Oct. 24, 2005

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TIGER NEWS & NOTES

Missouri Tigers (5-2, 3-1) at Kansas Jayhawks (3-4, 0-4)
Oct. 29, 2005 - Memorial Stadium - Lawrence, Kan.

KICKOFF: 12:00 p.m. (central time).
STADIUM: Memorial Stadium (50,071 - Astroplay surface). Opened in 1921. KU has won 6 of the last 7 games played there in the MU-KU series.
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/John Kadlec, color/Chris Gervino, sidelines). Carried on over 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at mutigers.com. The game is also carried on SIRIUS Satellite Radio on Channel #110.
TV: None.
RANKINGS (AP/COACHES): MU is receiving votes in both polls.
SERIES: The nation's 2nd-most played rivalry stands even at 52-52-9 alltime. KU has won two straight, and leads 5-4 since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
COACHES:
Mizzou: Gary Pinkel (Kent, '75), 27-27 at MU (5th year) and 100-64-3 overall (15th year). Pinkel is 2-2 versus KU and 1-2 versus Mark Mangino.
Kansas: Mark Mangino (Youngstown State, '87), 15-28 at KU and overall (4th year). Mangino is 2-1 versus MU and Gary Pinkel.

TIGERS AND JAYHAWKS RENEW NATION'S 2ND-OLDEST RIVALRY
The Missouri Tigers (5-2 overall, 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play) and Kansas Jayhawks (3-4, 0-4) will take to the gridiron Saturday in a renewal of what ranks as the nation's 2nd-most played rivalry game, as the Tigers travel to Lawrence for a Noon game at KU. Mizzou enters the game riding a three-game winning streak, and is coming off a scintillating win as it outslugged Nebraska, 41-24 last week. The Tigers have won three straight Big 12 Conference games for only the second time since the league was formed in 1996, and a win Saturday at KU would represent MU's longest Big 12 winning streak. Kansas enters Saturday's contest looking to break a four-game losing streak. The Jayhawks began the season 3-0 with home wins over Florida Atlantic, Appalachian State and Louisiana Tech before dropping games at Texas Tech, Kansas State, versus Oklahoma (in Kansas City) and at Colorado. KU has not played a home game since Sept. 17th.

TIGERS, JAYHAWKS RESUME RIVALRY
With roots dating back all the way to the Civil War period in American history, Missourians and Kansans have always had a fierce rivalry in virtually any sport in which they've competed. While many rivalries are spirited, this one has other dynamics involved that makes it one of the best in the nation. J - It is the 2nd-most played rivalry in the nation, with 113 previous meetings. Only Minnesota and Wisconsin (115 meetings including 2005) have played eachother more often than MU and KU; J - It is one of the closest, most even rivalries around. The series is deadlocked at an even 52-52-9 count heading into Saturday's game in Lawrence; J - It's a fiercely competitive series. Many stories abound about bad blood between the two programs throughout the years. While the schools maintain diplomatic relationships, they don't even agree on the series results, as MU claims the series is tied, 52-52-9, while KU claims that it leads, 53-51-9. The dispute goes back to the 1960 season, when KU came to Columbia and upset undefeated and #1-ranked MU, 23-7. The win was later forfeited by KU after the NCAA ruled that an ineligible player took the field for the Jayhawks. KU counts the result on the field, while MU chooses to count the forfeit in its overall win column - as does the official NCAA record book.

SATURDAY IS WORTH MORE THAN JUST A WIN ON THE GRIDIRON
When is a football game worth more than a football game? When it is the MU-KU game, of course. Saturday's winner will not only take home the traditional bass drum trophy given to the winner of the Missouri-Kansas rivalry game, but the school will earn 3 points in the MU-KU Border Showdown Series, as presented by the Midwest Ford Dealers. This marks the 4th year for the Border Showdown Series, which records the head-to-head results between MU and KU in all sports. Each athletic competition is assigned a certain amount of points during the year, and the school with the most points at the end wins a traveling trophy and bragging rights for a year. Entering Saturday's contest, MU holds a 1.5-to-0 lead in the 2005-06 campaign, with the only competition thus far being a Mizzou win in volleyball in Columbia (3-0 win on Oct. 15th). This weekend will be a big one for the series, with 3 points up for grabs in both football and soccer (Oct. 28th in Lawrence), 2 points in cross country (men and women at the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas), and 1.5 in women's swimming (Oct. 28th in Lawrence). Mizzou has won the cup 2 of 3 years, dominating the first year by a 32.0-to-8.5 count, and winning the 2004-05 cup by a 22.5-to-17.5 score. Kansas won the middle year (2003-04) by a margin of 21.5-to-18.5.

Brad Smith NAMED NATIONAL & BIG 12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Playing in his next-to-last game on Faurot Field last Saturday, QB Brad Smith cemented his name among Mizzou Football legends with an unforgettable performance as he led the Tigers to a scintillating 41-24 win over Nebraska. Smith had a school-record 480 yards of total offense (246 rushing / 234 passing) and was responsible for 4 TDs on the day (3 rushing / 1 passing) as the Tigers pulled away for the win. Smith became the first player in NCAA Div. I-A history to throw and rush for 230 yards in a game. He was named National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Smith was also named on Monday as the SBC Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the 2nd time this season and the 6th time in his career.

MORE ON Brad Smith's DAY VS. NEBRASKA
Here's a little (okay, it's actually quite a lot) more detail on Smith's exploits against Nebraska, just in case you hadn't heard enough about them... J - Broke the MU single-game record with 480 yards of total offense in a scintillating performance as he led Mizzou to a 41-24 home win over Nebraska Saturday. Completed 21-of-36 passes for 234 yards and 1 TD and also ran 28 times for a season-best 246 yards and 3 TDs. Had one INT that was a meaningless hail-mary pass on the last play of the 2nd quarter... J - Smith became the first player in Division I-A history to throw and rush for 230 yards in a game, and became only the 6th player alltime to amass both 200 yards passing and rushing in a single game. See chart below for details. J - His performance came against a Nebraska defense that entered the game ranked 1st in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 65.0 yards per game coming in. The Husker defense was also allowing only 289.17 yards of total offense per game coming in, which ranked them 12th overall nationally. Smith led MU to 523 yards of total offense on the day... J - Smith averaged 8.8 yards per rush against a Husker defense that came in allowing just 1.9 yards per carry to opponents... J - Smith broke the MU single-game total offense record of 471 yards, set by Jeff Handy vs. Oklahoma State in 1991. He also broke the MU career record for all-purpose yardage, as he upped his career total to 3,983 in 43 career games, breaking the old mark of 3,824 set by former All-American TB Devin West (1995-98)... J - Smith accounted for 6 plays of 20 yards or more on the day, with rushes of 79 (TD), 53 and 45 (TD) yards and passes of 50, 37 and 22 yards against the Husker defense. His 79-yard TD run in the 1st quarter was a career-long for Smith, and was also the longest scoring run by a Tiger since Corby Jones scored from 80 yards out against Kansas in 1996... J - Smith's rushing total of 246 yards was the 2nd-most ever against Nebraska, and was just one yard shy of the record of 247 set by former Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims in 1979... J - With 3,853 career rushing yards, Smith moved into 2nd-place on the NCAA career QB rushing list, and is now just 43 yards shy of breaking the alltime standard of 3,895 set by Indiana's Antwaan Randle-El (1998-2001). He also moved into 10th place on the NCAA career total offense list, and now has 11,749 career yards to his name (7,896 passing / 3,853 rushing)... J - Smith is just 104 passing yards and 147 rushing yards away from becoming the first Division I-A player ever to amass 8,000 yards passing and 4,000 yards rushing... J - Smith enters Saturday's Border Showdown at Kansas ranking 1st in the Big 12 and 8th in the NCAA in rushing (123.57 ypg), 2nd in the Big 12 and 7th nationally in total offense (323.71 ypg), 4th in the Big 12 and 35th nationally in scoring (8.57 ppg), and 2nd in the Big 12 and 45th nationally in all-purpose yardage (124.00 ypg).

MU-KU SERIES HISTORY
As previously stated, MU and KU have the 2nd-most played rivalry in college football history, and this Saturday will mark the 114th meeting between the two heated rivals, with the series standing dead even at 52-52-9 overall. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, Kansas has a slight edge, leading 5-to-4. The teams have split the last two games played in Lawrence, but KU had won five straight over MU there, prior to Mizzou's 2001 victory. Mizzou Coach Gary Pinkel is 2-2 thus far against Kansas, as he won his first two encounters against KU in 2001 and 2002. That made him only the 3rd coach in MU history to win his first two games against Kansas. But the Jayhawks have spoiled the day each of the last two years, upsetting a ranked Mizzou team in Lawrence in 2003 (35-14) and ruining senior day in Columbia in 2004 (31-14). In the last 20 games played between the two schools, KU holds an 11-9 lead. In the last 10 games played in Lawrence, KU has won 7, including 5 straight from 1991 to 1999.

LAST YEAR REWIND: KANSAS 31, MIZZOU 14
Kansas QB Brian Luke threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns, helping KU end a 13-game Big 12 road losing streak with a 31-14 victory over Missouri.

Clark Green had 118 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown as Kansas (4-7, 2-6 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing streak and finished its season by winning for only the second time in the last nine games. The Jayhawks beat Missouri for the second straight year, tying the nation's second-oldest series at 52-52-9.

Missouri (4-6, 2-5) had entered the game with an outside shot at advancing to the Big 12 championship game and staying alive for a bowl, but got its offense got untracked too late with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown catches by Sean Coffey.

Missouri, which had proven to be a fast-starting team in 2004, this time couldn't recover from a 21-0 second-quarter deficit.

Last year, Kansas' 35-14 victory over Missouri in Lawrence, Kan., ended the Tigers' 4-0 season-opening run. This year, the Jayhawks beat Kansas State and Missouri for the first time since 1989.

Luke, a junior, got his first career start after injuries to the three quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart. He was at his best in the first half, going 14-for-17 for 128 yards.

Kansas bottled up Missouri quarterback Brad Smith for the second straight year until the fourth quarter, sacking him six times. Smith was 15-for-40 for 262 yards, most of it after the game was out of reach, and had minus-41 yards rushing on 13 carries, a year after the Jayhawks held him to 95 total yards.

Coffey's TD receptions of 34 and 11 yards gave him a school-record 10 touchdown catches on the season, but Missouri was held to minus-6 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

Trailing, 28-14 in the 4th quarter after the pair of Smith-to-Coffey scoring strikes, MU appeared to close it to 28-21 when Smith hit Damien Nash on a screen pass that Nash took for an apparent 42-yard TD with nearly seven minutes remaining.

However, the back judge ruled that MU was guilty of holding on the play, and MU's last real chance went by the wayside when Smith was sacked for a 16-yard loss on the very next play, forcing MU to punt.

Green scored on a 12-yard run in the first quarter, Brandon Rideau caught an 8-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter, and his 24-yard reception set up a 1-yard run by Austine Nwabuisi for a 21-0 lead with 3:42 left in the half. Rideau had eight catches for 100 yards.

Missouri didn't make it into Kansas territory until 1:18 remaining in the first half, but Adam Crossett missed on a 46-yard field goal after a 16-yard sack by McMillan.

James Kinney, a senior linebacker, had 15 tackles for Missouri, giving him 421 for his career, which broke the previous school mark of 415 set by DeMontie Cross from 1994-96.

TIGERS RIDING RARE 3-GAME CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK
Mizzou is in rarified air heading into Saturday's game at Kansas, as the Tigers are riding a 3-game Big 12 winning streak. While that might not seem like world-beating material, it actually is pretty significant, as Mizzou has won three Big 12 games in a row only one other time. That other occasion came in 1997 when the Tigers claimed consecutive wins over Texas, Oklahoma State and Colorado.

Mizzou has never won 4 straight Big 12 games, and a win Saturday in Lawrence would give MU 4 straight conference wins for the first time since 1983.

MIZZOU GOING FOR CLEAN SWEEP OF 2005 TROPHY GAMES
With its consecutive wins over Iowa State and Nebraska, Mizzou is 2-0 thus far in its "trophy" games in 2005. A win Saturday against Kansas would give MU a clean sweep of its three annual trophy games for the 1st time since 1978. Mizzou and Kansas play for the MU-KU Bass Drum (formerly known as the Indian War Drum), while the Tigers play against Iowa State for the Telephone Trophy and battle Nebraska for the MU-NU Bell.

PINKEL NETS 100TH CAREER WIN
Last Saturday's win over Nebraska was a significant one in many ways, and one of the compelling story lines was that the victory was the 100th of Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel's career. The win moved Pinkel's 15-year career record to 100-64-3 overall (.608). It also evened his 5-year record at Mizzou to 27-27, and if he gets a win Saturday in Lawrence, Pinkel would move above the .500 mark for the second time in his career here. He stood 21-20 last season after an Oct. 9, 2004 win at Baylor. The last coach prior to Pinkel to have a record of over .500 at MU beyond the first game of his MU career was Warren Powers. With 2 career wins over Nebraska, Pinkel is now the first MU coach to have more than 1 win against the Huskers since Al Onofrio, who won 3 times in 7 tries against Nebraska from 1971 through 1977. With consecutive home wins over Nebraska (2003 & 2005), Pinkel is also the first MU coach since Dan Devine to win 2 straight games over Nebraska in Columbia. Devine last accomplished that feat in 1967 and 1969.

LAST WEEK GAME RECAP: MIZZOU 41, NEBRASKA 24
Brad Smith set a school record with 480 yards in total offense, ran for three scores and threw for another, turning up the production after Missouri lost an 18-point first-quarter lead in a 41-24 victory over Nebraska on Saturday.

Smith had 246 yards rushing on 28 carries and was 21-for-36 for 234 yards for Missouri (5-2, 3-1 Big 12), which has won three straight. David Overstreet had a key third-quarter interception to help the Tigers beat Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) for the second time in three years after winning only once in the previous 26 meetings.

Missouri has won two straight at home over Nebraska for the first time since 1967 and '69 when the team was coached by Dan Devine. The final score, which gave coach Gary Pinkel his 100th career victory, was identical to that of Missouri's victory at home over Nebraska in 2003. Zac Taylor had two touchdown passes for Nebraska, which entered the game leading the nation in rushing defense at 65 yards per game. Missouri gouged the Cornhuskers for 277 yards on 49 carries and totaled 523 yards.

Missouri scored on its first four possessions, three touchdowns and a field goal, to take a 24-10 lead. A blocked punt and a fumble in the 2nd quarter that led to quick scores helped Nebraska tie it at 24 at the half, before Missouri took control again after the break.

Smith's 45-yard run late in the third quarter, his third carry of 40 or more yards, put Missouri ahead to stay at 31-24. In the first quarter he was untouched on a career-long 79-yarder and had a 53-yarder to the Nebraska 16 that set up his 4-yard scoring run.

Smith moved to second in career quarterback rushing, trailing only Antwaan Randle-El of Indiana from 1998-01, passing Dee Dowis of Air Force and Joshua Cribbs of Kent State. He's also second on Missouri's scoring list with 236 points.

Everything worked in the first quarter for Missouri's offense, which needed only 13 plays to score three touchdowns on its first three possession while running up a 21-3 lead. Smith's 79-yarder came on the first play after a Nebraska punt, and the Tigers also were successful on fourth-and-1 from their own 43 late in the period when Smith hit Sean Coffey for a 37-yard gain that led to a field goal by Adam Crossett for a 24-10 lead early in the second.

Smith also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Saunders for the first score of the game. Saunders alertly grabbed the ball in the end zone after it popped out of teammate William Franklin's hands, a play reminiscent of Matt Davison's miracle grab that beat Missouri in 1997 after the ball was kicked in the air by teammate Shevin Wiggins.

A blocked punt by Daniel Bullocks and a fumble recovery by Jay Moore after Barry Turner's sack of Smith led to two quick scores that helped Nebraska tie it at 24 at halftime. Bullocks recovered the blocked punt at the 1 and Cody Glenn scored on the next play, and Nebraska needed two plays to tie it on Zac Taylor's 8-yard pass to Nate Swift after Moore returned the fumble to the 8.

Taylor had two touchdown passes in the half, also hitting Todd Peterson for a 34-yard score.

DEFENSE HELD NEBRASKA TO MINUS 2 RUSHING YARDS
Mizzou's defense didn't get the attention its offensive counterparts did early in the season, but the squad appears to be jelling heading into the stretch run of the season. The contributions have been crucial in helping Mizzou win its last three games.

The recent improvement was evidenced by MU's showing last Saturday in its 41-24 win over Nebraska. The Tigers held Nebraska to minus 2 yards rushing on the day, as the Huskers managed only 279 yards of total offense - an opponent low against MU in 2005. NU had only 3 rushes on the day that went for over 3 yards (16, 12, 8) and had 8 others that went for 1 yard or less.

The rushing yardage marked the 2nd-lowest in Nebraska's single-game history, and was the lowest total for the Huskers on the ground since 1951.

Mizzou's defense only gave up two scoring drives on the day, per se, as 2 of NU's TDs on the day came after taking possession on Mizzou's 1 yardline (after a blocked punt) and Mizzou's 8 yardline (after a fumble return). Aside from those two scores, the defense held Nebraska to 10 points on the Huskers' other 13 possessions. Nebraska managed only 3 drives of only 30 yards or more, and had 11 possessions overall go less than 10 yards - including 5 that went for zero or negative yards.

Two games ago, the defense came out of the gates strong against Iowa State, with 2 defensive scores - marking the first time since 1994 that MU had 2 defensive TDs in a game. Even though ISU came back to take the lead, the defense buckled down in crunch time to force the Cyclones to punt with just over 2 minutes left in regulation after the Tigers had cut the lead to 7. That key stop set up MU's offense, which came through with the game-tying score.

The defense was even more stout in overtime, as it held the Cyclones to net minus one yard on its 3 overtime plays, which forced ISU to attempt a 43-yard field goal, which it missed, setting up MU's game-winning chip shot field goal.

What has stood out the last 3 games is that the defense has forced 9 turnovers (3 each versus Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Nebraska) which the Tigers have converted into 31 points. In MU's first 4 games, the defense gathered only 5 total turnovers, and could muster only 14 points off of those.

THESTREET.COM LEADING THE WAY DEFENSIVELY
Junior safety David Overstreet is coming off a stellar performance against Nebraska, in a game in which he made numerous big plays that helped make the difference in MU's 41-24 win.

Overstreet - a converted QB who switched to defense as a redshirt freshman - led MU's improving defense with a 10 -tackle performance Saturday. He was involved in a number of game-changing plays, as he broke up a near TD-pass in the endzone to snuff out a Nebraska drive in the 1st quarter, and on consecutive possessions in the 3rd quarter, he recovered a fumble on the MU 3-yardline and intercepted a pass near midfield to help MU preserve a 24-24 tie at the time...

Overstreet also later had a highlight-reel hit of a Nebraska receiver in the 4th-quarter to break up a 2nd pass as the Tigers pulled away to their big win...

Overstreet is MU's leading tackler (67 tackles through 7 games) and interceptor (2 INTs) and is tied for the team lead with 2 fumble recoveries. His 4 total takeaways is a team-leading number. He ranks 3rd on the team with 6 passes broken up...

Overstreet, a native of Dallas, Texas, is the son of the late David Overstreet, who was a standout running back for the Oklahoma Sooners and in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.

LET THE Brad Smith SECTION BEGIN
As touted previously, QB Brad Smith led Mizzou to its big win over Nebraska with a record-setting day as his 480 yards of offense broke the MU school record of 471. The feat came just one week after he was held to a career-low 84 yards of total offense against Iowa State. Prior to the ISU game, Smith led MU to a big road win at Oklahoma State, as he accounted for 377 yards of offense on the day, with 193 passing yards (1 TD / zero INTs) and 184 yards rushing. He completed 21-of-27 passes on the day and had a QB rating of 150.05 (his 2nd-best of the season). Smith broke the Big 12 career record for rushing yards by a QB during the game, breaking the old Big 12 record of 3,434 by Nebraska's Eric Crouch (1998-2001) on an 11-yard keeper in the 2nd quarter against Oklahoma State. After last Saturday's 246-yard day on the ground vs. Nebraska, he needs just 43 yards to break the NCAA record of 3,895 by Indiana's Antwaan Randle-El (1998-2001). Smith's rushing total of 1,406 yards during the 2003 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).

J - Smith enters the KU game ranked 10th in NCAA D-I history in total offense (11,749), and if he reaches his three-year average of 3,161 in 2005, he'd end up with 12,644 yards, which would put him 5th alltime.

Brad Smith RANKS 7TH NATIONALLY IN TOTAL OFFENSE; LEADS BIG 12 IN RUSHING
QB Brad Smith enters the KU game ranking 7th in the country in total offense, at a clip of 323.71 yards per game. He currently leads the Big 12 Conference in rushing (and ranks 8th nationally), with his per-game average of 123.57 yards.

Smith has 865 yards and 9 TDs rushing in 7 games this season, compared to 2004 11-game totals of 553 yards and 4 TDs (a per-game average of 50.3 rushing yards). His pass efficiency rating is currently at 121.13, which is better than his previous season best of 117.3, set as a redshirt freshman in 2002. Smith's 18-yard TD pass to TB Marcus Woods in the 2nd quarter at OSU marked the 50th of his career (an MU record that he has increased to 51).

On Oct. 22nd against Iowa State, Smith experienced something he's unaccustomed to - a bad day statistically. Smith was held to a career-low 84 yards of total offense against Iowa State. He completed 8-of-12 passes for 45 yards (1 INT) and was held to 39 yards rushing on 11 carries. That marked the lowest single-game offensive output of Smith's career - 95 yards at Kansas in 2003 had been the previous mark.

Those wondering how Smith would take to MU's new offense had their questions answered in a big way early on, as Smith put up total offense numbers of 412 yards against Arkansas State and 413 yards against New Mexico. He had a workmanlike day against Troy, with 262 yards (183 passing / 79 rushing), 2 TDs (1 passing / 1 rushing) and 1 2-pt. conversion run. He was held to 238 yards versus #2 Texas (181 passing / 57 rushing), but did manage 2 rushing TDs.

Smith had a statistical output of 412 yards of total offense in the season opener against ASU, as he passed for 317 and a career-high (and school-record tying) 4 TDs on the day (6, 1, 7 and 14 yards). Additionally, Smith was MU's leading rusher, as he ran for 95 yards on just 12 carries (7.9 avg.). He did all of this despite playing only 1 series in the final quarter-and-a-half of the game. Smith was named the SBC Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. It marked the 5th time that he has won the award, with the other instances coming after performances in 2002 vs. Illinois, in 2003 vs. Nebraska and Texas Tech, and in 2004 vs. Iowa State.

Against New Mexico, Smith had 413 yards of offense, as he threw for 248 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 165 yards and 3 TDs in MU's defeat. Smith's 413 yards of total offense was just 6 shy of his personal best, when he amassed 419 in 2003 against Texas Tech (291 rushing, 128 passing).

SMITH ONLY 3RD QB IN NCAA D-I HISTORY TO ACHIEVE 6,000/3,000 FEAT
With 95 rushing yards Sept. 3rd against Arkansas State, Brad Smith passed the 3,000-yard plateau for his career. That put MU's signal caller in rarified air from a national perspective, as he became only the 3rd player in NCAA Div. I-A history to achieve at least 6,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing. In fact, only 4 others altogether have ever achieved the 3,000/3,000 feat. In fact, with career totals of 7,896 yards passing and 3,853 yards rushing entering Saturday's game at Kansas, Smith stands just 104 yards in the air and 147 yards on the ground from becoming the first player in D-IA history to achieve the 8,000/4,000 benchmark. As we all know, as a redshirt freshman in 2002, Smith became only the 2nd player in NCAA D-IA history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season, when he threw for 2,333 and rushed for another 1,029. He just missed that feat a 2nd time in 2003, when he threw for 1,977 yards and rushed for 1,406.

Brad Smith BREAKS MU CAREER RECORDS FOR PASSING & RUSHING
MU's game vs. New Mexico was bittersweet for the Tigers, because despite the loss, they witnessed history not once, but twice, in the third quarter, as QB Brad Smith broke two major school career records.

First up on the hit list was the MU career passing yardage record of 6,959 by Jeff Handy (1991-94). Smith entered the game against New Mexico with 6,812 yards, just 148 yards from the record. He got that total by early in the 3rd quarter, and the record fell on a 7-yard pass to TB Marcus Woods on MU's 3rd possession of the quarter.

Smith ended the game with 248 yards passing, and he enters Saturday's game with Kansas with 7,896 career passing yards.

Next up was the MU career rushing record of 3,198 set by Zack Abron (2000-03). Smith entered the game in 2nd place, with 3,083 yards, and needed 116 to break the record. He had 41 yards on the ground at halftime, but really came on in the third quarter as the Tiger offense racked up 203 yards of offense. Smith broke off two highlight-reel runs of 31 and 15 yards that went for TDs as MU rallied from a 21-14 deficit to take a 28-21 lead.

The rushing record came on a 32-yard run by Smith on the next-to-last play of the 3rd quarter. That pushed his game total to 140 yards, and he ended the evening with 165 to give him a total of 3,248. He now has 3,853 career rushing yards entering the KU game.

MORE Brad Smith QUICK SLANTS
We'll try to wrap up the homage to Brad Smith with the following blurbs...

J - Is the NCAA's active career leader in total offense, with 11,749 yards entering the KU game. Next most behind him is senior QB Brett Basanez of Northwestern, with 9,980 yards...

J - Ranks 2nd in the NCAA active career leaders in TDs responsible for, with 90, and trails only 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart of USC (94)...

J - Can tie an NCAA total offense record if he gains 3,000 total yards this season, then he will join five others (Ty Detmer of BYU; Chad Pennington of Marshall; Tim Rattay of Louisiana Tech; Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech and Timmy Chang of Hawaii) as the only players in Division I-A history to have 3 years of 3,000 yards or more in total offense...

J - With just 2,500 yds. of offense in 2005, will become only the 3rd player in D-I history to have 4 years of 2,500 yds. (Antwaan Randle El of Indiana and Timmy Chang of Hawaii)...

J - With 3 rushing TDs and a rushing 2-point conversion against New Mexico, Smith upped his career scoring total to 204 points, making him only the 4th player in NCAA D-I history to throw for 200 points and score 200 points in a career (Rick Leach of Michigan; Antwaan Randle El of Indiana and Joshua Cribbs of Kent State)...

J - Stands 515 yards of total offense away from breaking the Big 12 record of 12,263 by Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury (1999-2002) ...

J - He is the NCAA's active career leader in 2-point conversions made, with 6 scored in his career (in 8 attempts)...

Brian Smith ONE QB SACK SHY OF MU CAREER RECORD
Junior DE Brian Smith had a big game at Oklahoma State, as he was a disruptive force all day long for the Cowboy offense. Smith had a career-high 11 tackles on the day, including 2 QB sacks, 4 tackles for loss overall, one forced fumble, one QB hurry and one pass broken up. His QB hurry led to a forced throw which resulted in David Overstreet's interception in the final minute to ice the game for the Tigers. He was named the Big 12 defensive player of the week for his efforts - MU's first league defensive award since 2002.

Smith's forced fumble was a huge play in the game, as he sacked OSU QB Bobby Reid with :34 seconds left in the 1st half, with teammate Lorenzo Williams pouncing on the ball at the Cowboy 30 yardline. On the next play, MU threw a 30-yard TD pass to put the Tigers up, 21-9 at halftime.

After recording another QB sack last week against Nebraska, Smitty continued his move up the Mizzou career QB sack list. He now has 21.5 for his career, and stands in 2nd-place on the MU career sacks list, only 1 shy of the record of 22.5 set by former Tiger All-American DE Justin Smith (1998-2000). Smith got his 2005 season off to a good start, as he recorded 1.5 sacks versus Arkansas State. Those sacks bumped his career total to 16.5 and moved him past former Tiger C.J. Mosley into 6th-place on the MU charts.

The Denton, Texas, native led all NCAA freshmen defenders as a redshirt freshman in 2003 with 8 QB sacks. He followed last season with 7 more as a sophomore, and carries a total of 6.5 sacks into Saturday's game with Kansas.

COFFEY'S WARMING UP; GRABS MILESTONE CATCH VERSUS NEBRASKA
Senior WR Sean Coffey returned to the Tiger lineup 4 games ago against Texas, and caught a game-high 6 passes for 43 yards. His return was a welcomed sight, as MU's leading receiver from a year ago (39 catches for 648 yards and a school-record 10 receiving TDs) had missed games #2 and #3 due to a shoulder he injured in the 2005 season opener against ASU.

He followed with a big game at Oklahoma State, as he caught a career-high 7 passes for 97 yards and his 1st TD of the 2005 season on a great grab of a 30-yard pass from fellow WR Brad Ekwerekwu just before halftime.

Coffey had an interesting day in MU's recent OT win against Iowa State, as he mirrored the fate of the MU offense. With the Tiger offense stuck in neutral until the 4th quarter comeback, Coffey had been shut out in catches on the day. But when it came to clutch time, Coffey stepped up like the senior leader he is, and he caught 4 passes in the final 9 minutes of regulation for 51 yards and the game-tying TD (from 4 yards out) with just 20 seconds left.

His TD catch was a beautiful grab in the back of the endzone, as he reached high to grab the ball, all the while he drug his feet to make the play stand. In all, he caught 3 passes for 41 yards on MU's game-tying 11-play, 87-yard drive, making big grabs of 20 yards, 17 yards and 4 yards (TD). He also made a great move to draw a pass interference penalty against an ISU defensive back that moved the ball from midfield to the Cyclone 35 yardline.

Last week saw Coffey catch 4 passes for 59 yards. His first grab was the 100th of his career, and that made him only the 8th Tiger in history to catch 100 passes for his career. He enters Saturday's game at KU ranking 6th on both the MU career receptions (103) and receiving yardage (1,480) lists, after setting an MU single-season TD reception record in 2004, with 10 scoring grabs.

THE THRILL IS BACK AS FRANKLIN HAS BIG DAY VS. HUSKERS
Sophomore WR Will "The Thrill" Franklin displayed his game-breaking skills early and often in MU's opener against Arkansas State, as the St. Louis, Mo., native caught 8 passes for a career-high 116 yards and 1 TD (the 2nd of his career). He followed with 6-catch games against both New Mexico (45 yds.) and Troy (14 yds.).

Since then, however, Franklin had not been able to put up those types of numbers, despite MU's offensive prowess. He was shut out in games against Texas and Oklahoma State, and had 2 catches for 22 yards against Iowa State.

He rebounded in fine fashion last Saturday against Nebraska by being a crucial part of MU's passing attack as he recorded a career-high 9 catches for 94 yards. His catches were almost all critical in nature, as 7 of them went for Tiger 1st downs, including 3 which came on 3rd down plays and 1 more that was on a key 4th-down conversion in the 4th quarter that helped set up a game-clinching score. Franklin enters Saturday's game against KU with an MU-best 31 catches and has 291 yards on the year with his 1 TD. He actually caught an apparent TD pass to open Saturday's game with Nebraska (for 15 yards), but it was ruled that the ball was jarred loose by a NU defender before he had possession. The ball popped loose and teammate Tommy Saunders swooped in to make a diving TD grab to save the day.

Franklin's yardage versus Arkansas State was the most in a game for an MU receiver since former great Justin Gage had 123 in 2002 against Texas A&M. It was also only the second 100-yard receiving game by a Tiger since Gage's '02 game against A&M. Sean Coffey had the other, with a 113-yard outing in 2004 against Arkansas State.

Franklin had 3 plays of 20 yards or more against ASU, including gains of 42, 30 and 22 yards on the day. He got his TD with 8:27 left in the 2nd quarter, on a 6-yard shovel pass, making the score 19-0 in favor of Mizzou. Franklin also caught a 2-point pass from Smith later in the 2nd quarter - the first conversion of his career.

SIMPSON LEADS TIGER DEFENSE
Senior S Jason Simpson is MU's unofficial leader on defense, as the fiery, hard-hitting defender seems to be the heart and soul on that side of the ball for the Tigers.

He's coming off a big game against Nebraska that saw him register 5 tackles, 1 pass break-up and 1 QB hurry. However, his biggest play might have been the play of the day for MU, when he stripped the ball from Nebraska's Terrence Nunn midway through the 3rd quarter as Nunn was streaking for the endzone. Simpson's forced fumble was recovered by teammate David Overstreet at the MU 3-yardline with the game tied, 24-24. Mizzou proceeded to march 97 yards to take a 31-24 lead in which it never surrendered.

That momentum play (on a strip play he refers to as the "can opener") was no big surprise really, as Simpson has been making big plays for years. He currently ranks 2nd on the team with 55 tackles, and leads MU with 9 passes broken up - including a huge PBU in overtime against Iowa State that forced the Cyclones to try a long field goal that they missed to set up MU's win. He's now forced 2 fumbles on the year and recovered one as well.

The outspoken and always hard-hitting safety was signaled out by his teammates for his leadership, as he was voted by the team to serve as a captain for the 2005 season.

Here's a couple of more quick hits about Jason Simpson, who was named a pre-season honorable mention All-American this summer by Street & Smith's...

J - With 36 career starts entering the Kansas game, he is by far the most experienced player on the Tiger defense (next most active career starts is 25 by Dedrick Harrington)...

J - With 298 career tackles entering the KU game, Simpson needs 25 more to rank among MU's alltime top-10 in that category.

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 has played the most overtime games in NCAA history, with 11 through games of Oct. 15th, 2005. With MU's 27-24 OT win Oct. 22nd versus Iowa State, the Tigers improved to 8-3 alltime in overtime games, a win total which also is most in the NCAA.

Mizzou went 1-1 in 2002 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 7-1 alltime in his career in overtime games, including 5-1 at Mizzou.

IN MEMORY OF A.O.
Hearts will be heavy all season on the Tiger sideline, for while MU's team looks to focus on the football side of life, weighing on everyone's mind is the loss suffered over the summer of redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron O'Neal.

On July 12th, O'Neal participated with his teammates in a voluntary workout in Columbia. He collapsed after the workout and efforts to save him were unsuccessful. His tragic death was later determined to be due to complications arising from Lymphocytic Meningitis (viral).

While the loss was devastating for everyone, the team resolutely decided to dedicate its season to A.O.'s memory. A helmet decal is being worn to honor the St. Louis, Mo. native.

Additionally, several other means of honoring Aaron are planned throughout the 2005 season, and beyond. Here's a listing of the planned tributes...