Sept. 27, 2004

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TIGER NEWS & NOTES
Colorado Buffaloes (3-0, 0-0) at Missouri Tigers (2-1, 0-0)
October 2, 2004 - Faurot Field - Columbia, Mo.

KICKOFF: 2:30 p.m. (central time).
STADIUM: Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium (68,349 - FieldTurf surface). Opened in 1926. MU is 226-157-20 there alltime, including 8 straight wins dating from 2003.
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/John Kadlec, color). Carried on over 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
TV: ABC Sports. Gary Thorne, Tim Brant & Terry Bowden will be in the booth, with Sam Ryan reporting from the sidelines, and Chris Pfeiffer producing.
RANKINGS (AP/ESPN-USA): MU - RV/RV; CU - RV/RV.
SERIES: MU leads, 35-30-3 overall, but CU has won 5 straight and 17 of the last 19.
COACHES:
Mizzou: Gary Pinkel (Kent, '75), 19-20 at MU (4th year) and 92-57-3 overall (14th year). Pinkel is 0-3 vs. Gary Barnett and Colorado.

Colorado: Gary Barnett (Missouri, '69), 37-28 at CU (6th year) and 80-84-2 overall (15th year). Barnett is 3-0 vs. Gary Pinkel and 5-0 vs. his alma mater overall.

The Missouri Tigers (2-1 overall) open the Big 12 Conference season Saturday afternoon as they play host to the upstart Colorado Buffaloes (3-0) at Faurot Field. Kickoff for the game, which will be televised by ABC Sports, is set for 2:30 p.m.

After a bye week, Mizzou is looking to continue the momentum built from a 48-0 win over Ball State on Sept. 18th in Columbia. The Tigers were solid in virtually all areas in the game, as they outgained the Cardinals 471-142 in total yards, and won the turnover battle, 2-0 in the shutout victory.

Colorado comes calling riding a three-game winning streak, and they've surprised many prognosticators along the way. After enduring a tough off-season off the field, the Buffaloes have banded together and won tough games to begin the season against Colorado State (27-24), at Washington State (20-12) and moved to 3-0 last time out with a 52-21 win over North Texas. CU is also coming off a bye week.

STAKES ARE HIGH AS LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS
Everyone has aspirations for a conference championship, and those hopes will be put to the test Saturday for the first time for both Mizzou and Colorado, as league play begins for both teams.

Mizzou was a pre-season pick to win the Big 12 North division by many prognosticators, while Colorado didn't receive much mention in that area. With their 3-0 start to the season, however, the Buffaloes have turned heads and shown that they're just as capable of winning the division as any team in the North.

The Buffaloes are averaging 33.0 points per game behind an offense led by TB Bobby Purify, who ranks 14th in the NCAA with an average of 118.0 yards per game. QB Joel Klatt is 7th in the Big 12 in both passing yards (188.7 p/g) and pass efficiency (127.4 rating).

Colorado has rushed for 6 TDs on the year, and will go against a Tiger defense that has allowed only 1 rushing score thus far in 2004.

The Buff defense is allowing only 105.67 yards per game on the ground, and will provide a challenge for a Tiger rushing attack that comes in averaging just under 200 yards per game (192.67).

CROWD OF 60,000+ ANTICIPATED SATURDAY
After getting solid crowds in excess of 57,000 each for its first two home games, the Missouri Tigers are hoping to play before a boisterous crowd of more than 60,000 this Saturday versus Colorado.

If MU gets 60,000 people in the seats Saturday, it would mark the largest crowd to see an MU-Colorado game at Faurot Field since 1980, when 72,333 packed the house to see MU down the Buffaloes, 45-7 for Homecoming. The largest MU-CU crowd at Faurot since that game was 57,261 in 1998, when Mizzou won a 38-14 contest.

Mizzou drew 57,012 fans for its Sept. 4 season opener versus Arkansas State - which marked the biggest crowd for a season opener at MU in 23 years. The last time MU had a bigger crowd for an opener was in 1981, when MU downed Army, 24-10, before a crowd of 60,033.

TIGERS FLATTEN BALL STATE, 48-0
Mizzou moved to 2-1 on the young season with a 48-0 whitewashing of Ball State, on Sept. 18th in Columbia. As the final score would indicate, the Tigers dominated every aspect of the game, as they rolled up 471 yards of total offense, while holding the Cardinals to only 142 yards of their own.

The Tiger defense not only held Ball State out of the end zone (for its first shutout of a Division I-A opponent since a 37-0 home win over Bowling Green in 1998), but it allowed the Cardinals past midfield only 3 times. Ball State reached the Tiger 37-yard line in the 2nd quarter for its furthest penetration, but turned the ball over on downs, and wouldn't see MU's side of the field the rest of the game.

The Tiger offense rolled up 28 points in the 2nd quarter (the most scored in a single quarter by a Gary Pinkel-coached Mizzou team), to break open a 3-0 game. Mizzou ran for 2 TDs and threw for a pair of scores in the 2nd-quarter blitz.

Mizzou also won the turnover battle, as it collected 2 Ball State turnovers (1 fumble, 1 INT) and did not turn the ball over itself, for the first time in 2004.

MIZZOU-COLORADO SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou might be favored in Saturday's contest by most prognosticators, but it has been Colorado that has enjoyed the most success in the recent MU-CU series history. While Mizzou owns a 35-30-3 overall series lead, Colorado has won 5 straight in the series, and 17 of the last 19, from 1985. Prior to the recent dominance by the Buffaloes, MU once held a commanding 33-13-3 lead in the series overall.

Mizzou's last win over the Buffs was a 38-14 win in Columbia in 1998. MU also defeated the Buffs in 1997, 41-31 in Boulder - with those two wins marking the only 2 in the series for MU in the last 19 meetings.

While Colorado has won 5 straight, all of those contests were decided by 14 points or less - including two overtime games and three overall that were decided by 7 points or less. The Buffs won a 46-39 OT affair in Boulder in 1999 and got out of Columbia with a 42-35 OT win in their last appearance here in 2002.

LAST YEAR: COLORADO 21, #22 MIZZOU 16
Missouri outproduced Colorado in most facets of the game, but came away disappointed, as 4 uncharacteristic turnovers led to a 21-16 Buffalo win over the 22nd-ranked Tigers.

Mizzou outgained CU by a 447-276 margin, but the Tigers, who had an NCAA-low 5 turnovers on the season coming into the game, kept getting derailed by costly miscues. The first was a controversial one, as late in the 2nd quarter, MU's Brad Smith was stretching the ball near the goalline for an apparent TD with MU trailing 14-9.

Replays show that Smith had the ball stretched out on the goal line, and that the ball didn't come out until his arms hit the ground. But instead of claiming a 16-14 halftime lead and gaining all-important momentum, the play was ruled a fumble Colorado got the ball at their 20 yardline with a touchback.

With the Buffs leading 14-9 at halftime, MU's opening drive of the 3rd quarter went nowhere, and CU capitalized by driving 80 yards on 11 plays for a TD to make it 21-9. The Tiger offense couldn't get untracked in the 3rd period until mounting a drive that bridged over to the start of the 4th quarter. On the first play of the 4th quarter, however, Smith again was ruled to have fumbled as he was going down, this time at the CU 21 yardline, killing another Tiger drive.

MU finally broke through with a Smith to Damien Nash swing pass that Nash weaved in and out of defenders for a 48-yard TD with 5 minutes left in the game to pull the Tigers to within 21-16. MU's defense held CU on its' next series, but a big 2nd down sack of Smith on MU's ensuing series left the Tigers with a 4th down and 17 on its' own 13 yardline with 2 minutes left. Smith's pass was intercepted on the 4th down play to effectively end MU's chances.

In spite of the turnovers, MU's Smith had another impressive day, as he threw for a season-high 278 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 102 more - marking the 2nd time in his career that he has thrown for 200 and rushed for 100 in a game.

The Tiger defense had an enigmatic day, as CU had 3 scoring drives that totalled 239 yards, but MU held the Buffs to a total of 37 yards on its 8 other possessions.

TIGERS LOOKING TO EXTEND WIN STREAK AT 'THE ZOU'
Faurot Field - nicknamed 'The Zou' by the Tiger team last season - was a house of horrors for visiting teams in 2003 - a trend that the Tigers undoubtedly would like to continue this year. Things are off to a good start, as MU cruised to a 52-20 win in its season opener on Sept. 4th against Arkansas State, and followed with a 48-0 pasting of Ball State last time out.

A win for MU Saturday against Colorado would extend its win streak at The Zou to nine, as the Tigers have won 8 consecutive at Faurot, after going a perfect 6-0 there last year. That broke the old school record of five wins for most wins in a home season, and marked the first time since 1974 that MU was perfect at home. It also marked only the 12th time since the stadium opened in 1926 that MU went unbeaten and untied at home. MU's last home loss came in the 2002 finale vs. Kansas State.

Mizzou's average margin of victory at home in its current 8-game win streak has been a whopping 28.4 points, as MU has outscored foes by a 371-144 margin during the streak (46.4-to-18.0). Included in last year's total was a 62-point outing against Texas Tech, which represents the most points ever scored by MU at Memorial Stadium.

Oddly enough, MU's lowest point total in its 7-game home win streak is 37, against Div. I-AA Eastern Illinois in the 2003 home opener (a 37-0 Mizzou win).

LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAKS
Mizzou's current home winning streak of 8 is tied for the 2nd-longest in school history since 1926, when Memorial Stadium opened. If the Tigers move the streak to 9 games with a win Saturday against Ball State, it would become the 2nd-longest streak in MU annals.

There still is quite a way to go to reach the record of 20 (1938-43), but here's a look at the longest streaks in Memorial Stadium history...

MIZZOU'S HOME STREAK RANKS AMONG TOP IN NATION
Mizzou's current 8-game home winning streak ranks among the top in the NCAA.

OFFENSE HAVING SUCCESS ON 3RD DOWNS
Mizzou has been quite successful on 3rd down offensively this season, as MU's conversion rate of 47.6% (20-of-42) ranks 2nd in the Big 12 Conference entering Saturday's game versus Colorado. Oklahoma leads the league currently, with an unreal conversion rate of 66.7%.

The 3rd-down success is a nice improvement from last year, when Mizzou ranked 8th in the Big 12 with a conversion rate of 39.6% in 13 games.

3RD DOWN EQUALLY GOOD TO TIGER DEFENSE
What we said above about the offense on 3rd down, ditto for the Tiger defense, through the first 3 games.

Mizzou ranks 3rd in the Big 12 Conference in opponent 3rd-down conversion rate, as the Tiger defense has allowed opponents to convert only 26.2% of their attempts (11-of-42). Texas leads the league, with a rate of 25.0% through 3 games, while Kansas is 2nd at 25.4%.

Arkansas State had the most success thus far, as it converted on 6-of-15 3rd-down tries in the 2004 season opener. The Tiger defense held Troy to only 2-of-12 on 3rd down in defeat, and followed by holding Ball State to 3-of-15 on 3rd down tries.

In the first 3 games combined, MU's foes have made just 2-of-11 3rd down tries in the 4th quarter (18.2%).

Again, much like on offense, the success has been an improvement from the 2003 season, when Mizzou ranked 8th in the Big 12 in this category, as opponents converted 40.7% of the time on 3rd downs against the Tigers.

TIGERS TOPS IN BIG 12 IN RED ZONE OFFENSE
Through 3 games, Mizzou is tops in the Big 12 Conference in red zone offense, as the Tigers are a perfect 10-of-10 in red zone opportunities.

Of MU's 10 red zone opportunities, the Tigers have converted with 7 TDs and 3 FGs. Five of the TDs have been of the rushing variety, with 2 coming in the air.

Mizzou converted on 2-of-2 red zone opportunities in each of its first two games, and went 6-of-6 last time out against Ball State.

This success is a carry-over from 2003, when MU ranked 3rd in the Big 12, with a conversion rate of 84.5 percent in the red zone. Mizzou scored on 49-of-58 trips into the red zone last season, including 41 TDs (29 rushing/12 passing) and 8 field goals (in 10 attempts).

MIZZOU AMONG LEAST PENALIZED TEAMS IN BIG 12
Through 3 games, Mizzou ranks 2nd in the Big 12 Conference in fewest yards penalized, averaging just 29.7 yards per game in penalties. Oklahoma State is tops in the league currently, with an average of 26.0 yards per game.

Mizzou opened the year with just 2 penalties, for 10 yards, in its opening 52-20 win over Arkansas State on Sept. 4th. The next time out, a 24-14 loss at Troy, Mizzou was flagged 6 times for 35 yards, and followed with a 6-penalty, 44-yard outing last time out against Ball State.

That comes as no real surprise, however, as Mizzou led the Big 12 in 2003, with a conference-low 46.9 yards in penalties against itself in 13 games.

TIGER RUSHING DEFENSE MUCH IMPROVED
Mizzou's rushing defense has been pretty stout thus far in the 2004 season, as it has allowed opponents an average of just 108.33 yards per game - that ranks MU 6th in the Big 12 and 33rd in the NCAA entering the Colorado game.

That might not seem like too big of a deal, but when you consider the fact that this is a nice improvement from 2003, when the Tigers ranked 72nd nationally, with an average of 167.23 yards allowed per game. MU ranked 7th in the Big 12 in that category last year, but keep in mind that MU's 2004 average of 108.33 would have ranked 1st in the league in 2003 (K-State had the Big 12's best average, at 108.47 allowed per game on the ground).

Additionally, Mizzou has allowed just 1 rushing TD through 3 games this year - and that was a fluke play at Troy when an offensive lineman picked up a Troy fumble in stride, and raced 63 yards for a TD.

MU is one of only 14 schools that have allowed 1 or fewer rushing TDs thus far, and only 5 schools (Nebraska, Wisconsin, LSU, Purdue and Auburn) have allowed none.

Last year, Mizzou allowed 18 rushing TDs in 13 games.

Outside of the 63-yard run by Troy's lineman, the longest run an opponent has gotten thus far is 21 yards.

SMITH SET TO MAKE A MOVE ON NCAA ALLTIME LIST
Brad Smith enters the Colorado game with 2,617 rushing yards in his career, which is just 582 yards shy of breaking the MU career rushing record of 3,198 established just last season by TB Zack Abron.

Every rushing yard he accumulates this year will also get him closer to the top of the NCAA rushing record for a quarterback. He's still got quite a bit to go to reach the record of 3,895 set by Antwaan Randle El of Indiana (1998-2001), but he is on pace to do it. Given his career average of 93.5 yards rushing per game, he needs about 14 games to break the mark.

Smith ranks 13th on the NCAA's quarterback career rushing yardage chart, entering Saturday's game. With his 83-yard, 1-TD rushing day last time out against Ball State, Smith moved from 16th on the NCAA list, passing Bill Hurley of Syracuse, Jamaal Lord of Nebraska, and Woodrow Dantzler of Clemson along the way. Smith stands 82 yards shy of former OU great Jamelle Holieway, who is 12th on the NCAA list, with 2,699 yards from 1985-88.

Smith's rushing total of 1,406 yards last season was the 4th-most ever in a season by a quarterback, behind only Beau Morgan of Air Force (1,494 in 1996), Stacey Robinson of Northern Illinois (1,443 in 1989) and Jamaal Lord of Nebraska (1,412 in 2002).

SMITH NEARS PASSING MILESTONE
With 4,980 career passing yards in 28 games, Brad Smith needs just 20 yards in the air against Colorado to reach the 5,000-yard mark. If he gets it, he would become only the 4th Tiger in history to throw for at least 5,000 yards. He currently ranks 4th on MU's alltime passing yardage chart, and sits 251 yards behind #3 Marlon Adler, who threw for 5,231 yards from 1982-85 for Mizzou.

Smith has thrown for over 200 yards in each of MU's 1st 3 games this season (233 vs. ASU; 224 at Troy; 213 vs. BSU) - after reaching that mark only twice in 13 games in 2003 (236 vs. Eastern Illinois; 278 at Colorado).

He set a personal record with a single-game QB efficiency rating of 188.51 and tied his personal-best with 3 TDs in the opener versus Arkansas State, when he connected on 14-of-22 passes for 233 yards. His season QB rating of 127.08 thus far ranks him 6th in the Big 12 and 49th in the NCAA, and is up from his 2003 season rating of 114.11.

He's been more successful at stretching the field thus far, as Smith has already thrown for 4 TDs of 20 yards or more this season (24, 60, 35, 43), after having only 1 TD pass of at least that distance in 13 games in 2003 (48 yds. at Colorado).

James Kinney TACKLES A DATE WITH HISTORY
With each tackle, senior linebacker James Kinney will inch closer and closer to the school career tackles record of 415 held by former Tiger standout (and current Iowa State assistant coach) DeMontie Cross (from 1994-96). Kinney enters Saturday's game needing only 64 stops to surpass the mark, and that certainly seems likely, given the fact that he's registered over 140 stops in each of the last two seasons.

Kinney, a pre-season candidate for both the Butkus and Lombardi awards this year, has developed nicely into a leader of a defense that made big strides last year. The Tiger defenders look to take an even bigger step in 2004, after becoming one of the Big 12's most improved units a year ago.

Kinney, who had 147 tackles a year ago, has 352 career tackles entering the Colorado game, after getting 6 tackles last time out versus Ball State. He had a season-high 14 stops at Troy, prior to a solid outing that saw him register 10 tackles in the opener vs. Arkansas State. That ranks him 7th on the MU career charts, and he'd need to average just 8.0 tackles per game in MU's last 8 games to break the school record.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS FOR MU PUNT GAME WITH OMBOGA
Senior WR/PR Thomson Omboga took over primary punt return duties for Mizzou's last game against Ball State - and he made Tiger coaches look very good for making that move. Omboga returned 6 punts on the day for 127 yards, and twice nearly broke returns for long TDs before getting stopped.

His first return on the day was a 49-yarder midway through the 1st quarter that set MU up for its first score of the day. That return seemed to spark the Tiger offense, which proceeded to score on 5 of its last 6 possessions of the 1st half following Omboga's long dash.

Omboga later had returns of 17, 14, 24 and 19 yards, and came just 30 yards shy of breaking the longstanding MU single-game punt return yardage record of 156 by Hall of Famer Roger Wehrli against Iowa State in 1967. Omboga had at least 30 yards in return yardage wiped out by penalties, or he would have broken the record, which is one of the oldest single-game marks on the MU record books.

His 49-yarder against Ball State surpassed the longest punt return that MU had in all of 2003 (37 yards by Marcus James), and was MU's longest since James returned a punt for an 80-yard TD at Iowa State in 2002.

Omboga's average of 18.7 yards (7 returns) through 3 games is enough to rank him 2nd in the Big 12, and 11th nationally.

From a receiving standpoint, Omboga enters the Colorado game with 8 catches for 62 yards, a year after leading MU with 52 receptions and 466 yards in 2003. He was held to 1 catch for 2 yards last time out, but had a solid 6-catch, 64-yard outing in game #2 at Troy.

He enters the CU game with 96 career catches, and needs just 4 more to become only the 7th Tiger in history to reach the 100-catch plateau.

TIGHT ENDS A POTENT PART OF TIGER PASSING ATTACK
Mizzou's passing game has leaned heavily on its talented pair of pass-catching tight ends, in senior Victor Sesay and redshirt freshman Martin Rucker.

The duo has combined for 16 catches for 227 yards and 3 TDs in just 3 games thus far in the 2004 season.

Sesay is 2nd on the squad in both receptions (12) and receiving yards (182) through 3 games. He caught a TD in each of MU's first 2 games this year (35 yards against Arkansas State and 10 yards at Troy). Sesay caught 4 passes in the opener versus Arkansas State for a career-high 80 yards, and had 3 catches for 45 yards last time out against Ball State.

Rucker, who earned the #1 spot on the depth chart this fall despite missing most of spring ball due to an injured shoulder, made quite a splash in his first game as a Tiger, when he took a pass from Brad Smith on MU's opening drive of the season, and took it 24 yards for a TD on his first career catch. He followed by catching 3 passes for a career-best 44 yards in game No. 2 at Troy.

MOSLEY WREAKING HAVOC FOR TIGER DEFENSE
Junior DL C.J. Mosley is off to quite a start in 2004, and he is a major reason for MU's solid play up front on defense. Mosley enters the Colorado game tied for the Big 12 Conference lead in tackles for loss (2.0 p/g) and sacks (1.0 p/g). He's totaled 6 TFLs and 3 sacks thus far, with a total of 19 tackles and 6 QB hurries.

Mosley had a big game at Troy, where he notched 8 tackles against the Trojans. It was a very disruptive 8 tackles, additionally, as Mosley had 3 tackles for loss (15 yards), including 2 sacks (13 yards), and added 3 QB hurries.

Mosley, who was a 2004 pre-season honorable mention All-American pick by Street & Smith's magazine, led MU with 16 TFLs (44 yards) in 2003, and earned 2nd-Team All-Big 12 acclaim by league coaches for his efforts.

NASH LEADS BIG 12, RANKS 7TH NATIONALLY, IN SCORING
Junior tailback Damien Nash enters the Colorado gameon top of the Big 12 charts in the scoring category, with his average of 12.0 points per game. His per-game average also ranks him 7th in the NCAA entering the CU contest. Nash has scored 6 TDs on the year (5 rushing, 1 receiving), and leads MU with 264 rushing yards through 3 games.

He's coming off a game against Ball State in which he had 126 yards from scrimmage and 3 TDs. He had a pair of 2-yard TD runs in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and sandwiched those around a nifty 43-yard TD reception from Brad Smith in the 2nd that put the Tigers up, 24-0. Nash ended the game with 69 yards rushing (16 attempts) and had a season-best 57 yards receiving on 4 catches.

Nash got his much-anticipated season off to a rousing start, as he racked up a career-best 126 rushing yards in game #1 against Arkansas State on just 15 carries (8.4 avg.). He also added 2 TDs, on runs of 21 and 15 yards, with the first one an electrifying jaunt up the middle in which he broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, spun a 360 and shed a few more arm tackle attempts, and accelerated to the endzone for the score from 21 yards out.

Nash showed a nice balance of speed and strength on the night, as he outran people as often as he plowed into them to gain the tough extra yards. His yardage total marked the first time he broke the 100-yard barrier at Mizzou, breaking his previous best of 91 yards amassed last year against Iowa State.

More importantly, Nash showed that he is virtually 100 percent recovered from a knee injury (ACL) which forced him to miss the 2002 season. He played last season at less than full strength, and has been impressive with his strength, speed, quickness and deciveness thus far in 2004.

Nash was MU's 3rd-leading rusher in 2003, as he gained 462 yards and had 5 TDs in a backup role to Mizzou's career-leading rusher, Zack Abron.

COFFEY TALK: WIDEOUT IS OFF TO GOOD START
Junior wideout Sean Coffey comes into Saturday's contest with Colorado as Mizzou's top receiver, with a team-best 13 catches for 200 yards and 2 TDs. His 66.67 receiving yards per game average currently ranks him 6th in the Big 12.

Coffey got out of the gates strong to start the 2004 season, as he was Brad Smith's go-to guy in the season opener versus Arkansas State. Coffey grabbed 5 passes on the night for a career-high 113 yards, including a 60-yard TD catch-and-run from Smith in the 2nd quarter that put MU out to a 28-10 lead.

Smith and Coffey were on the same page right away, as the pair of Ohio natives hooked up for two big completions on MU's first drive of the season. First, Smith hit Coffey for 19 yards on a crossing route over the middle on a 3rd-and-7 from the MU 38 yardline. Three plays later, Mizzou faced a similar 3rd-and-7 from the ASU 40, and Coffey got free on the sideline and made a nice catch and kept his feet in for a gain of 8 to keep the drive alive.

Coffey followed with a 4-catch, 35-yard outing at Troy, and had 4 catches for 52 yards and 1 TD last time out against Ball State. His TD grab was a nice 15-yarder from Brad Smith that came on the 1st play after a BSU turnover, and gave MU a commanding 31-0 lead just before halftime.

Coffey was MU's 3rd-leading receiver in 2003, as he caught 27 passes for 341 yards and 1 TD. At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, he gives Smith quite a target to look for, and he looks to become the go-to receiver in the Tiger passing game.

HARVEY RANKS 18TH IN NCAA IN PUNTING AVERAGE
Senior punter Brock Harvey had an outstanding fall camp, and was looking forward to proving that he is back to the form that saw him rank 20th in the NCAA in 2002 with an average of 42.5 yards per punt.

Well, the numbers indicate that Harvey is doing quite well, as through 3 games, he ranks 18th in the NCAA (4th in the Big 12 Conference) with an average of 43.23 yards per punt.

His performance early on has been a welcome sign, as Harvey missed all of spring practice in 2004 as he was recovering from surgery on his kicking foot in the off-season. That injury was initially suffered at the tail end of the 2002 season, and it plagued him during the 2003 season, as he was able to average just 36.8 yards per punt.

Harvey punted 5 times against Ball State, and averaged 41.6 yards a kick. That followed a good night in MU's loss at Troy, when he averaged 45.3 yards on 7 punts, including a career-best 4 punts that traveled 50 or more yards.

His offensive teammates had other things in mind in the season opener vs. Arkansas State, however, as Harvey was not called on to punt until midway through the 4th quarter for the first, and only, time in the game. MU's drive stalled out at the Arkansas State 41 yard line, and Harvey came in for his first punt of the season.

Unable to boom the ball, he deftly angled the kick for the sidelines, and he executed perfectly, as the ball bounced and rolled out of bounds at the ASU 4 yard line, pinning the Indians deep in their own territory.

WATCHING THE AWARD LISTS
Several Tiger players have been named to pre-season watch lists for the nation's most prestigious individual awards.

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' 4th-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.

In the 39 games in the Pinkel regime, MU has committed just 46 turnovers. The next fewest during that same period is Minnesota, with 52. The next best team in the Big 12 is Oklahoma, who rates 7th-best nationally, at 61 turnovers.

In 13 games last season, Mizzou led the nation with just 13 turnovers lost, 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.

Mizzou is coming off a game in which it did not commit a turnover, for the first time this season. The Tigers uncharacteristically had 5 giveaways in its first 2 games (2 vs. Arkansas State and 3 at Troy).

Even with the 5 giveaways (3 INTs, 2 fumbles), Mizzou is still on the positive side of the turnover margin ledger, as the Tigers have collected 7 opponent turnovers (5 INTs, 2 fumbles).

Under Pinkel, Mizzou has committed zero turnovers in 14 of 39 ballgames. Here's the breakdown by year:

GAMES UNDER PINKEL WITH NO TURNOVERS BY MIZZOU
2004 - (1) - Ball State
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