LAST YEAR: MIZZOU 36, KANSAS 12
Brad Smith ran for 117 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw, and backup tailback T.J. Leon added a career-high 104 yards rushing and two scores as Missouri beat Kansas 36-12 in MU's Homecoming game.

Missouri blew open a tight game with three third-quarter touchdowns to break a 3-game losing streak.

Leon, who had 17 carries, scored on runs of 5 and 7 yards.

Kansas outgained Missouri 270-158 in the first half, but Johnny Beck missed two field goals - one after a bounced snap - and an extra-point kick. Missouri mounted only two drives in the first half and scored on both of them, with Justin Gage turning a quick slant into a 62-yard TD and Leon scoring on a 7-yard run for a 14-6 lead at the break.

Missouri couldn't capitalize on a 52-yard kickoff return by Tauras Ferguson to the Kansas 35 to start the second half. The drive stalled three plays later, and Mike Matheny was plenty long, but wide left on a 46-yard field-goal attempt.

The Tigers took control on their next drive, punishing Kansas with an 11-play, 68-yard drive capped by Leon's second touchdown on a 5-yard run for a 20-6 lead.

Kansas answered briefly on Bill Whittemore's 20-yard pass to Byron Gasaway with 5:24 left in the third, but Smith scored on his 75-yarder two plays later. Smith added a 15-yard pass to Darius Outlaw with 1:01 to go in the quarter.

Gage broke the Big 12 record for career receptions with four catches for 77 yards. He moved to 176 career receptions, two more than the previous record, set by Kwame Cavil of Texas from 1997-99.

Smith was 9-for-16 passing for 135 yards.

Tigers move to 4-0 with hard-fought win over middle tennessee
Mizzou enters Saturday's game with Kansas at a perfect 4-0, thanks to a thrilling 41-40 come-from-behind overtime win last week over Middle Tennessee State.

MU gave up the game's first score, but scored 16 straight points to take a 16-7 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. But MTSU's offense, which had been stopped 3 straight times by MU's defense, suddenly became unstoppable, as it scored on 4 straight possessions, and eventually took a 31-23 lead over the Tigers midway through the 3rd period.

MU responded with a Mike Matheny 25-yard field goal to pull to within 31-26 with 10:53 to play in the game, only to see the Blue Raiders answer with a short field goal of their own to nudge the margin back to 8 points with just 5:16 left.

In danger of losing its first national ranking since 1998, the 23rd-ranked Tigers responded, as QB Brad Smith simply took over the game from that point, as he led MU on an 11-play, 73-yard march that ended with his 12-yard TD pass to WR Darius Outlaw with 1:17 left in regulation. On the drive, Smith accounted for 74 of the 73 yards (yes, that's correct, Zack Abron lost 1 yard rushing on the drive), as he was a perfect 5-of-5 passing for 43 yards and added 31 yards rushing on 5 carries. He also took matters into his own hands on the crucial 2-pt. conversion try, when he raced around left end and plowed into the endzone to tie the game at 34 apiece and keep MU's hopes alive.

In the overtime period, MTSU went first, and took just 4 plays to score a TD on QB Andrico Hines' short scoring run. But MTSU kicker Brian Kelly clanked the ensuing PAT off the left upright, giving MU an opening to end the game.

And the Tigers did just that, as Smith and TB Zack Abron covered the requisite 25 yards in 5 plays (Smith had 16 yards rushing on 3 tries, Abron 9 on 2 carries), with Smith scoring from 3 yards out to tie the game.

PK Mike Matheny kicked the game-winning extra point to make it 41-40, but it was a little tougher than usual, as he was forced to kick a 36-yarder after the Tigers were penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration after Smith's score. Despite the extra distance, Matheny's kick was true, and the Tigers had avoided the big upset to pull to 4-0 for only the 12th time in school history, and the first time since 1981.

Smith and outlaw do it again
QB Brad Smith is quickly becoming known for his late-game heroics, as he has led MU to 4th quarter comeback wins twice already this season, and WR Darius Outlaw is his willing accomplice, no pun intended.

The duo came up big this past Saturday, as MU faced dire straits late in the game. MU trailed Middle Tennessee State by a 34-26 count with just 5:11 left in the game. As noted previously, Smith took over, as he accounted for 74 total yards in an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended in his 12-yard scoring strike to Outlaw with 1:17 left in the game. Smith ran in the 2-pt. conversion to tie the game and send it to overtime, where he scored the Tigers' TD on a 3-yard keeper.

In the Tigers' season opener vs. Illinois, Smith notched his first 4th-quarter comeback win, as he rallied MU from a 15-14 deficit to a 22-14 win. MU trailed 15-14 when it took over on its own 22 yardline with 10:36 remaining in the game. Smith calmly led the Tigers on a 13-play, 78-yard march that ended with his 6-yard TD pass to Outlaw with 4:12 left in the game. Similar to this past Saturday, Smith ran in the 2-pt. conversion to stake the Tigers to a 22-15 lead that they held onto as the defense stopped Illinois deep in Tiger territory.

Mr. smith becoming automatic in the clutch
With Saturday's comeback win against Middle Tennessee State, QB Brad Smith has now been successful on 5 consecutive 4th quarter drives that have either tied a game or put MU on top. Here's a look back at those situations that MU's young signal caller has handled:

MORE MU-MIDDLE TENNESSE NOTABLES

TIGERS now ranked 23rd in both polls
After Saturday's thrilling 41-40 overtime win over Middle Tennessee State, MU finds itself ranked 23rd in both national polls. The Tigers were ranked 23rd in the Associated Press poll entering the MTSU game, but were just outside the top-25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, sitting at 26th prior to last week's game.

Mizzou hadn't been ranked at all prior to this since the end of the 1998 season - when the Tigers ended the year ranked 21st (AP) and 25th (Coaches) after going 8-4 and winning the 1998 Insight.com Bowl. MU reached as high as 13th that season.

Head Coach Gary Pinkel is no stranger to the national polls, as his Toledo teams were ranked in three of his final six seasons at UT (from 1995-2000). Toledo was ranked No. 24 in both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' season ending polls following the 1995 season, and was ranked No. 25 in the country in the Coaches' poll in 2000. In 1997, the Rockets were ranked as high as No. 18 in the country after getting off to an 8-0 start.

OF RANKINGS AND RUMBLINGS...
Since the inception of the Associated Press rankings in 1936, the Tigers have carried a ranking into a game 139 times previously, and MU holds an 85-53-1 mark in those games.

A few more random notes regarding MU and the rankings:

OFFENSE CATCHING FIRE, especially the ground forces
After being held to 223 yards of total offense in its season-opening win over Illinois, the MU offensive attack has been firing on all cylinders of late. In its last 3 outings, Mizzou is averaging 486.0 yards of total offense, including a season-high 509 yards two weeks ago in a 37-0 win over Eastern Illinois - a total which marked the 2nd-most under Gary Pinkel.

The Tiger rushing attack has been most noticeable in its prowess recently, as MU has averaged 269.0 yards per game in its last 3 outings, as the Tigers have racked up 290 yards (at Ball State), 221 yards (vs. Eastern Illinois) and 296 yards (vs. Middle Tennessee State) in the last 3 weeks, respectively. The 296 yards and 290 yard outings mark the No. 1 & 2 single-game rushing totals for MU under Gary Pinkel.

MU's recent surge on the ground has elevated MU into some lofty national rankings, as the Tigers now enter Saturday's matchup with Kansas as the No. 9 team in the nation in rushing offense, with a per-game average of 232.0 yards per game.

Mizzou had been held to just 121 yards rushing on 41 attempts (2.9 yards per rush) in the opener vs. Illinois, but have since combined for 807 yards in the last 3 games on 126 carries, good for an average of 6.4 yards per rush.

Brad Smith: ordinary name, extraordinary talent
After a redshirt freshman season that saw QB Brad Smith break numerous records and grab virtually every prominent conference and national freshman award, Smith is well on his way to a very resounding sophomore campaign.

Listed in the preseason as the No. 4 Heisman candidate by Sports Illustrated, No. 7 by the Sporting News and among the top-10 according to CBSSportsline.com, Smith has not disappointed, as he's the first quarterback to lead MU to a 4-0 start to the season since 1981. Smith heads into the Kansas game ranked 29th in the NCAA in total offense, with an average of 249.0 yards per game. His QB efficiency rating of 148.03 ranks 24th in the NCAA, and is up significantly from his season mark of 117.34 set last year as a freshman. He's turned in 3 of his 5 most efficient passing days of his career this season (see chart below).

Smith enjoyed one of the most efficient passing days of his young career recently, as he completed 26-of-33 passes for a season-high 236 yards and 2 TDs with no interceptions in MU's 37-0 win over Eastern Illinois.

Smith's completion percentage of 71.0% (71-of-100) ranks 1st in the Big 12 and 6th in the NCAA thus far (see chart at right).

A few quick career updates regarding Smith:

This comes after a season in which Smith amassed 3,362 yards of total offense (an MU record), and became only the 2nd player in Division IA history to throw for 2,000 yards (2,333 to be exact) and rush for 1,000 yards (1,029) in the same season.

While his numbers weren't eye-popping in the season opener vs. Illinois, he still did enough to get his team the all-important victory. He was an efficient 12-of-16 passing for 102 yards and 2 TDs on the day, and added a team-high 66 yards rushing. With MU trailing 15-14 midway through the 4th quarter, Smith took over the game and led the Tigers to a 13-play, 78-yard drive that culminated with his 6-yard scoring strike to WR Darius Outlaw with 4:12 left. Smith followed by successfully running in a 2-point conversion on the old "swinging gate" play to account for the final margin.

On the game-winning drive, Smith accounted for 59 of the 78 yards, as he carried 6 times for 20 yards and was a perfect 3-of-3 passing for 39 yards.

Zack attack keeps climing MU CAREER RUSHING LIST
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 2,411 career rushing yards entering Saturday's game vs. Kansas, Abron has a shot at becoming MU's alltime career leading rusher if he produces just 615 more yards this season (he'd need to average 76.9 yards per game in MU's remaining 8 regular season games). He entered the 2003 season ranked 8th on MU's career rushing chart, with 2,043 yards, and his current total puts him 5th on the yardage chart.

Abron notched the 1st 100 yard rushing day of his 2003 season, and 8th of his Tiger career, on Saturday when he tallied a game-best 138 yards on 18 attempts. He added a 2nd quarter TD scamper from 8 yards out that put MU up 23-14. Earlier in the 2nd quarter, he raced 64 yards around left end - a gain that represented a career long.

His career point total of 204 ranks him 4th currently in MU history, and he needs just 5 more TDs to surpass former QB Corby Jones for the MU career record for points (228) and TDs scored (38). Abron has 34 career TDs (32 rushing/2 receiving).

Abron rushed for 91 yards and 2 TDs against Eastern Illinois. His TDs came from 5 yards out and 25 yards out, the latter coming on a 4th-and-1 from the EIU 25 yardline in the 3rd quarter that put MU up, 21-0.

Abron had 79 yards rushing at Ball State, on 18 carries. He scored 2 TDs, on runs of 1 and 5 yards.

A virtual lock to pick up short yardage situations, Abron is a perfect 6-of-6 on 3rd-and-1 situations on the year, and is 2-of-2 on 4th-and-1 tries thus far. He has also developed into a pass-catching threat, as he has caught 13 passes for 91 yards thru 4 games thus far, already surpassing his career total of 8 catches for 56 yards in his previous 3 seasons.

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.

Marcus James ONE RETURN AWAY FROM MU CAREER RECORD
Senior WR/KR Marcus James is in line to break a Mizzou career record in his home state of Kansas Saturday when MU and Kansas meet on the gridiron.

With 111 career combined punt and kickoff returns entering the KU game, James' first effort on Saturday will break the record of 111 established by former standout Mike Fink, from 1970-72.

James is also just 150 return yards away from breaking Fink's career combined kick return record of 1,692. He enters Saturday's game with 1,543 combined yards in returns, and that breaks down to 66 career punt returns for 735 yards (an average of 11.1 which is just behind the MU career record of 11.5 set by Roger Wehrli) and 45 kickoff returns for 808 yards (an average of 18.0 per return).

James in averaging a healthy 19.5 yards per punt return in his last 2 games.

The Liberal, Kan., native has also caught 3 passes on the year for 44 yards, and he's returning to the scene where he caught a 25-yard TD pass in 2001 to help MU claim a 38-34 win against Kansas.

A wonderful young man who is a great representative of the University, James is currently the President of the MU Student-Athlete Advisory Council. He spoke on Wednesday morning (Sept. 24th) to nearly 200 athletic department staff members who attended the department's monthly full staff meeting.

Matheny comes up big in clutch
Senior placekicker Mike Matheny experienced quite a roller coaster ride of emotions Saturday in MU's 41-40 win over Middle Tennessee State.

The Columbia, Mo. native, and former walk-on had his share of struggles during the game, as he had 2 extra point attempts blocked (one missed, the other went through the uprights), and twice kicked the ball out of bounds on kickoffs, giving MTSU solid field position which the Blue Raiders turned into a total of 10 points.

Matheny came up big in the clutch though, and went from "hero to zero" as he stated in the post-game interview room when speaking with reporters, as he calmly booted the game-winning extra point through the uprights in overtime to give MU the one-point win.

Matheny's OT extra point was extra special, as it came from 36 yards away, due to a 15-yard penalty assessed the Tigers for excessive celebration after Brad Smith rambled in from 3 yards out to tie the game at 40 apiece.

Despite the extra distance, and an MTSU timeout in attempt to ice Matheny, he came through, and was subsequently mobbed by his teammates. Matheny also came up big in the 4th quarter, as he nailed a 25-yarder with 10:53 left in the game to pull MU to within 31-26. He also was good on a 21-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter, and now stands 3-of-4 on the season in field goals, and 14-of-16 in PATs.

Matheny, who made 9-of-13 field goals and 40-of-42 PATs for Mizzou after walking onto the squad prior to the 2002 season, has proven to be a solid kicker at crunch time. He nailed a 40-yarder in the 1st OT last year at Texas A&M, giving MU a 27-24 lead in a game that the Tigers eventually won in double overtime.

Smitty among nation's leaders in QB sacks & forced fumbles
Last season, it was a redshirt freshman by the name of Smith who made a huge impact on the Mizzou offense. That Smith, Brad, went on to win Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors after becoming only the 2nd player in NCAA Div. I-A history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

This year, the Tigers are benefitting from yet another redshirt freshman by the name of Smith - defensive end Brian Smith. `Smitty,' as he's known among his teammates, is wreaking havoc on the defensive side of the ball in his first year of play for MU. Through 4 games, Smith has 5 quarterback sacks, a total which is tied for the NCAA lead through games of Sept. 13th.

Smith also leads the Tigers with 8 quarterback hurries and 3 forced fumbles, the latter number which ranked him 3rd in the nation through games of Sept. 13th.

Smith had 5 tackles Saturday against Middle Tennessee and added 1 QB hurry, but was held without a sack for the first time this season.

Ricker to make it 39 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 38 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 39 straight starts when he takes the field Saturday at Kansas.

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 is the leader of an offensive line which currently ranks 9th in the nation in rushing, averaging a healthy 232.0 yards per game on the ground.

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.

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.

OUTLAW MAKING OUT LIKE A BANDIT DOWN THE STRETCH
As noted previously in these notes, senior WR Darius Outlaw is becoming MU's clutch receiver, as he has caught game-winning or game-tying 4th-quarter TD passes now in 2 of Mizzou's first 4 games this season.

His first clutch grab was a 6-yard TD reception with 4:12 left in the game that gave MU the lead back at 21-15 (MU tacked on a 2-pt. conversion and eventually won 22-15). His last catch was a spectacular diving tightrope act in the left corner of the endzone this past Saturday against Middle Tennessee, when he hooked up with QB Brad Smith from 12 yards out with just 1:17 left to give MU a chance to send the game into overtime as the Tigers trailed 34-26 before his catch.

Outlaw, who came to MU as a quarterback, and played under center during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, moved to receiver just prior to last season. Despite never having played receiver before, Outlaw ranked 2nd on the team in 2002 with 46 receptions for 552 yards and 3 TDs. He's got 17 catches for 120 yards and 3 TDs already in 2003.

With 328 more receiving yards this season, Outlaw will reach 1,000 for his career. That would give him the distinction of being the only Tiger to have amassed 1,000 passing yards (1,729 entering the 2003 season) and 1,000 receiving yards in his career.

He's also one of the better feel-good stories on the team, as he's overcome some academic obstacles to be where he is today. Outlaw came to MU as a partial qualifier intially, and later served an academic suspension prior to 2002 that put his career in limbo. But he persevered through and not only regained status in the program, but he did the work to earn his 5th year of eligibility from the NCAA, and he's taking advantage.

OMBOGA LEADING THE WAY WITH RECEIVING CORP
Junior WR Thomson Omboga is catching fire, so to speak, of late. After being held to just one catch for 12 yards in the season opener vs. Illinois, Omboga has caught 18 passes for 197 yards and 1 TD in the last 3 games to lead all Tiger receivers. He leads the team with his season totals of 19 catches for 209 yards, and he ranks 10th in the Big 12 with his per-game reception average of 4.75.

Omboga had 5 catches for a team-best 56 yards Saturday in MU's win over Middle Tennessee. Prior to that, he had a career-high 7-catch outing vs. Eastern Illinois. He led all receivers with 71 yards on the day, and hauled in an 11-yard TD strike from QB Brad Smith in the 4th quarter for his 2nd career score.

That followed an outing at Ball State, where he grabbed 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 55 catches for his career for 620 yards and 3 TDs, and had career highs of 21 catches for 253 yards last season in only 7 games.

MU DEFENSE RANKS 19TH NATIONALLY IN POINTS ALLOWED
Despite giving up a season-high 40 points Saturday vs. Middle Tennesee State, Mizzou's defense still ranks 19th in the NCAA in points allowed per game, giving up 15.5 points per contest through 4 games thus far.

Mizzou has allowed only 3 rushing TDs thus far, and is giving up an average of just 108.0 yards on the ground per contest - which ranks 31st in the NCAA heading into Saturday's contest at Kansas.

While Mizzou's defense did allow a season-high 197 rushing yards to MTSU last Saturday, keep in mind that the Blue Raiders averaged only 3.5 yards per carry, as they carried a total of 56 times. The longest gain by MTSU on the day went for only 15 yards.

However you choose to dissect the numbers, they show that MU is one of the more improved defensive squads in the country. Last season, Mizzou ranked 81st nationally in points allowed, giving up an average of 29.33 points per game.

TIGHT ENDS MAKING INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS
The tight ends are getting more and more involved with the passing game in the 2003 season, according to early indications. A look at the numbers shows that through 4 games, MU's tight ends have combined for 18 catches for 174 yards and 3 TDs. In 12 games last season, the tight end position accounted for 19 catches for 182 yards and 2 TDs altogether.

That's a big per-game difference: In 2003, MU's tight ends are averaging 4.5 catches and 43.5 yards per game, compared to 2002 averages of 1.6 catches and 15.2 yards per game.

Leading the way thus far is senior J.D. McCoy, who has 8 catches for 89 yards and 2 TDs - already surpassing his 2002 totals of 8 catches for 58 yards and 1 TD.

Junior college transfer Victor Sesay has made immediate contributions, as well, as he also has 7 catches to this point for 62 yards and 1 TD. His score was a 14-yarder at Ball State in week 2, and he recently had a 3-catch, 27-yard outing vs. Eastern Illinois.

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: