou defeated the Cowboys 35-28 in Columbia. That same season, Missouri needed three overtimes to knock off Baylor in Waco, Texas. The final score of that game was 49-42. In 1997, the Tigers defeated the 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in double-overtime, 51-50. Two weeks later, Missouri suffered its first overtime loss in the infamous "kicked ball" game as No. 1 Nebraska escaped Columbia with a 45-38 overtime win. Last week, the Tigers won their fourth overtime game, a triple-overtime thriller at Oklahoma State.