Tigers Host Texas Tech In 2003 Homecoming Battle
10/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 20, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Depth Chart in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-1) at Missouri Tigers (5-2, 1-2)
October 25, 2003 - Faurot Field - Columbia, Mo.
KICKOFF: 11:30 a.m. (central time).
STADIUM: Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium (68,349 - FieldTurf surface). Opened in 1927. MU is 213-158-20 there alltime, including 3-0 this season.
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/John Kadlec, color). Carried on 55 stations statewide, and on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
TV: Fox Sports Net. Broadcast crew TBA.
POSTGAME HIGHLIGHT FEED: None.
RANKINGS (AP/ESPN-USA): TT - RV/RV; MU - RV/RV.
SERIES: Tied, 2-2. Tech won last year, 52-38 in Lubbock, but MU has won 2-of-3 meetings since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
COACHES:
Mizzou: Gary Pinkel (Kent, '75), 14-16 at MU (3rd year) and 87-53-3 overall (13th year). Pinkel is 0-1 against Texas Tech and Mike Leach.
Texas Tech: Mike Leach (BYU, '83), 28-18 at Tech (4th year) and overall. Leach is 1-0 against Mizzou and Gary Pinkel.
The Missouri Tigers (5-2 overall, 1-2 in Big 12 Conference play) return to the friendly confines of Faurot Field (where they are 3-0 this season), as they play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-1) Saturday in an 11:30 a.m. game that will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
The game will serve as the centerpiece to Mizzou's 2003 Homecoming festivites, and a crowd of over 60,000 is anticipated as the Tigers look to rebound from a 34-13 defeat at top-ranked Oklahoma last Saturday. Mizzou was going toe-to-toe with OU midway through the 2nd quarter, but a 21-point surge by the Sooners in the last 7 minutes of the quarter turned a 10-10 game into a 31-10 halftime deficit for MU.
Mizzou will have its hands full against the Red Raiders, who bring the nation's most prolific offensive attack into the game. Tech leads the nation in three offensive categories, including scoring offense (47.14 ppg), total offense (627.43 ypg) and passing offense (524.43). Tech is coming off a tough 51-49 loss at #23 Oklahoma State last Saturday.
Stretch drive begins as tigers look to keep big 12 north title within reach
Now past the halfway point in the regular season, the Missouri Tigers face a crucial game this Saturday when they host Texas Tech and its high-flying offensive attack.
A win for Mizzou would keep the Tigers within one game of Big 12 North division leaders Kansas and Nebraska - the latter against which MU holds a head-to-head tiebreak advantage, due to MU's 41-24 win over the Huskers on Oct. 11th. Mizzou enters Saturday's game with a league mark of 1-2, along with Colorado and Kansas State, while the Huskers and Jayhawks sit 2-1.
The best record MU has had in the short history of the Big 12 Conference was a pair of 5-3 marks in 1997 and 1998 - the last two seasons that Mizzou has played in a bowl game.
When looking at the remaining schedule, Mizzou and Kansas State seem to hold an advantage over the field, as they are the only 2 schools in the North to have 3 home games among their final 5 contests.
gold rush set for saturday
One of the newer, but popular, traditions revolving around Homecoming is the annual "Gold Rush" promotion held by Tiger Athletics. All fans coming to the game Saturday are encouraged to wear gold to the game, and commemorative T-shirts are available for purchase - at a reasonable price, of course - at the Tiger Team Store, as well as online at www.mutigers.com.
homecoming 2003: forever fearless
Legend says that the Homecoming tradition got its start at the University of Missouri in 1911, thanks to the vision and efforts of Chester L. Brewer, MU's Director of Athletics.
That year, the Missouri-Kansas football game was to be played on a college campus for the first time ever. Previously, the game had been played in either Kansas City or St. Joseph, and Missouri tailed in the series by a 12-5-3 count.
Brewer wanted to add some spice to the season-ending game in Columbia, so he issued a plea to Mizzou alumni, and especially to former Tiger football players, to "Come Home" for the game. They did, with a record crowd of 9,000 overflowing the stands at old Rollins Field.
With four minutes to play in the game, and MU trailing by three points, Tiger captain Glen Shuck booted a tying field goal from a difficult angle. Then, little Billy Blees caught a rampaging KU fullback in the open field in the final seconds to preserve the tie, and was carried off the field. as MU's first Homecoming hero.
Six-time Grammy awarding winning singer/songwriter, Kennett, Mo. native and Mizzou alum Sheryl Crow will serve as the Grand Marshal for this year's festivites. A seat has been reserved for her in the press box next to the writer of these notes, but we're not holding our breath.
HOMECOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Here's a look at an abbreviated calendar of events surrounding Homecoming:
Fri., Oct. 24th
J - 3 p.m. - Sheryl Crow press conference at Alumni Center
J - 6 p.m. - House Decorations in Greek Town
J - 8 p.m. - Spirit Rally in Greek Town
Sat., Oct. 25th
J - 8 a.m. - Women's Basketball Breakfast/Scrimmage at Brewer Fieldhouse
J - 8 a.m. - Homecoming Parade starting at Alumni Center
J - 9:30 a.m. - Tiger Walk, fans greet Tiger FB team as they arrive for game at stadium
J - 11:30 a.m. - Mizzou vs. Texas Tech football game (Faurot Field)
J - Halftime - Homecoming Royalty Coronation
J - 1 Hour After FB Game - Men's Basketball Black & Gold Scrimmage (Hearnes Center)
mizzou homecoming game history
Since Homecoming began in 1911, Mizzou has an alltime record of 51-35-5 in Homecoming games. The Tigers won their 2002 Homecoming game, 36-12 over rival Kansas, a win that broke a three-game Homecoming losing streak for MU.
Mizzou will be facing Texas Tech for the first time at Homecoming, and it will mark only the 5th time ever that MU will host a school that was not part of the old Big Eight Conference. The other occurrences were: 1916 vs. Texas (W, 3-0), 1974 vs. Arizona State (W, 9-0), 1985 vs. California (L, 39-32) and 1997 vs. Texas (W, 37-29).
ricker to tie school record with his 42nd straight start saturday
Junior center A.J. Ricker has been as dependable as they come. The Houston, Texas native, who was a pre-season candidate for the Rimington Award, has started all 41 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 42 straight starts when he takes the field Saturday against Texas Tech.
That will put his name alongside two others in the Mizzou record book, as 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 22nd in the nation in rushing, averaging 192.86 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).
tigers face nation's top scoring offense for 2nd straight week
Defensive purists might want to take a sedative prior to Saturday's game between Texas Tech and Missouri, because the statistics show that fans are likely to see quite a bit of offense on display at Faurot Field.
Texas Tech brings to town the nation's top scoring offense, averaging 47.14 points per game. It marks the 2nd straight week that Mizzou has gone against the nation's top scoring offense, as last Saturday, the Tigers went up against #1 Oklahoma, which was averaging 47.67 points per game going into the contest. The Tiger defense held the Sooners to nearly 2 touchdowns below its average, but OU still managed a 34-13 win.
The Tech numbers are staggering, as they've scored 42 or more points in 6-of-7 games thus far, and they aren't just doing it at home, as they have tallied 49 points in each of their last 2 road games (49-45 win at Mississippi and 51-49 loss at Oklahoma State).
Texas Tech also leads the nation in total offense (627.43 ypg) and passing offense (524.43 ypg). Senior QB B.J. Symons leads the nation in total offense, averaging a whopping 513.57 yards per game, and he's thrown 32 TD passes already this season. Just for the purpose of perspective, the most TDs that any Mizzou team has thrown for in an entire season is 20 (in 1969).
The challenge for the Tiger defense means an opportunity for the MU offensive attack, which is looking to rebound from a tough outing last week at Oklahoma.
The Tiger offense will be going against a Tech defense which ranks 113th (of 117 Div. I-A teams) in total defense (490.43 ypg), 99th in rushing defense (189.57 ypg), 102nd in scoring defense (33.14 ppg) and 113th in pass defense (300.86 ypg).
despite loss to oklahoma, positives were many for tiger defense
Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel would never claim a moral victory of any sort, so we certainly won't make any such claims as the Tigers are looking to rebound from their 34-13 loss at top-ranked Oklahoma last Saturday.
But there were many positive things to note from the ballgame, particularly on defense.
As noted, Mizzou held Oklahoma to nearly 2 TDs below its scoring average, as OU was averaging 47.67 points per game coming into the contest. The Sooners were averaging over 57 points scored in their previous 4 games coming into the contest last Saturday.
Here's a few more notables from MU's defensive outing at Oklahoma:
offense, special teams had their moments at oklahoma, too
Mizzou's offense and special teams units showed positive signs in the loss to Oklahoma Saturday in Norman, Okla. Consider the following:
ekwerekwu gets first catches of career against sooners
While the Tiger offense found the going tough for most of the night against OU's highly regarded defense, MU fans got a glimpse of the big-play ability of true freshman WR Brad Ekwerekwu, who caught 2 passes for a team-best 66 yards.
Both catches came in the 2nd quarter, with the first, a 40-yarder, marking the first of his career, when he slipped behind the Sooner corner and took the ball down to the OU 36. His catch set up MU's only TD of the night.
The 40-yard grab is the longest thus far this season by any Tiger receiver. QB Brad Smith has the longest catch so far, with his 47-yard TD on a throwback from WR Darius Outlaw against Nebraska.
His 2nd grab was good for 26 yards, and set MU up inside Sooner territory before the drive stalled out.
"Eck," as he's called affectionately by MU's radio crew, had his redshirt pulled in game #5 at Kansas, and he has shown since then that he can be a solid contributor to the Tiger attack. He contributed on special teams by running a reverse on a kickoff against Nebraska for 31 yards.
mizzou-TEXAS TECH series notes
Mizzou and Texas Tech will meet for just the 5th time when they square off Saturday in Columbia. The previous 4 meetings have been split evenly, at 2 wins apiece. Mizzou has won 2-of-3 meetings in Big 12 Conference play.
The home team has won 3-of-4 meetings in the series, which didn't begin until 1995, when Tech claimed a 41-14 win in Lubbock in the last year before the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
In 1998, MU claimed a thrilling 28-26 win in Lubbock, which was quite significant because it marked MU's 6th win of the season, making it bowl eligible. The Tigers will be looking for a repeat of that historical fact this Saturday, as a win for MU this week would also make Mizzou bowl eligible.
The 1999 game (won 34-7 in Columbia by Mizzou) saw Tiger TB Zain Gilmore carry a school-record 45 times on the way to 165 yards.
last year: texas tech 52, mizzou 38 in lubbock
Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury set Big 12 records with 49 completions in 70 attempts for 510 yards, and added 5 TDs as the Red Raiders won their Homecoming game, 52-38, against Missouri.
After falling behind, 14-3, Mizzou stormed back to tie the game at 17 apiece midway through the 2nd quarter. But Texas Tech took advantage of a big edge in field position to score 3 straight TDs sandwiched around halftime to break the game open. After the 3rd score, Tech's lead stood at 38-17, and the Tigers could get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way. Tech's decisive scoring drives spanned just 44, 53, and 50 yards, while MU's first 4 TD drives had to cover 81, 80, 89 and 79 yards. Tech's average starting field position in the 2nd quarter was the Mizzou 49 yard line.
Tiger QB Brad Smith had a stellar night, as he completed 20-of-32 passes for 275 yards and a career-high 3 TDs. Senior WR Justin Gage was the primary beneficiary, catching 5 balls for 114 yards and 2 TDs, while Darius Outlaw grabbed 10 passes for 89 yards - both career highs.
But it was Tech's Kingsbury who stole the show, as he connected with 10 different receivers on the night, and helped Tech convert on 10-of-19 3rd downs, and a perfect 4-of-4 on 4th downs.
and now for something completely different
Like all college football fans around the country, Tiger fans are always hoping to see their beloved team on TV more often. Saturday's game, which is being shown on Fox Sports Net, will mark the 4th-consecutive TV game for the Tigers, and the 5th overall this season.
As the old axiom goes, however, maybe Tiger fans should be careful what they wish for, because from the "completely-meaningless-but-interesting-nonetheless" category, we've uncovered the fact that MU has lost 13 games in a row when playing on Fox Sports Net. The last time MU won a game shown by FSN was Oct. 2, 1999 when the Tigers defeated Memphis by a 27-17 count.
third downs were lengthy propositions for mu offense against ou
Mizzou found the going tough Saturday at Oklahoma on 3rd down, as the Tiger offense could convert only 5-of-19 3rd-down opportunities in its 34-13 setback.
A look into the numbers shows that a contributing factor in MU's struggles had to be the distance that MU faced most of the night. The average distance to go on 3rd down for MU was a healthy 8.5 yards, putting MU in 3rd and long situations virtually all evening.
In fact, MU faced 3rd and 7 or more 12 of 19 times, including 3rd and 12 or more 6 times. MU had situations of 3rd and 12, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 21.
six minute span propels #1 sooners to win over mu
After a Brad Smith 26-yard TD run with 9:40 left in the 2nd quarter, Missouri, 26-point underdogs, had forged an impressive 10-10 tie with the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners last Saturday.
In the blink of an eye, however, things got away from the scrappy Tigers, as Oklahoma scored 21 points in a span of 5 minutes, 52 seconds, to turn a game that was up for grabs into a 31-10 halftime lead for OU.
It was really just a few big plays that led to MU's downfall. Here's a condensed version of the events:
Brad Smith: ordinary name, extraordinary talent
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, sophomore QB Brad Smith has not disappointed in his 2nd season, as he became the first quarterback to lead MU to a 4-0 start to a season since 1981. Smith heads into the Texas Tech game ranked 37th in the NCAA in total offense, with an average of 232.00 yards per game.
With 8 TDs scored on the year (7 rushing, 1 receiving) and 8 TD passes thus far, Smith enters Saturday's game ranked 18th in the nation in points responsible for (14.29 ppg).
Smith had 230 yards of offense last time out, and was giving the top-ranked Sooners everything they could handle, against an Oklahoma defense that ranks among the nation's leaders in most categories. He threw for 180 yards and ran for another 50, including a brilliant 26-yard TD scamper that tied the game at 10 apiece in the 2nd quarter, before OU pulled away.
Prior to that, Smith had a steller performance against Nebraska, as he led Mizzou to its first win in 25 years over the Huskers. He had 303 yards of total offense (180 passing, 123 rushing) and tied a school record by scoring 4 touchdowns (3 rushing, 1 receiving). His reception was a 47-yard TD grab off a throwback pass from former QB Darius Outlaw. Smith was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
A few quick career updates regarding Smith:
tigers lead nation in FEWEST TURNOVERS
A search of the latest NCAA stats shows that MU leads the nation in taking care of the ball.
In the turnovers lost category, MU leads the nation (tied with Toledo - the previous school of MU Coach Gary Pinkel), with just 5 turnovers committed in 7 games (2 fumbles and 3 interceptions). Last season, MU set a school record by committing just 12 turnovers in 12 games.
Breaking that down, NCAA stats show that Mizzou is tied for 2nd in fewest fumbles lost (2) and tied for 6th in fewest interceptions (3). Syracuse leads the nation with zero interceptions thrown, while Oklahoma leads the nation with just one fumble lost.
Saturday will prove to be quite a test for the Tigers, as Oklahoma brings the nation's 3rd-ranked defense into the game (259.00 ypg) - a squad that also ranks 1st nationally in pass efficiency defense (82.08 rating). Oklahoma also enters the game ranked 2nd in the nation in turnover margin (+2.00 per game).
Harrington gets 1st career pickoff at oklahoma
Redshirt freshman ROV Dedrick Harrington is seemingly finding his groove on defense, as the native of nearby Mexico, Mo. has made some big plays in each of MU's last 2 games.
Last Saturday at #1 Oklahoma, Harrington intercepted OU Heisman hopeful Jason White in the 4th quarter, and returned it 24 yards down to the Sooner 8 yardline to set up a Tiger field goal. Harrington ended the game with 5 tackles, including a huge stop of OU tailback Donta Hickson on 4th-and-1 from the MU 37 yardline in the 1st quarter with OU leading, 7-3. He threw Hickson for a loss of 6 yards, giving MU possession at the Tiger 43 yardline.
That followed a big play he made the previous week in MU's 41-24 upset win over #10 Nebraska. With MU trailing 24-21 in the 4th quarter, Harrington picked up a fumble caused by MU's James Kinney and returned it 14 yards inside the Nebraska 20. His return set up the go-ahead score, and set the Tigers up for their big 27-0 4th-quarter blitz of the Huskers.
Harrington, who ranks 6th on the squad with 37 tackles, also had a huge play in MU's season opener against Illinois, when he thwarted an Illini drive by forcing a fumble by Illinois' Melvin Bryant that was recovered by MU's Calvin Washington at the Mizzou 19 yardline.
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 2,618 career rushing yards entering Saturday's game vs. Texas Tech, Abron has a shot at becoming MU's alltime career leading rusher if he produces just 409 more yards this season (he'd need to average 81.8 yards per game in MU's remaining 5 regular season games and 68.2 if MU qualifies for a bowl game). He entered the 2003 season ranked 8th on MU's career rushing chart, with 2,043 yards, and his current total puts him 3rd on the yardage chart.
Prior to being held to a season-low 11 yards on 10 carries at #1 Oklahoma last Saturday, Abron had a solid day on Oct. 11th vs. 10th-ranked Nebraska, as he rushed 20 times for 80 yards and 1 TD against a Husker defense that was giving up only 72 rushing yards per game coming in.
Abron had a 112-yard day Sept. 27th vs. Kansas - marking his 2nd straight game over the century mark and the 9th of his Tiger career. He notched the 1st 100 yard rushing day of his 2003 season when he tallied a game-best 138 yards on 18 attempts vs. Middle Tennessee State. 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 210 ranks him 4th currently in MU history, and he needs just 4 more TDs to surpass former QB Corby Jones for the MU career record for points (228) and TDs scored (38). Abron has 35 career TDs (33 rushing/2 receiving).
A virtual lock to pick up short yardage situations, Abron is 6-of-7 on 3rd-and-1 situations on the year, and is 4-of-4 on 4th-and-1 tries thus far. He has also developed into a pass-catching threat, as he has caught 17 passes for 122 yards thru 7 games thus far, already surpassing his career total of 8 catches for 56 yards in his previous 3 seasons.
THE SKINNY ON James Kinney
When there was a big play made last year by Mizzou's defense, chances are, LB James Kinney was involved. And while the junior captain has been playing solidly in 2003, the big plays had eluded him early on this season.
Until recently against 10th-ranked Nebraska, that is.
Kinney had arguably the game of his career in leading the Tigers to the historic 41-24 win, as he recorded 12 tackles, but more importantly forced 2 fumbles and recovered another. He had 3 tackles for loss, including 1 sack.
His 2nd forced fumble came in the 4th quarter on a sack of Nebraska QB Jammal Lord as he knocked the ball out deep in NU territory that set up the Tigers at Nebraska's 9 yardline. Four plays later, MU scored a TD that gave Mizzou the lead for good, at 28-24.
His defensive teammates credit him with an emotional speech on the sideline at the end of the 3rd quarter in which he implored the defense to take over the game. Whatever he said (most of which probably can't be printed here) worked, because the Tiger defense kept Nebraska scoreless in the 4th quarter, and held NU to NEGATIVE 48 yards of total offense.
Kinney's first forced fumble didn't lead directly to any Mizzou points, but it most likely saved some Husker points, as he forced a David Horne drop on the Tiger 12 yard line in the 2nd quarter.
His hustle on special teams also led to MU's first score of the night, as he raced down the field on an MU punt and fell on a ball that was muffed by Nebraska PR Josh Davis on Nebraska's 6 yard line. MU's offense later punched it in to tie the game at 7 apiece in the 1st quarter.
Kinney had his customary workmanlike performance last Saturday at #1 Oklahoma, as he tallied a team-high 12 tackles, and helped hold OU - the nation's top scoring offense coming into the game at over 47 points per game - to more than 13 points under their per-game average.
Through games of Oct. 11, Kinney ranked 10th in the NCAA with a per-game average of 12.33 tackles per game. As a sophomore in 2002, Kinney ranked 9th nationally with an average of 12.33 tackles per game.
With 264 career tackles, Kinney needs just 5 more to crack the top-15 in MU career history. He stands just 52 tackles behind Lynn Evans, who stands No. 10 on the alltime list, with 316 tackles for Mizzou from 1972-74.
Marcus James breaks MU CAREER return RECORD
Senior WR/KR Marcus James has broken one long-standing MU career return record, and is on the verge of claiming another. The diminutive one (he's 5-8, 174) broke the career record for combined returns when he returned the 112th kick of his career against Kansas on Sept. 27th. That broke the old standard of 111 set by former Tiger standout Mike Fink (1970-72).
James is also just 110 return yards away from breaking Fink's career combined kick return record of 1,692. He enters Saturday's game with 1,582 combined yards in returns, and that breaks down to 68 career punt returns for 761 yards (an average of 11.2 which is just behind the MU career record of 11.5 set by Roger Wehrli) and 46 kickoff returns for 821 yards (an average of 17.9 per return).
James in averaging a healthy 17.9 yards per punt return in his last 5 games. His season punt return average of 12.2 currently ranks him 29th in the NCAA.
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 recently (Sept. 24th) to nearly 200 athletic department staff members who attended the department's monthly full staff meeting.
'CARDIAC' TIGERS GET THIRD COMEBACK WIN OF THE SEASON
In the course of MU's win against Nebraska, Mizzou rallied from a 10-point 4th-quarter deficit to post the 41-24 win. MU entered the 4th trailing 24-14, but blitzed Nebraska 27-0 in the final period to pull away.
The comeback win was the 3rd of the season for Mizzou. Here's a look:
In 2002, Smith cut his teeth in terms of late-game heroics by engineering several 4th quarter drives that either tied a game or put MU on top. Here's a look back at those situations that MU's young signal caller handled:
TIGHT ENDS MAKING INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS
Heading into the 2003 season, a goal of the offensive coaching staff was to get the tight end position more involved in the passing game. Mission accomplished, according to numbers put up by the group through 7 games.
Just past halfway through the season, MU's tight ends have already surpassed what the group produced in 12 games last season. This year, the group has combined for 27 catches for 275 yards and 4 TDs. In 12 games last season, the tight end position accounted for 19 catches for 182 yards and 2 TDs altogether.
Through the first 6 games last season, the MU tight ends had compiled just 9 catches for 47 yards and zero TDs.
That's a big per-game difference: In 2003, MU's tight ends are averaging 4.1 catches and 41.3 yards per game, compared to 2002 averages of 1.6 catches and 15.2 yards per game.
Leading the way is junior college transfer Victor Sesay, who tops the group with 13 catches for 127 yards and 2 TDs. Included in his TD total was a 14-yarder on a fake field goal in the 4th quarter last week that gave MU the lead for good against Nebraska, 28-24.
Senior J.D. McCoy has been a vital part of the offensive attack with his 12 catches for 139 yards and 2 TDs. In his previous 3 years, he caught a total of 11 balls for 88 yards and 1 TD. McCoy made arguably the biggest play of the season in game #4 vs. Middle Tennessee State, when he made a spectacular grab on 4th down on a ball that was behind him on MU's final drive in regulation. MU trailed by 8 points in the final minutes, and his heroics kept alive the drive that forced overtime in a game that Mizzou eventually won, 41-40. McCoy sprained his knee during the play, and was forced to miss the Kansas game the next week. He returned 2 weeks later for the Nebraska game, and had 2 catches for 36 yards, including a career-long 23-yarder.
tigers earn landmark win vs. huskers
Mizzou shook off the naysayers and a bit of history as well on Oct. 11th when the Tigers shocked 10th-ranked and previously unbeaten Nebraska by a 41-24 count at Faurot Field.
The win was a landmark occasion for the Tiger program, when considering the following:
