NEVER FEAR, RICCIO WAS HERE
No-one wants to get their opportunity due to injury, and sophomore QB Santino Riccio, ever the team player, would say the exact same thing. Regardless, knowing he is always one play away from taking over behind center, Riccio has prepared himself every day in practice for his opportunity, and he was honored this past spring for his work by being named the team's most improved quarterback. Riccio's opportunity came this past Saturday at Ball State, when he took over in the second half for Brad Smith, who left the game with a mild concussion. With MU leading 21-7 at halftime, Riccio came in and led the Tigers to 2 long touchdown drives in 4 possessions. After going three-and-out in his first series, Riccio caught a rhythm and showed Tiger fans that he is very capable of directing the Tiger offense, as he led MU on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 6:35 of the clock. The drive ended with his 14-yard TD pass (the 1st of his career) to TE Victor Sesay that put MU up 28-7 with 3:23 left in the 3rd quarter, a score that effectively clinched the game for Mizzou. Riccio, who prefers to go by his given name Santino (he's nicknamed Sonny), took the team on a 7-play, 79-yard drive the very next series that ended with a 5-yard TD run by TB Zack Abron at the 13:33 mark in the 4th quarter to close the scoring. On the day, Riccio was a solid 7-of-12 passing for 59 yards and the 1 TD. His QB rating was a very respectable 127.13. He also added an 8-yard scramble to convert a key 3rd-down play on his first scoring drive.

JUCO NEWCOMERS MAKE BIG PLAYS
Highly touted junior college transfers Damien Nash and Victor Sesay made their presence known in big ways Saturday at Ball State.

Nash, a sophomore tailback, got the first extensive action of his Tiger career, and responded with a 9-carry, 68-yard, 1-TD day. His TD was on a 4-yard burst around right end that evened the score at 7-7 with 1:22 remaining in the 1st quarter. Nash later had a 42-yard gainer that he almost broke for a TD before being caught - the run stands as the longest gain of the season for MU.

Sesay, a junior tight end, caught 1 pass for 14 yards, but it was a big one, as his grab was good for a touchdown from QB Santino Riccio with 3:23 left in the 3rd quarter that put MU up, 28-7. Sesay also contributed to MU's 1st score of the day as he provided an excellent block on the end to help spring Nash to a 4-yard scoring run. Sesay drove his man back through the endzone on the play, virtually the same thing he did to an Illinois defender in week one on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yardline that resulted in a 1-yard TD run by TB Zack Abron.

ZACK ATTACK KEEPS CLIMBING MU CAREER RUSHING LISTS
Senior TB Zack Abron entered the season having quietly amassed one of the best rushing careers in MU history. He's not the flashy, speed-burner type that wows people, and maybe that's why he's sort of flown under the radar, if you will. The fact is, however, that with 2,103 career rushing yards entering Saturday's game vs. Eastern Illinois, Abron has a shot at becoming MU's alltime career leading rusher if he produces just 845 more yards this season. He entered the 2003 season ranked 8th on MU's career rushing chart, with 2,043 yards, and his current total puts him 7th on the yardage chart.

Abron had 79 yards rushing Saturday at Ball State, on 18 carries. He scored 2 TDs, on runs of 1 and 5 yards. His TDs gave him 31 for his career, and moved him into a tie for 3rd on the MU career TD chart, behind only Corby Jones (38) and Bob Steuber (32). His career point total of 186 ranks him 6th currently, and his next TD will vault him into 4th place. He needs just 7 more TDs to tie Jones for the MU career record for points (228).

A virtual lock to pick up short yardage situations, Abron is a perfect 4-of-4 on 3rd-and-1 situations on the year, and is 1-of-1 on 4th-and-1 tries thus far. He has also developed into a pass-catching threat, as he has caught 6 passes for 34 yards thru 2 games thus far, already equalling his total of 6 catches last season.

Abron was held to 60 yards rushing in 21 attempts in the season opener vs. Illinois, but made many key plays that helped the Tigers earn the hardfought 22-15 victory. His first big play was a 1-yard TD scamper around right end on 4th-and-goal from the Illinois 1 that put MU ahead 7-3 in the 1st quarter.

Abron later made two huge plays in MU's game-winning 4th-quarter TD drive. The first was a 17-yard run around left end that put MU in Illinois territory. At the tail end of the play, the ball was popped loose as he was heading out of bounds. The ball went out of bounds along with Abron, but he was officially charged with a fumble, and that broke a streak of 182 consecutive carries without a fumble.

He shrugged off the fumble three plays later when he took a swing pass out of the backfield for a crucial 19-yard gain (MU's longest play of the game) on a 3rd-and-11that took the ball down to the Illini 27-yardline. In all, Abron accounted for 38 of MU's 78 yards on the game-winning drive. His 3 catches and 34 receiving yards on the day marked career bests, as well.

For more detailed information on Abron, please see his bio located later in this set of notes, as well as the 2003 Mizzou Football Media Guide (he's featured on pages 116-119).

MATHENY KICKING STRONG
Senior PK Mike Matheny hasn't been asked to try a field goal yet in two games, but he's been virtually perfect on everything else he's done thus far. Matheny, who won the kicking duties a year ago after walking on to the squad, is a perfect 7-of-7 thus far in PATs, after going a solid 40-of-42 last season.

Matheny has also been very effective as a weapon on kickoffs, showing off his strong leg. He's got a touchback percentage of 40% through 2 games (4-of-10 kickoffs), and was quite impressive Saturday at Ball State, as he placed 5-of-6 kickoffs into the endzone - 3 of which ended in touchbacks.

In all, the average starting position for opponents after Matheny's kickoffs is the 23-yardline.

OMBOGA GRABS CAREER HIGH 6 PASSES VS. BALL STATE
Junior WR Thomson Omboga showed Saturday at Ball State just why Tiger coaches think so much of his potential to lead the receiving corps, as he caught a career-high 6 passes for 70 yards on the day. He didn't make it into the endzone, but his catches were still quite vital to the Tiger cause, as 4 of his 6 receptions kept drives alive on 3rd down. Omboga's 1st grab of the day was a 14-yard haul from Brad Smith on a 3rd-and-8 situation from the Mizzou 35-yardline, and kept alive the drive that ended in a TD that tied the score at 7 apiece after Ball State had seized all momentum moments earlier by blocking a Tiger punt. His biggest catch of the day arguably was a 19-yarder on the next possession from Smith again on a 3rd-and-5 from the MU 6-yardline. Omboga got free along the left sideline for the hookup which gave MU some breathing room. The drive eventually stalled out, but MU gained valuable field position in a game which was tied at the time. Omboga caught 1 pass for 12 yards in the opener vs. Illinois, and that went for a 1st down as well. He has 43 catches for his career for 493 yards and 2 TDs, and had career highs of 21 catches for 253 yards last season in only 7 games.

BALL STATE NOTABLES...

FIRST DOWN SUCCESS KEY TO BALL STATE VICTORY
One week after having limited success on first down vs. Illinois, Mizzou met with excellent results in game 2 at Ball State on Saturday. Mizzou gained 218 of its 461 yards on the day on 1st down, averaging 6.6 yards per play in 33 plays. In 20 1st down rushing attempts, the Tigers piled up 117 yards, good for an average of 5.9 yards per rush. In 13 1st down pass tries, Tiger QBs went 11-of-13 for 101 yards, an average of 7.8 yards per attempt. That was a welcome improvement from game 1 vs. Illinois. In 19 1st down running plays vs. Illinois, Mizzou averaged just 2.3 yards per rush, going for a total of 43 yards. The biggest play was a 17-yard gain by Zack Abron in the 4th quarter that helped the Tigers move into position for their game-winning TD in the final minutes. In all, 9 of MU's 19 1st down rushes went for either zero or negative yards, but most of those came early, as 8 of those 9 occurred in the 1st half. Mizzou rushed for 53 yards in 22 1st half carries (an average of just 2.4 per rush), but met with better success later in the game, as MU averaged 3.6 yards per rush in the 2nd half, going for 68 yards on 19 carries. Despite the tough go of it on the ground, when the chips were down, the Tigers got what they needed when they needed it. MU was perfect on all 3 short-yardage situations, as TB Zack Abron converted on 3rd-and-1 twice and also scored a TD on a 4th-and-goal from the Illinois 1. In 2 games combined, MU is 4-of-4 on 3rd-and-1 situations and is a perfect 2-of-2 on 4th-and-1 opportunities.

TIGERS PICK UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF IN TURNOVER CATEGORY
Mizzou was the nation's leader in fewest number of turnovers committed last year -- and ranked 16th nationally in turnover margin (at +1.0 per game), which was a huge improvement from their ranking of 62nd nationally in Pinkel's first season at MU in 2001.

Through two games, the Tigers have picked right up where they left off last season, as MU has yet to turn the ball over. Mizzou is one of only 6 teams in the nation to be turnover free to this point, joining the likes of Arkansas, Duke, Georgia, Syracuse and West Virginia as mistake free.

Mizzou forced 1 Ball State fumble that the Cardinals recovered, but in the opener vs. Illinois, as MU forced one Illini miscue, when ROV Dedrick Harrington popped a ball loose that was recovered by CB Calvin Washington. Harrington's play was rather prominent, as the Illini had advanced to the Tiger 20 yard line.

In 12 games last year, the Tigers turned the ball over just 12 times (7 interceptions & 5 fumbles), a number which led all 117 D-I schools.

The Tigers' 12 giveaways established school records for fewest number of turnovers in a season. Head Coach Gary Pinkel's 2001 squad also ranks 4th on the chart, with 16 turnovers.

The 5 lost fumbles also established a school record, beating the previous mark of 7. That was achieved twice, in 1994 and by Pinkel's 2001 squad. All of this really was nothing new to Pinkel. Two of Pinkel's teams at Toledo led the nation in turnover margin.

RED HOT IN THE RED ZONE
Mizzou ranked 3rd in the Big 12 Conference in redzone efficiency last season, as the Tigers converted on 35-of-40 (87.5%) of its chances once reaching their opponents' 20-yard line.

Mizzou has picked up where it left off last year, as the Tigers are a perfect 7-of-7 in the red zone, with all 7 scored coming in the form of TDs. Mizzou is the only remaining Big 12 school to have a TD percentage of 100% in the red zone.

HARDEn leading the secondary charge He's not the biggest or most physical guy out there on the field, but senior cornerback Michael Harden has become a steadying force for a Tiger secondary that features several youngsters and newcomers.

Harden had a very solid season opener vs. Illinois, as he registered 6 tackles and broke up a career-high 4 passes on the day. The Kansas City, Mo. native also made two huge plays on special teams that impacted the game.

The first was a special teams stop on a punt after MU's offense stalled on the first possession of the game. He flew downfield to stop Illinois' Christian Morton for zero yards on his return try.

The bigger play, and maybe the play of the game, came later in the first quarter with Illinois punting from near their goalline. With MU trailing 3-0, the Tiger defense forced a punting situation, and Harden broke through the Illini protection like a shot. His penetration forced the Illinois punter to tuck the ball in to avoid a blocked punt. While Harden's momentum carried him into, and then past, the punter, teammate Derrick Ming followed close behind and dragged the punter down at the Illinois 3-yard line. The Tiger offense took over from there and eventually punched it in to take a 7-3 lead.

Harden is the most experienced of all Tiger defenders, as he's got 34 games and 18 starts under his belt. The team's Defensive Back of the Year in 2002, Harden ranked 3rd in the Big 12 Conference last year with 15 passes broken up.

RICKER TO MAKE IT 37 STRAIGHT STARTS AT CENTER
Junior center A.J. Ricker has been as dependable as they come. The Houston, Texas native, who is a pre-season candidate for the Rimington Award, has started all 36 games in his collegiate career for Mizzou. The last time someone other than Ricker started at center for Mizzou was 1999. He'll make it 37 straight starts when he takes the field Saturday against Eastern Illinois.

The MU record for consecutive starts is 42, co-held by Rob Riti (1996-99) and Mike Bedosky (1990-93). Since Ricker directly followed Riti, and Riti played center exclusively from 1997-99, that means that only two people have started at center for MU since 1997.

Ricker was a key component of 2001's offensive line that helped pave the way for MU to rank 5th in the Big 12 in rushing. The Tiger O-Line also allowed just 6 sacks in 2001, which was the 3rd-lowest total in the nation.

Last season, he led a unit that had Missouri rolling along, as the Tigers ranked 5th in the Big 12 (37th in the NCAA) in rushing (183.67 ypg), 5th in the Big 12 & 45th in the NCAA in total offense (386.83 ypg) and 43rd in the NCAA in scoring (30.00 ppg).

Ricker was voted a team captain during fall camp by his teammates.

WATCHING THE AWARD LISTS
Several Tiger players have been named to pre-season watch lists for the nation's most prestigious individual awards. Sophomore QB Brad Smith and junior P Brock Harvey were last week added to the watch lists for the prestigious Walter Camp Player of the Year and Ray Guy awards, respectively.

LET THE BIDDING BEGIN
Another thrilling online auction opened on www.mutigers.com on Friday, August 29, 2003. Brought to you by the University of Missouri Athletic Department, there will be approximately 20-25 items up for bid over the next few weeks, including autographed footballs, game tickets, and a weekend getaway. This is your opportunity to show your Mizzou spirit and get fantastic deals on Tiger merchandise.

HOW IT ALL WORKS:
On August 29, five items were put up for bid beginning at 2 PM and ending at 2 PM on September 5. At that time, a new set of five to six items will be available for the next week. This weekly process will continue until September 26. A diverse assortment of items will be offered throughout the month, allowing Tiger fans to bid on multiple items at a variety of times.

Don't forget to visit www.mutigers.com and bid on your favorite Tiger apparel, memorabilia and athletic items. These phenomenal goods could be yours...let the bidding begin!

TIGERS HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR 2003
One of the more eagerly anticipated seasons in recent Mizzou history got underway successfully on Aug. 30th when MU defeated rival Illinois by a 22-15 count.

Hopes are high in Tiger Town this season, as many people believe this is the year that Head Coach Gary Pinkel's program turns the proverbial corner. With 9 returning starters on an offense that scored the 3rd-most points in school history, combined with 6 returning starters on defense (and 4 others with at least one career start), and every key special teams person returning, there is good reason for increased expectations.

The national prognosticators for the most part agree that the Tigers are on the rise, as MU is picked as high as No. 22 in the nation by one national pre-season publication.

TIGERS BUCK THE TREND
It's an old adage that good teams find ways to win when they're not playing their best. And while it's still too early in the season to start throwing labels out there, Mizzou's win over Illinois on Aug. 30th might have been a step in the right direction for Gary Pinkel's program.

The Tigers were outproduced that day by Illinois in most statistical categories, but MU still managed to find a way to win the type of game it just hasn't been able to recently.

Here's a few trends that MU ignored on the way to victory against the Illini:

COMPLETE TEAM EFFORT LEADS TO WIN OVER ILLINOIS
The opening game win against Illinois might not have been a thing of beauty, but it undoubtedly was one of the best overall team efforts in the short tenure of Gary Pinkel. Every aspect of the team made contributions that helped make the difference. Consider the following: