Tigers Prepare For Independence Bowl Showdown
12/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 24, 2003
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TIGERS GOIN' BOWLING AGAIN
It's been five long years, but the dry spell has been ended by Head Coach Gary Pinkel and his Tigers - Mizzou is playing in a post-season bowl game for the first time since 1998, and will face the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Mizzou and Arkansas enter the 2003 MainStay Independence Bowl as apparent mirror images of each other. Their records are an identical 8-4, and each finished with 4-4 records in their respective conferences, but the similarities don't end there.
A look at the NCAA statistics show that the Tigers and Razorbacks both rank among the nation's top rushing teams, with Arkansas standing 7th in the nation (237.08 ypg) while Mizzou is right behind, at 8th (236.25).
Both squads feature mobile, dual-threat quarterbacks in Mizzou's Brad Smith and Arkansas' Matt Jones. Both teams also feature powerful 1,000-yard running backs who have both seemingly been at their respective institutions since the Carter Administration - Mizzou's Zack Abron and Arkansas' Cedric Cobbs.
Each team features a solid defense and ranks among the nation's best in turnover margin, with MU standing 6th (+1.17 pg) and Arkansas 17th (+0.67 pg), and both are near the top in punt returns - MU ranks 4th (15.58 avg.) and Arkansas 14th (12.94 avg.).
TIGERS ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS IN 2003
The 2003 season was one that many Tiger fans pointed to with great anticipation, and even with one big game left to go, it's already been one of great achievement. Here are a few of the most significant "brag points" about the year to date:
MIZZOU-ARKANSAS SERIES HISTORY
For being neighboring states, there really isn't much history to speak of on the football field between Missouri and Arkansas. Despite the geographic convenience, Mizzou and Arkansas have met only 3 times, with the Independence Bowl marking the first meeting since 1963.
Mizzou holds a 2-1 lead in the series, claiming wins in 1906 (11-0 in Columbia) and 1963 (7-6 in Little Rock), while Arkansas took a 7-6 decision in 1944 in St. Louis.
Some people want to claim that part of the reason why the teams haven't met is that there was some animosity felt by MU toward Arkansas when Frank Broyles (who is now Arkansas' Athletic Director) left MU after coaching just one season (he went 5-4-1 for Mizzou in 1957). We'll let the historians debate that one, but with only 2 meetings from 1906 to that point, it's not as if there was a heated rivalry already in place. More importantly, it turned out to be a win-win situation for both schools - Broyles went on to a hall of fame career at Arkansas, while Mizzou got someone to come in who didn't turn out too bad either, in hall of famer Dan Devine.
Besides, the supposed bad feelings didn't stop Mizzou and Arkansas from playing basketball 25 times between 1958 and 1997.
MIZZOU VERSUS THE SEC
Here's hoping that history repeats itself for Mizzou this bowl season - in 24 previous matchups with teams currently in the SEC, MU stands 16-7-1 alltime.
However, it's been a whopping 19 years since the Tigers have teed it up against any team from the SEC. Mizzou's last foray against the conference was a 47-30 win in Columbia against Mississippi State in 1984.
Mizzou also has a stellar record in bowl games versus the SEC, as the Tigers stand 5-1 alltime in bowl games versus the league, having won their last 5, dating from 1965 through 1979. Here's a look at those games:
TIGERS GAIN BOWL ELIGIBILITY WITH BIG WIN OVER TEXAS TECH
Mizzou's 62-31 win on Oct. 25th 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 marked the first time since 1998, and just the 3rd time overall since 1983 that MU became 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 (22) and 29th alltime in bowl wins (9).
QUICK SCOUTING REPORT FOR THE UNINITIATED
For those of you who have covered the Missouri Tigers throughout the year and are quite aware of what they are all about, you'll want to turn the page (not that you read this stuff anyway). For those of you seeing Mizzou for the first time this year, throw a log on the fire and take a seat, we'll give you a quick scouting report.
When speaking in general terms about Mizzou, most people would say that the Tigers are a strong offensive team that has been more successful on the ground this year, and that they have an improving defense that has served as a nice complement. Mizzou's special teams have been very reliable overall.
Offensively, the Tigers feature the nation's 8th-ranked rushing attack (236.25 ypg), with the fine-tuned engine being revved by sophomore quarterback Brad Smith. Listed as a top-five Heisman Candidate as late as middle November by many national media outlets, Smith is the ultimate run-pass threat. With 1,822 passing yards and 1,310 rushing yards in 2003, Smith needs only 178 in the air at the Independence Bowl to become the first player in NCAA history to twice reach the 2,000-yard passing, 1,000-yard rushing distinction in a season.
But it's not all Smith, as senior tailback Zack Abron has bulled his way to 1,018 yards this season - giving MU a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time in school history. A veteran offensive line featuring 1st-Team All-Big 12 performers A.J. Ricker (Sr.-Center) and Rob Droege (Sr.-Tackle) lead the way.
On defense, the Tigers have been one of the most improved units in the rugged Big 12 Conference. Those improvements have come despite the overall youth of the squad, as seven of MU's 11 starters to open the year against Illinois were either making their first career start, or were starting at a new position.
The Mizzou defense, a 4-2-5 multiple base set, is designed to funnel everything to the middle of the field, where its linebackers and outside safeties make most of the plays. To the surprise of none, MU's top two tacklers in 2003 were its inside linebackers - junior James Kinney and senior Brandon Barnes. Kinney led the team and ranked 14th in the NCAA, with his per-game average of 11.8 tackles, while Barnes, who played linebacker for the first time this year after switching from safety in 2002, had a stellar season with 109 stops, and was responsible for a team-best six takeaways (three recovered fumbles, two interceptions and one forced fumble). Junior college safety Nino Williams II has been an impact player for the Tiger defense, as he ranks 3rd on the squad with 101 tackles and has delivered 4 takeaways (3 recovered fumbles, 1 interception).
On special teams, the Tigers' strengths include senior punt returner Marcus James, who ranks 4th in the NCAA with a 15.16 average per return, junior kick returner Shirdonya Mitchell, who is the fastest player on the team (4.29 speed) and is a threat to break it every time he touches the ball, and senior placekicker Michael Matheny, who is 10-of-14 on field goal attempts on the season. The punting game, which ranked 19th in the NCAA in 2002 in net punting (36.9) has struggled, to put it nicely, as MU inexplicably ranks 114th currently (31.13), with largely the same personnel as last year.
Mizzou leads the nation in fewest turnovers, with only 10 giveaways in 12 games, and thanks to that ball security, ranks 6th in the NCAA in turnover margin (+1.17 pg).
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), MU has had the fewest turnovers in the nation, by far.
In the 35 games in the Pinkel regime, MU has committed just 38 turnovers. The next fewest during that same period is Minnesota, with 50. The next best team in the Big 12 is Oklahoma, who rates 6th-best nationally, at 55 turnovers.
Through 12 games this season, Mizzou leads the nation with just 10 turnovers lost (Toledo, Pinkel's former school, is 2nd with 14), a year after MU led the nation with just 12 turnovers in 2002 - setting a school record in the process for fewest in a year.
Broken down, MU's turnovers in 2003 have been 6 interceptions (a total which is currently 3rd-fewest in the NCAA) and 4 lost fumbles (tied for 2nd in the NCAA for fewest).
The Tigers have not turned the ball over 7 times this season. MU did have an uncharacteristic 4-turnover game at Colorado, as the Buffs recorded 2 interceptions and recovered 2 fumbles on the day. That marked the most turnovers in a game by a Pinkel-coached Tiger squad.
Under Pinkel, Mizzou has committed zero turnovers in 13 of 35 ballgames. Here's the breakdown by year:
GAMES UNDER PINKEL WITH NO TURNOVERS BY MIZZOU
2003 - (7) - Illinois, at Ball State, Middle Tennessee, at Kansas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Iowa State
2002 - (4) - Ball State, at Nebraska, at Texas Tech, Kansas
2001 - (2) - Nebraska, at Oklahoma State
3RD-DOWN NUMBERS IMPROVE MARKEDLY FOR MU AFTER 1ST QUARTER
Third down hasn't been overly kind to MU this year on either side of the ball, from a statistical standpoint. MU currently ranks 8th in the Big 12 offensively with a conversion rate of 39.5%, and rates 8th defensively with an opponent success rate of 41.6%.
The 1st quarter has been the biggest problem area for the Tigers for some reason. The numbers are much better for MU after the opening period, as offensively, MU is converting just 29.2% (14-of-48) of 3rd downs in the opening 15 minutes, as compared to a combined 43.4% in quarters 2 through 4. The numbers stand out even more on defense, as MU is allowing opponents to convert on 54.3% (25-of-46) of their 3rd downs in the 1st quarter, but just 37.4% after, including just 33.3% in the 4th quarter (15-of-45).
HALFWAY HOME THE KEY FOR MU
A trend has developed under Gary Pinkel that shows the key to the game is very simple: Mizzou simply needs to take the lead into the lockerroom at halftime and it will likely have success. That's because under Pinkel, MU is 14-0 (including 8-0 this year) when it leads at halftime. Conversely, when MU trails at the half, they are just 2-18, including 0-4 this year, since 2001.
PINKEL EARNS NEW CONTRACT
The University of Missouri and Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel have agreed to terms of a new contract that will keep Pinkel a fixture on the Tigers sidelines through the 2008 season, as announced in late November by Director of Athletics Mike Alden.
In his third season at Mizzou, Pinkel, 51, has the Tigers at 8-4 and bowl eligible for just the third time since 1983. Missouri has returned to the top-25 polls during the 2003 season, and earlier made national headlines when it defeated 10th-ranked Nebraska in October, marking the program's first win over the Huskers since 1978.
With a career record of 90-55-3 in 13 seasons, Pinkel ranks 21st among active Division I-A coaches with his career winning percentage of .618. He came to Missouri in November of 2000, after a successful 10-year run as head coach at the University of Toledo.
Pinkel's original contract took him through the 2005 season. That same deal was extended in August of 2002, through the 2007 season. The new deal increases Pinkel's base salary from $192,000 per year to $250,000 per year.
PINKEL GUNNING FOR .500 AT MIZZOU
After guiding Mizzou to 8 wins and bowl eligibility for only the 3rd time since 1983 (including only the 12th 4-0 start in school history), 3rd-year Head Coach Gary Pinkel is looking to even his record at Missouri to an even .500, and would do so with a win against Arkansas in the Independence Bowl. Pinkel enters the bowl game with an MU record of 17-18, and stands 90-55-3 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 beyond the first 2 games 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.
PINKEL STANDS 9-3 ALLTIME AS A COACH IN BOWL GAMES
History shows that MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel has fared pretty well in bowl games as a coach. Pinkel carries a 9-3 coaching record in bowl games into MU's matchup with Arkansas in the 2003 Independence Bowl.
His last bowl game was his only among those 12 as a head coach, when his Toledo team beat Nevada in the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl, 40-37 in overtime. That game was the first-ever overtime game played under the current overtime rules.
As a top assistant coach under the legendary Don James at Washington, Pinkel coached in 11 bowl games in 12 years, from 1979-90, and the Huskies went a solid 8-3 in those outings. Pinkel's teams have won their last 4 bowl games, including a 24-12 Washington win over Tulane in the 1987 Independence Bowl.
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 this season.
Consider the fact that MU has outscored its last 7 opponents by a combined 100-20 in the 4th quarter, and you'll see we're just not whistling Dixie. Here's a few details:
The late-game progress has been pleasing to see for Tiger fans, because the 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 12 games this season, MU holds a 136-51 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.
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 is tied for the lead with 9 overtime games played. With MU's 41-40 OT earlier 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.
TIGERS MAKING A POINT WITH TURNOVERS
The all-important points off turnovers category is heavily weighted in Mizzou's favor through 12 games of the 2003 season.
Mizzou enters the Independence Bowl having scored 76 points this season off of 24 opponent turnovers, while foes have scored but 10 points this season off of 10 MU giveaways.
Part of the reason for the disparity of course lies rooted in the fact that Mizzou rarely turns the ball over (the Tigers lead the nation in fewest turnovers through 12 games, and led the nation last year with 12 in 12 games in 2002).
A deeper look into MU's 10 turnovers shows that the Tigers haven't turned the ball over on its side of the field, as 9 of the 10 miscues have occurred in opponent territory. The only turnover MU has committed this year on its own side of the field was an interception at Colorado in the final 2 minutes of the game as MU faced a desperation 4th-and-17 at its own 13 yardline.
The only opponents to score thus far off an MU turnover are Nebraska, which had to go 74 yards for a TD after intercepting a ball at their own 26 yardline, and Kansas State, which took over on its own 20 yardline after intercepting a pass in its endzone. K-State drove 57 yards to get a field goal after that MU turnover.
SCORING DEFENSE HOLDING ITS OWN
The Tiger defense has faced some high octane opponents this year, but Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberlus' troops have acquitted themselves quite nicely. In earlier consecutive games, MU 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.
After that 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.
More recently at Kansas State, MU held the Wildcats to only 24 points, which was more than 2 TDs below their average of 38.5 coming into the game. K-State was ranked 8th nationally in scoring coming into the game.
MU TO MAKE RECORD 9TH TELEVISION APPEARANCE
Mizzou fans who couldn't make it to the games in person in 2003 have enjoyed a banner year of watching the Tigers on television. The upcoming Independence Bowl, which is being shown on ESPN, will mark the 9th time this season that MU has played on TV. That represents the most games ever shown on TV in a season for Mizzou, besting the old mark of 7 in 1984.
MU's 9 appearances also surpasses the amount that MU had during the 2001 and 2002 seasons combined, as the Tigers played before TV audiences 8 times total in 2001 (3) and 2002 (5).
THESE STATS SAY THAT Brad Smith IS THE NATION'S MOST DYNAMIC PLAYER
We believe sophomore QB Brad Smith is the nation's most dynamic player, meaning there is no one who can impact a game the way that he has proven this year (and last year, for that matter). We'll try to keep this brief for now, but please consider the following facts:
MORE MR. SMITH BANTER
For those of you who are fans of the popular Matrix movies, you'll know Mr. Smith as the primary antagonist of the series. In the 2nd Matrix movie, Mr. Smith was seen replicating himself, as hundreds of Smiths appeared at the same time. You have to wonder if Mizzou's version of Mr. Smith has opponents feeling they've seen hundreds of him on the field this season.
Just a few more bullet facts about Brad Smith:
 Senior tailback Zack Abron enters the bowl game with an MU-record 3,061 career yards.  |
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'ZACK ATTACK' KEEPS CHURNING OUT RECORDS
Senior tailback Zack Abron got kicked in the calf on his 2nd carry in the regular-season finale against Iowa State, and the injury limited him to only 48 yards on 11 carries.
The limited yardage was still quite significant, because the Lake St. Louis, Mo., native needed only 13 yards in the game to become MU's career rushing leader. He got it on his 3rd carry, a bruising 11-yard romp around left end to surpass former standout Brock Olivo, who rushed for an MU record 3,027 yards from 1994-97.
Abron enters the bowl game with an MU-record 3,061 career yards.
Abron moved into 2nd on the career charts with his 71-yard outing at Kansas State, passing former All-American Devin West in the process. At K-State, Abron averaged a healthy 7.9 yards per carry on 9 attempts, and rambled 37 yards for a 4th-quarter TD that pulled MU to within 10 points.
His rushing TD against the Wildcats marked only the 5th rushing TD that KSU has allowed this season. It also marked the longest rushing TD allowed by K-State this season.
Here's a few more quick facts about Abron...
MILESTONES FOR WHICH TO WATCH
It seems like there are a ton of noteworthy achievements that have a chance to take place in MU's Independence Bowl game versus Arkansas. Here's a look at what we could come up with...
MIZZOU NEEDS
Brad Smith NEEDS
Michael Matheny NEEDS
Darius Outlaw NEEDS
Marcus James NEEDS
James Kinney NEEDS
RICKER TO EXTEND SCHOOL RECORD WITH HIS 47TH STRAIGHT START
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 46 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 47 straight starts when he takes the field in the Independence Bowl.
That ironman feat established his name in the MU record books for consecutive starts, as he has broken 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 8th in the nation in rushing, averaging 236.25 yards per game on the ground. MU earlier had a game against Texas Tech where the Tigers ran for 469 yards.
Ricker has been invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game and the Hula Bowl all-star games following the current season.
TIGER OFFENSE IS A RECORD SETTING ATTACK
This year's offense has already set several major school season records. MU enters its bowl game against Arkansas with the most points scored (385), most TDs scored (51) and most total offense (4,838 yards) in a season.
The old marks that were surpassed were 368 points (1997), 48 TDs scored (1978, 1997 & 2002) and 4,690 total yards (1984).
It would take a turnover-free game against Arkansas, but if the Tigers accomplished that (which they have done 7 times in 12 games this season thus far), MU would also break the single-season records for fewest turnovers and fewest fumbles lost in a season. MU enters the game with just 4 fumbles lost and 10 total turnovers through 12 games. The MU records for a season are 5 and 12, respectively, both set last year.
SENIOR CLASS HAS MADE QUITE AN IMPACT
The 2003 senior class has seen its share of tough times overall, but will be looked upon as a class that helped turn things around and lead MU to its first winning season and bowl game for just the 3rd time since 1983.
Individually, several members of the senior class will leave quite an impact on the MU record books. TB Zack Abron has had an historical season, as he has already broken the school career rushing, scoring and TD records...
OL Rob Droege, in addition to being an All-American candidate on the field, became the 9th player in MU history to earn the highly-coveted National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award (an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship)...
CB Michael Harden came to Mizzou as a walk-on, but established himself among the most dependable secondary men in recent Tiger history...
WR/KR Marcus James has already broken the school career records for most combined kick return yardage and most combined kick returns...
WR Darius Outlaw came to MU as a quarterback, but switched over to receiver prior to the 2002 season. He needs just 50 more receiving yards in MU's bowl game to become the first Tiger to reach 1,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards receiving...
In all, the class has presided over 20 wins, from 2000 through 2003. That figure grows to 23 when considering that DB Terrence Curry played as a true freshman during the 1999 season.
