tigers gain bowl eligibility with big win over texas tech
Mizzou's 62-31 win last time out over Texas Tech was significant for the way the Tigers won the game, but it was even more significant because of the fact that it gave MU 6 wins on the year and made the Tigers bowl eligibile.

It marks the first time since 1998, and just the 3rd time overall since 1983 that MU is qualified to play in a post-season classic. Since 1983, the only 2 other times the Tigers went bowling were appearances in the 1997 Holiday Bowl and the 1998 Insight.com Bowl.

Despite the recent bowl-game dry spell in recent years, Mizzou still ranks 30th alltime with most bowl appearances (21) and 29th alltime with in bowl wins (9).

Defense holding its own
The Tiger defense has faced quite a challenge in each of its last 2 outings, but Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberlus' troops have acquitted themselves quite nicely. In each of the last 2 games, MU has faced an offense that ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring coming into the game.

First up was Oklahoma, which had the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, at 47.67 points per game coming into its Oct. 18th game in Norman. The Tigers held the Sooners to 34 points, nearly 2 touchdowns below their average.

Last time out was the high-flying Texas Tech aerial attack. Despite the staggering numbers facing them, MU's defense held the Red Raiders to 16 points and nearly 100 yards under their per-game averages coming into the game. Texas Tech was ranked No. 1 in the nation in both scoring average (47.1 ppg) and total offense (627.4 ypg) coming into the contest.

MISSOURI DOESN'T BEAT MISSOURI ON PINKEL'S WATCH
When Mizzou commits mistakes (turnovers, penalties, etc...), MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel often refers to that as "Missouri beating Missouri." Fortunately for the Tigers' 3rd-year skipper, that hasn't happened often at all.

In fact, NCAA stats show that in Pinkel's time at Mizzou (from 2001 through games of Nov. 1st), MU has had the fewest turnovers in the nation, by far.

In the 31 games in the Pinkel regime, MU has committed just 33 turnovers. The next fewest during that same period is Minnesota, with 45. The next best team in the Big 12 is Oklahoma, who rates 10th-best, at 51 turnovers. Please see the accompanying chart for more details.

Through 8 games this season, Mizzou leads the nation with just 5 turnovers lost, with South Carolina ranking 2nd with 8, and a trio of teams (Michigan State, Syracuse and Toledo) tied for 3rd with 9.

When broken down by turnover type, the numbers show that MU is tied for 1st (with Michigan State and South Carolina) with 2 fumbles lost, while MU is tied for second in interceptions thrown, with 3 (Syracuse is 1st with 2 INTs).

In 2002, Mizzou committed a school-record low 12 turnovers in 12 games, a number which led the NCAA.

Under Pinkel, Mizzou has committed zero turnovers in 11 of 31 ballgames.

third-down defense making strides
Early on in the season, even as MU was getting off to a 4-0 start, the Tiger defense was having trouble getting off the field, as opponents were converting over 49.4% of their 3rd-down opportunities against Mizzou (40-of-81).

In MU's last 3 games, however, the Tiger defense has made huge strides in that category, as it has held its last 3 foes to a combined 35.5% on 3rd downs (16-of-45). Those weren't just any run-of-the-mill offenses either, as MU has went up against 10th-ranked Nebraska (6-of-15), #1-ranked Oklahoma (3-of-14) and Texas Tech (7-of-16), the latter of which featured the nation's top-ranked offensive attack in several categories, including 3rd-down conversion percentage.

defense also forcing the turnover issue
Through its first 5 games, Mizzou's defense forced only 6 turnovers (5 fumbles, 1 INT).

In its last 3 outings, the Tiger defense has been much more successful in getting the ball back for their offensive counterparts, as MU has forced 11 turnovers by its opponents (6 interceptions, 5 fumbles).

Those miscues included 5 each by 10th-ranked Nebraska (4 fumbles, 1 INT) and by the high-flying Texas Tech offensive attack (4 INTs, 1 fumble).

Those turnovers have resulted in MU scoring 41 points off turnovers in the last 3 games, compared to a total of 7 for Mizzou off 6 opponent turnovers in its 1st 5 games.

mizzou-COLORADO series notes
Mizzou and Colorado will meet for the 68th time when they square off Saturday in Boulder. Mizzou leads the alltime series by a 35-29-3 margin, but CU has closed the gap considerably in recent years, as the Buffaloes have won 4 straight over the Tigers, and 16 of the last 18 matchups overall, dating back to 1985. Prior to that stretch, MU held a commanding 33-13-3 lead in the series.

MU's two recent wins came in consecutive years, when the Tigers claimed a 41-31 win in Boulder in 1997 and followed with a 38-14 win in Columbia in 1998. Both were years that the Tigers went to bowl games, and it was the 1997 win in Boulder that was considered a "landmark" victory, of sorts, as that win was MU's 6th of the year, making the Tigers bowl eligible for the first time since 1983. It also broke a 12-game losing streak to the Buffaloes for Mizzou.

Despite CU's current 4-game ownership of the series, the games have been very close, with three of them being decided by 7 points or less, including 2 overtime games.

Maybe the fact that MU has already qualified for a bowl game bodes well for the Tigers, because an odd fact shows that the last 6 times that MU has played in a bowl game, it beat Colorado during the regular season (1998, 1997, 1983, 1981, 1980, 1979).

last year: colorado 42, Mizzou 35 (ot)
Missouri staged a stirring comeback from a 20-point 3rd-quarter deficit to force OT, but fell short as 18th-ranked Colorado scored a TD in overtime, and recovered an MU fumble in the extra period to preserve a 42-35 win. It marked Mizzou's 3rd loss to a ranked team by just 7 points.

Trailing 27-7 early in the 3rd quarter, MU refused to die, and scored 21 straight points to take a 28-27 lead. The rally started with a 27-yard TD pass from Brad Smith to Justin Gage on 3rd-and-17 with 10:24 left in the 3rd period. After the teams traded punts, MU rover Tauras Ferguson stepped in front of a Robert Hodge pass, and returned it 43 yards for a TD to cut the CU lead to 27-21 with 2:29 left in the 3rd quarter.

The Tiger defense stopped CU for the 3rd successive possesion, and the offense capitalized by driving 63 yards in 9 plays to take a 28-27 lead with 13:16 left in the game when Smith found Gage again for a 10-yard score.

The Buffs scored on a Chris Brown 15-yard run with 4:43 left, and their successful two-point conversion left MU trailing 35-28, but Smith led MU on a 67-yard, 11-play drive that ended in Zack Abron's 2nd TD of the game to force overtime.

Colorado opened the extra period with a 1-yard TD run by Brown, and won the game when MU's Darius Outlaw was separated from the ball after making a catch on the CU 15 yardline on MU's ensuing overtime possession.

zack attack ascends to top of school scoring charts
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 2,757 career rushing yards entering Saturday's game at Colorado, Abron has a shot at becoming MU's alltime career leading rusher if he produces just 270 more yards this season (he'd need to average 67.5 yards per game in MU's remaining 4 regular season games and 54.0 if MU plays in 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.

Abron is coming off a solid 139-yard, 3-TD rushing day against Texas Tech. The yardage total was the 2nd-best of his career, and marked his 10th 100-yard game as a Tiger. His 3 TDs (from 3, 4, and 2 yards out) were historic, as they gave him career totals of 38 TDs (36 rushing/2 receiving) and 228 points - putting him in a tie for 1st place with former QB Corby Jones on the MU career charts. Obviously, his next score will make him MU's alltime scoring and TD king.

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.

A virtual lock to pick up short yardage situations, Abron is 7-of-8 on 3rd-and-1 situations on the year, and is 5-of-5 on 4th-and-1 tries thus far. He has also developed into a pass-catching threat, as he has caught 19 passes for 125 yards thru 8 games thus far, already surpassing his career total of 8 catches for 56 yards in his previous 3 seasons.

ricker to break school record with his 43rd straight start saturday
Senior 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 42 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 43 straight starts when he takes the field Saturday at Colorado.

That ironman feat will establish his name in the MU record books for consecutive starts, as he'll break the MU record of 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 7th in the nation in rushing, averaging 227.4 yards per game on the ground. They're coming off a game against Texas Tech where the Tigers ran for a 2003 NCAA single-game high 469 yards.

Ricker was a key cog in 2001's line that helped pave the way for MU to rank 5th in the Big 12 in rushing. The 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).

pinkel gunning for .500 at mizzou
After guiding Mizzou to only the 12th 4-0 start in school history, and bowl eligibility for only the 3rd time since 1983, 3rd-year Head Coach Gary Pinkel is looking to even his record at Missouri to an .500, and would do so with a win Saturday at Colorado. Pinkel enters the CU game with an MU record of 15-16, and stands 88-53-3 overall in his 13th season as a head coach.

Amazingly, a check of the record books shows that prior to Pinkel, the last Mizzou coach to have a .500 record at any point during his tenure on the MU sideline, was Warren Powers, who ended his 7-year career with a career mark of 46-33-3 (.580). Powers, who coached Mizzou from 1978-84, never was below .500 in his time here, while none of his successors, Woody Widenhofer (1985-88), Bob Stull (1989-93) and Larry Smith (1994-2000) could ever reach the break-even mark at Mizzou.

Pinkel has been at .500 three different times at Mizzou, as the Tigers stood 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 during his first season here, in 2001.

tigers have owned 4th quarter of late
Most every team in football focuses on how it plays late in the game, but Mizzou has really turned it up a notch, if you will, in the 4th quarter of late.

Consider the fact that MU has outscored its last 3 opponents by a combined 58-7 in the 4th quarter, and you'll see we're just not whistling Dixie. Here's the breakdown:

vs. Texas Tech: MU led 34-24 entering the 4th quarter but outscored Tech 28-7 to pull away to a 62-31 win. Tech had held a 105-65 4th-quarter scoring edge on its foes coming into the game;

at #1 Oklahoma: MU outscored OU 3-0 in the 4th quarter. Entering the game, OU had outscored its opponents by a 73-34 margin in the 4th quarter this season;

vs. #10 Nebraska: MU trailed 24-14 entering the 4th quarter, but outscored NU 27-0 to pull away to the 41-24 win. Entering the game, Nebraska had outscored its opponents by a 20-7 margin in the 4th quarter.

The late-game progress has been pleasing to see for Tiger fans, because prior to this 3-game stretch, MU was outscoring its foes by a slim 36-31 margin in the 4th quarter. The Tigers have also turned the tables on their foes, so to speak, as the recent stretch of success started after MU lost at Kansas on Sept. 27th when the Jayhawks outscored the Tigers 22-0 in the final period to turn a 14-13 MU lead into a 35-14 KU win.

Through 8 games this season, MU holds a 94-38 scoring advantage in the 4th period. That's a nice improvement from the 88-68 edge they held in the 4th quarter during the 2002 season, and an otherworldly advance from an eye-popping 102-47 scoring deficit the Tigers faced in the 4th quarter in 2001.

tigers BREAK OR TIE 11 SCHOOL RECORDS VS. TEXAS TECH
Prior to MU's last game against Texas Tech, all the talk was focused on the Red Raider high-powered offense. Maybe that's why the Tigers were inexplicably tagged as field goal underdogs by the so-called experts.

Regardless of the pre-game talk, it was the Tiger offensive attack that stole the show as MU cruised to a 62-31 win, attaining its bowl-qualifying 6th win of the 2003 season in the process. Mizzou broke or tied as many as 11 records on the day.

droege earns prestigious academic award
University of Missouri senior offensive tackle Rob Droege has been named a 2003 National Scholar-Athlete, as announced last week by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Droege, a native of St. Louis, Mo., is one of 15 student-athletes, including one of eight from Division I-A, to receive the prestigious award. He will be honored at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's 46th Annual Awards Dinner on December 9th at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Droege will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship as part of the award.

Droege becomes the 9th Tiger football player to earn the prestigious award, joining the likes of QB Corby Jones (1998), OG Mike Bedosky (1993), QB Kent Kiefer (1990), LB Van Darkow (1981), LB Chris Garlich (1978), DT Bill Powell (1966), T David Gill (1963) and HB Fred Brossart (1960).

Droege, considered one of the top tackles in the nation, is a driving force behind a Tiger offense that currently ranks 7th nationally in rushing, at 227.38 yards per game. Mizzou is currently 6-2 in 2003 and bowl eligible for the first time since 1998, and is coming off a 469-yard rushing day in a 62-31 win over Texas Tech - a total which is the best in the nation this year.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound tackle was a pre-season second team All-American selection by Street & Smith's, and remains on the watch list for both the Lombardi and Outland trophies. He was a first team All-Big 12 selection as a junior last season, and is a three-time first team Academic All-Big 12 awardee. Also a two-time Academic All-America District VII winner, Droege completed his undergraduate degree last May with Summa Cum Laude honors, and is currently enrolled in Missouri's Education Administration graduate program.

To be eligible for the post-graduate fellowship, nominees must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have shown superior academic application and performance, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership qualities.

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.

He's coming off a solid 9-tackle outing vs. Texas Tech, as the Tigers held the nation's #1 scoring offense (which averaged over 47 points per game coming in) to just 31 points on the day. Kinney grabbed his first interception of the season in the 2nd quarter, and returned it 21 yards to set up an MU field goal that put the Tigers up, 27-3.

Through games of Oct. 25, Kinney ranked 13th in the NCAA with a per-game average of 11.88 tackles per game. As a sophomore in 2002, Kinney ranked 9th nationally with an average of 12.33 tackles per game.

With 273 career tackles, Kinney needs just 43 more to crack the top-10 in MU career history. He stands just 43 tackles behind Lynn Evans, who stands No. 10 on the alltime list, with 316 tackles for Mizzou from 1972-74.

Last week, Kinney was named the most underrated defensive player in the Big 12 Conference by College Football News.

Brad Smith: ordinary name, extraordinary talent
His name might be common, but the considerable talents of MU sophomore QB Brad Smith are anything but. A pre-season "darkhorse" Heisman candidate by many outlets, Smith has squarely put his name among legitimate contenders for the prestigious award with his play of late, as he's led MU to bowl elgibility for only the 3rd time since 1983.

Smith is coming off a monster performance against Texas Tech, as he rushed for an MU QB-record 291 yards and a school-record 5 TDs (covering 10, 27, 2, 41 and 61 yards, respectively) in MU's 62-31 win on Oct. 25th. He also added 128 passing yards on the day, and ended with a career-high 419 total yards, which ranked 2nd-most in MU single-game history. His rushing total was just 17 yards shy of the NCAA record for QBs - 308 by Stacey Robinson of Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State in 1990. Smith's ridiculous average per rush of 15.3 yards (on 19 carries) broke the Big 12 single-game record.

His 291 yard outing also ranks as the single-game high in the NCAA thus far for 2003.

For his efforts, Smith was named national player of the week by such outlets as USA Today, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, and Fox Sports, among others, in addition to being named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for the 2nd time in 3 games. In his last 3 games (versus a pair of top-10 teams, nonetheless), Smith is averaging 317.4 yards in total offense, a stark improvement from his average of 218.2 in MU's 1st 5 outings.

The first quarterback to lead MU to a 4-0 start to a season since 1981, Smith heads into the Colorado game ranked 7th in the NCAA in scoring (10.25 ppg), 10th in points responsible for (16.25), 20th in rushing (106.38 ypg) and 28th in total offense (255.38 ypg).

Prior to the Texas Tech game, Smith had 230 yards of offense at Oklahoma, and was giving the top-ranked Sooners everything they could handle, against an OU 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:

Marcus James breaks one MU CAREER return RECORD; one more to come?
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 97 return yards away from breaking Fink's career combined kick return record of 1,692 yards. He enters Saturday's game at Colorado with 1,595 combined yards in returns, and that breaks down to 69 career punt returns for 774 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 17.8 per return).

His season punt return average of 12.3 currently ranks him 21st 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 earlier this fall (Sept. 24th) to nearly 200 athletic department staff members who attended the department's monthly full staff meeting.

barnes' noble day vs. texas tech
Senior LB Brandon Barnes played a huge role in MU's recent 62-31 win over Texas Tech. The Sikeston, Mo., native continually made big play after big play on the day that led to MU's defensive effort that held Texas Tech to 16 points below what Tech, the nation's top-ranked scoring offense coming into the game, was averaging (47.14).

Barnes had a career-high 2 interceptions against Texas Tech's QB B.J. Symons and forced one other fumble, of which MU turned into 14 points on the day. His 1st-quarter forced fumble was possibly the game's key play, as it came with Tech driving near midfield and MU leading just 10-3. MU converted with a TD on the ensuing offensive possession and took a 17-3 lead, and Tech would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

In all, Barnes was credited with 4 tackles from his LB spot and also had 1 pass broken up and added 1 tackle for loss on the day.

After switching to linebacker from safety (where he played a year ago), Barnes has proven to be a nice compliment to James Kinney. Barnes enters the Colorado game ranking 2nd on the squad with 75 tackles on the year. His 2 INTs lead the team currently, and he ranks 2nd on the squad with his 9 tackles for loss. More often than not overshadowed by his teammate Kinney, Barnes is regarded among his teammates as possibly the team's hardest hitter.

Barnes is playing his 3rd position for MU, as he played safety in 2002 in what was his first year on defense for the Tigers. He switched to that side of the ball after playing in 13 games as a wide receiver in 2000 and 2001. He redshirted in 1999 and played in only 2 games in 2000 before missing the rest of the year due to a broken leg suffered at Clemson.

TIGERS TOPS IN BIG 12 IN RED ZONE EFFICIENCY
When it reaches the opponents' 25 yardline, Mizzou has been the most efficient team in the Big 12 Conference in taking care of business, as the Tigers rank 1st in the league heading into the Colorado game in red zone efficiency.

Mizzou has scored on 34-of-37 trips inside the red zone, good for a success rate of 91.9%.

The Tigers have converted on 13 consecutive red zone trips heading into the Colorado game Saturday. The last unsuccessful foray into opponent red zone territory was MU's 2nd effort on Oct. 11th vs. Nebraska, as the Huskers came away with an interception to thwart an MU drive.

Of MU's 34 red zone conversions, 27 of them (79.4%) have resulted in TDs (17 rush/10 pass). The 3 unsuccessful opportunities came on a missed field goal and a fumble in game 3 vs. Eastern Illinois, and an interception in game 6 vs. Nebraska.

On defense, the Tigers rank 6th in the Big 12 in red zone defense, allowing 79.3% (23-of-29) success rate for opponents. MU has recovered 3 fumbles and 3 times stopped opponents on 4th down.

MIZZOU IS NCAA'S ALLTIME OVERTIME KING
Overtime is becoming old hat around Mizzou. Since the rule was put into effect for the 1996 season, Mizzou leads the nation with 9 overtime games played. With MU's 41-40 OT recent win against Middle Tennessee State, the Tigers improved to 6-3 alltime in overtime games, a win total which also is most in the NCAA.

Mizzou went 1-1 last season in overtime affairs, dropping a tough 42-35 home overtime game to #18 Colorado and the very next week winning a 33-27 double overtime thriller at Texas A&M, the week after A&M beat #1-ranked Oklahoma on the same field.

Mizzou made some history with its consecutive overtime games - that marked the first time in NCAA history that a Div. I-A team played overtime games in consecutive weeks.

Interestingly, MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel won the very first overtime game played in Division I history when his Toledo Rockets beat Nevada, 40-37, in the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl. The overtime rule was put into effect for that bowl season, and has been in use ever since. Pinkel is now 5-1 alltime in his career in overtime games, including 3-1 at Mizzou.

'CARDIAC' TIGERS have plated 3 COMEBACK WINs On 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. The comeback win was the 3rd of the season for Mizzou. Here's a look:

In 2002, Smith worked 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: