Nov. 7, 2005
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TIGER NEWS & NOTES
Baylor Bears (4-5, 1-5) at Missouri Tigers (5-4, 3-3)
Nov. 12, 2005 - Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium - Columbia, Mo.
KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. (central time).
STADIUM: Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium (68,349 - FieldTurf surface). Opened in 1926. MU is 230-162-20 there alltime, including 3-2 in 2005.
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 #146.
TV: None.
RANKINGS (AP/COACHES): None.
SERIES: MU leads, 8-2, and has won 5 straight, including all 5 meetings since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
COACHES:
Mizzou: Gary Pinkel (Kent, '75), 27-29 at MU (5th year) and 100-66-3 overall (15th year). Pinkel is 2-0 versus BU and 1-0 versus Guy Morriss.
Baylor: Guy Morriss (TCU, '73), 10-22 at BU (3rd year) and 19-36 overall (5th season). Morriss is 0-1 versus MU and Gary Pinkel.
The Missouri Tigers (5-4 overall, 3-3 in Big 12 play) host the Baylor Bears (4-5, 1-5) in Mizzou's 2005 home finale this Saturday in Columbia. Kickoff for the game is set for 1:00 p.m., with no television scheduled for the contest.
Mizzou will be looking to break a 2-game losing skid, after the Tigers have dropped consecutive road games at Kansas and at Colorado. Seventeen MU seniors will make their final Faurot Field appearance Saturday.
Baylor comes into Saturday's game having lost its last 4 games, since earning a 23-13 win at Iowa State on Oct. 8th. After dropping hard-fought games at home against Nebraska (23-14) and at Oklahoma (37-30 in OT), the Bears have dropped consecutive home games against the top-2 teams in the league, 28-0 against Texas Tech and 62-0 against Texas. The Bears have non-conference wins in 2005 at SMU, at Army and against Samford.
PLENTY ON THE LINE IN SATURDAY'S GAME
Even though Missouri and Baylor have lost a combined six straight games between them coming into Saturday's game at Faurot Field, don't let that fool you into thinking neither team will be keyed up for the contest.
Plenty of carrots remain out there for both teams. At 5-4, Mizzou would gain bowl eligibility (for the 2nd time in 3 years under Gary Pinkel and only the 4th time since 1983) with a win. A win would also send MU's very-important senior class out winners in their final home game at Mizzou (see below for details).
A win Saturday for MU would make the Tigers 4-2 at home in 2005, and would guarantee MU of at least a .500 record in Big 12 play. Mizzou has won 4 games in Big 12 play only 3 times in the previous 9 years of the Big 12's existence (5 in 1997; 5 in 1998; 4 in 2003).
Baylor, which comes into the contest having lost its last 4 games, still has a lot to play for as well. At 4-5 overall, the Bears can still become bowl eligible (for the first time since 1995) if they were to win in Columbia, and then win their 2005 regular-season finale in Waco, Texas, against Oklahoma State on Nov. 19th.
17 SENIORS TO PLAY FINAL GAME AT FAUROT FIELD SATURDAY ON SENIOR DAY
Seventeen Tiger seniors will play their final game at MU's Faurot Field Saturday when they suit up for the home finale vs. Baylor.
This class has been a part of some great moments in Tiger football history. They have helped MU to 23 wins over the course of the 2002 season through now. This class (Head Coach Gary Pinkel's first after taking over at Mizzou prior to the 2001 season) is the first since the 1978 senior class to beat Nebraska twice. Many of them played key roles in helping Mizzou to an 8-5 record in 2003 and an appearance in the MainStay Independence Bowl that year.
A 6th win (and subsequent bowl game appearance) in 2005 would make this class the only ones at MU since the 1998 class and the 1983 class to reach two bowl games.
MIZZOU-BAYLOR SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou and Baylor will be meeting for the 11th time when they square off on Faurot Field this Saturday. Mizzou has won 8 of the 10 previous meetings, including 5 straight since Baylor's last win in the series.
Mizzou is looking to keep its perfect record in tact against the Bears, as the Tigers are 5-0 against BU since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
Historically, the games haven't been that closely contested, no matter who has won. Mizzou's margin of victory in its 8 wins in the series is 17.1, while Baylor has beaten the Tigers by an average of 26.5 points in their 2 wins in the series.
LAST YEAR REWIND: MIZZOU 30, BAYLOR 10
Brad Smith's three touchdown passes, Joe Tantarelli's three field goals, and a strong defense lifted Missouri to a 30-10 victory over Baylor and a lead in the Big 12 North.
Smith burned Baylor with two touchdown passes to redshirt freshman tight end Martin Rucker. He also tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Sean Coffey early in the fourth quarter as the Tigers turned a close game into a comfortable win.
The Tigers, favored by 20 points, struggled in the first half of the nationally televised game. The Bears beat back threat after threat to trail 13-3 at halftime. Safety Jason Simpson's 46-yard interception return gave Missouri momentum before halftime. He sped all the way to the Baylor 9-yard line after picking off Dane King.
Three plays later, Smith found Rucker with a 7-yard scoring pass. Rucker also caught a 17-yard touchdown toss in the third period.
Baylor allowed field goals of 22 and 20 yards by Tantarelli in the first half. The second came after Smith completed a 24-yard pass on 4th-and-21 to Thomson Omboga. Tantarelli's third field goal was a 31-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Missouri, 8-2 against Baylor, showed why it had one of the top defenses in the Big 12.
It took a roughing-the-kicker penalty to set Baylor up for its only points in the first half, a 30-yard field goal by Kenny Webb, who was knocked down on a previous attempt.
Shawn Bell threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Trent Shelton for Baylor with 6:42 to play.
Mizzou's defense was the shining light of the night for the Tigers, as it held Baylor to a season-low total offense output of only 173 yards.
Baylor rushed for only 85 yards on 29 carries (a 2.9 per carry average), and managed just 88 yards in the air, on 15-of-31 passing. The Tiger secondary picked off 2 more passes, bringing its season total to 10 through 5 games, a year after MU recorded 9 interceptions total in 13 games in 2003.
Linebacker James Kinney also recovered a pair of fumbles, one of which was caused by rush end Brian Smith, who led all defenders with 3 sacks on the night.
LAST TIME OUT: #25 COLORADO 41, MIZZOU 12
The task was tall, and the stakes were high, as Mizzou traveled to Boulder, Colo., last Saturday with first-place in the Big 12 North division on the line as the Tigers played at 25th-ranked Colorado. A win in Boulder would have put Mizzou in a tie for first with the Buffaloes, and given MU the head-to-head tiebreaker, but it wasn't to be, as Colorado took advantage of key mistakes by MU and tough calls against the Tigers to pull away for a 41-12 win to take control of the North division heading into the home stretch.
Mizzou was held to 276 yards of offense on the day, including just 59 yards rushing, and Colorado turned 2 Tiger turnovers into 14 points to break open a tight game in the early stretches. The Buffs struck first with a 94-yard drive to claim a 7-0 lead midway through the 1st quarter, but Mizzou answered right back with a brilliant 80-yard drive of its own that ended in a Will Franklin 18-yard TD catch from QB Brad Smith. The extra point was no good, however, and MU still trailed, 7-6. In the 2nd quarter, CU took advantage of two big plays and parlayed those opportunities into a 17-0 surge that made it 24-6 at halftime.
The first big play was a pass interference called on MU's Jason Simpson after the Tiger defense apparently had stopped CU on 3rd-and-15 near midfield. But instead of punting, the penalty gave CU new life, and the Buffs took advantage by punching the ball in for a TD.
On Mizzou's ensuing possession, MU recovered an onside kick and was set up deep in CU territory. Sophomore TB Tony Temple went around right end and had a first down near the CU 35 yardline, and the Tigers appeared poised to answer, but the ball popped out of Temple's grasp, and CU's J.J. Billingsley scooped up the ball near the sideline and raced nearly 40 yards the other direction. Three plays later, CU reached the endzone again, and the Buffs had surged to a 21-6 lead just like that.
Trailing 24-6 at half, Mizzou had one more surge of its own. On its first defensive series in the 3rd quarter, redshirt freshman DE Stryker Sulak sacked CU's Joel Klatt, forcing a fumble. Teammate Jamar Smith picked up the ball on the CU 12-yardline and raced untouched to the endzone to pull MU to within 24-12 (the ensuing 2-pt. try failed).
With momentum on its side, Mizzou's defense again came up big, as it had CU stopped with a 4th-and-12 on its own 33-yardline. But instead of getting the ball back with a chance to further cut into the lead, MU's Willie Moore was called for roughing the punter on CU's punt. The tough call went against MU again, and again, CU took advantage, as the penalty gave the Buffs a fresh set of downs. They proceeded to drive for a TD that made it 31-12 and in effect, gave Colorado the win.
MORE MIZZOU-CU NOTES
TIGER RUSHING ATTACK LOOKING TO REGAIN ITS HIGH-OCTANE FORM
Just two weeks ago, Mizzou gouged the nation's top-ranked rushing defense for 277 yards and 4 TDs on the ground, in MU's 41-24 dismantling of Nebraska on Oct. 22nd. The Huskers brought into the game the nation's #1-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 65.0 yards per game coming in.
Since that game, however, stellar defenses of Kansas and Colorado have contained the Tiger ground attack. The Jayhawks held MU to a season-low 33 yards on the ground as KU upset the Tigers, 13-3, breaking MU's 3-game winning streak. KU entered the game with the nation's 2nd-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 74.7 yards per contest.
Last Saturday marked the 3rd-straight week that MU had faced a top-5 ranked rushing defense, as Colorado carried the nation's #4-ranked rushing defense into the game, allowing just 84.3 yards per game. Mizzou entered the game ranking 17th nationally in rushing, averaging 215.63 yards per contest.
The Buffs contained Mizzou on the ground just as good as the Jayhawks, as MU managed just 59 yards on the day, on 30 attempts (a 2.0 average per attempt). The Buffs kept MU out of the endzone on the ground for the second straight week.
The big play has eluded Mizzou each of the past two weeks in the ground game, as the longest run for MU in games against Kansas and Colorado has been an 11-yarder by Brad Smith against Kansas. Mizzou's longest rush last week at Colorado was a 9-yarder by redshirt freshman TB Jimmy Jackson, who led the Tigers overall with 17 yards on 4 carries.
In its first 7 games of the year, MU had 16 rushes of 20 yards or more.
Brad Smith BREAKS NCAA QB RUSHING RECORD AT COLORADO
As touted previously, QB Brad Smith needed just 5 rushing yards entering last Saturday's game at Colorado to break the NCAA career rushing record for quarterbacks. The Buff defense held Smith in check certainly, but Smith still managed to break the record, as he totaled 16 yards on the day on the ground, to secure his place in the NCAA record books.
Smith entered the CU game with 3,891 rushing yards, and just 4 shy of the record of 3,895 set by Indiana's Antwaan Randle-El (1998-2001).
With a 4-yard scramble at the 5:20 mark of the 1st quarter, Smith broke the record, pushing his career total at the time to 3,895 yards. He lost 14 yards on a QB sack early in the 2nd quarter, which put him under the rushing record, but he later regained the mark with a 3-yard gain with 1:50 left in the quarter to push his career total back to 3,897. He enters Saturday's game against Baylor with the NCAA Division I-A record of 3,907 yards.
Smith broke the Big 12 career record for rushing yards by a QB during a 184-yard rushing game at Oklahoma State, 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.
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).
SMITH ONLY QB IN NCAA D-I HISTORY TO ACHIEVE 8,000/3,000 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 8,197 yards passing and 3,907 yards rushing entering Saturday's game against Baylor, Smith stands just 93 rushing yards from becoming the first player in D-IA history to achieve the 8,000/4,000 benchmark. He's already the first to achieve the 8,000/3,000 standard.
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 HAS RECORD-SETTING DAY AGAINST NEBRASKA
In his penultimate performance on MU's Faurot Field, QB Brad Smith turned in one of the more memorable single-game performances in MU history as he led the Tigers to a scintillating 41-24 win over Nebraska on Oct. 22nd.
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, and by several other national media outlets. Smith was also named as the SBC Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the 2nd time this season and the 6th time in his career.
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...
Brad Smith NAMED NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE; EARNS POST-GRAD. SCHOLARSHIP
In the same week that University of Missouri graduate quarterback Brad Smith earned national player of the week honors for his performance against Nebraska, he also earned one of the most prestigious academic distinctions, as well. Smith was named on Oct. 25th to the 2005 National Scholar-Athlete Class as announced today by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. He is one of eight Division I-A players (16 in all divisions) to earn the distinction, which earns him an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.
Smith is also now one of 16 finalists for the Draddy Trophy, which is considered to be the "Academic Heisman." Smith was selected from a pool of 184 nominees nationwide.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Selected by the NFF Awards Committee, the 16 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will each be honored at the 48th NFF Awards Dinner on December 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Each will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and one of the 16 will be announced as the winner of the 2005 Draddy Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.
Established to honor former NFF Chairman Vincent DePaul Draddy, a Manhattan College quarterback who developed the Izod and Lacoste brands, the award comes with a stunning 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the recipient's scholarship to a total of $25,000.
Smith is the 10th Tiger football player to win the NFF's scholar-athlete award. He joins former Tigers Rob Droege (2003), Corby Jones (1998), Mike Bedosky (1993), Kent Kiefer (1990), Van Darkow (1981), Chris Garlich (1978), Bill Powell (1966), David Gill (1963) and Fred Brossart (1960) with that distinction.
Widely regarded as one of the most exciting players in college football, Missouri's Brad Smith continues to amaze on the football field, with his arm and his legs, while maintaining a steady presence in the classroom and the local community.
A Business Administration major, Smith is two-time member of the Big-12 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll. He graduated last May and is currently working towards a graduate degree in Economics at Mizzou.
A three-time All-Conference Honorable Mention, Smith is poised to become the first player in Division I-A history to record 8,000 career passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards. He became only the second player in NCAA history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in 2002. A three-year team captain, Smith holds Missouri career records with 8,197 passing yards, 3,907 rushing yards and 12,104 yards of total offense. Against Nebraska in 2005, Smith became the first player to rush and pass for more than 230 yards in the same game.
Smith volunteers with the Mike Jones Football Clinic, Chancellor's Lunch, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Food Drive, Truman Club and Athletes-in-Action, among many other activities.
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 Baylor with 8,197 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 3,907 career rushing yards entering the BU game.
Smith holds an impressive 47 various MU, Big 12 and NCAA game, season and career records.
MORE Brad Smith QUICK SLANTS
We'll try to wrap up the homage to Brad Smith with the following blurbs...
SIMPSON, EH? SAFETY NEEDS 6 TACKLES TO CRACK MU CAREER TOP-10 LIST
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 game that saw him record a team-best 11 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss (4 yards) at Colorado. Those stops raised his career total to 317 tackles, and he now enters the Baylor game Saturday needing to equal his jersy number (6) to crack Mizzou's career top-10 list in tackles. Tied for 9th place on the MU list are former standouts Erik McMillan (1984-87) and Jay Wilson (1980-83), with 323 stops apiece.
Simpson had 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 74 tackles, and is 2nd on the team 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.
Simpson, was named a pre-season honorable mention All-American this summer by Street & Smith's. With 38 career starts entering the Baylor game, he is by far the most experienced player on the Tiger defense (next most active career starts is 27 by Dedrick Harrington)...
RUCKER & COFFMAN ARE BIG 12'S TOP TIGHT END DUO
Mizzou has the Big 12 Conference's top tight end combo, in sophomore Martin Rucker and true freshman Chase Coffman.
Alot of times, we're guilty of writers' embellishments, but the above statement is grounded in absolute fact, as the dynamic duo of Rucker & Coffman are tops in the conference in receptions among tight ends, with 32 and 31, respectively, entering the Baylor contest. The 63 combined catches outdistances the next-most prolific league tandem, as Colorado's Joel Klopfenstein and Quinn Sypniewski have combined for 43 catches.
Rucker leads all Big 12 tight ends with 32 catches for 358 yards, good for a per-game average of 3.56 receptions. He's coming off a game at Colorado that saw him notch career highs in both receptions (9) and yardage (88). That production was good to see for MU's offense, as Rucker had been held to a combined 8 receptions and 100 yards in his previous 4 games (@ OSU, ISU, NU @ KU).
Coffman also tied his career high by catching 6 balls last week at Colorado, gaining 31 yards in the process - after being held to 1 catch (10 yds.) at Kansas and being shut out the week prior against Nebraska. He was right on his average on Oct. 15th against Iowa State as he had 4 catches for a team-best 54 yards - including a huge 25-yarder on 4th-and-7 from the MU 41-yardline in the 4th quarter that kept alive the 1st of MU's 2 drives that ended up tying the game. The catch marked a career-long for the budding superstar. The week prior, Coffman had a 5-catch outing at OSU that saw him gain a career-high 60 yards on the day.
Coffman is also the top freshman pass catcher in the Big 12 Conference, among all positions. He is currently tied for best in the league with WR Nate Swift of Nebraska, who has caught 31 passes for 424 yards thus far. The next-best freshman TE in the league is Martellus Bennett of Texas A&M, who has 12 catches for 114 yards through games of Nov. 5th.
This marks the second season in a row that a freshman tight end is making eye-opening contributions for Mizzou. Last year, it was redshirt freshman Martin Rucker who made a splash as he earned freshman All-American status by catching 19 passes for 263 yards and 4 TDs.
Both tight ends for MU have NFL bloodlines. Coffman's father, Paul, was a standout tight end for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs (1986-87), and the Green Bay Packers (1978-85), after playing collegiately at Kansas State.
Rucker is the younger brother of Mike Rucker, who is a standout defensive end with the NFL's Carolina Panthers, and was an All-American collegiately at Nebraska.
COFFEY'S WARMING UP; GRABS MILESTONE CATCH VERSUS NEBRASKA
Senior WR Sean Coffey has been a big part of MU's offensive attack ever since his return to the lineup against Texas on Oct. 1st - after missing games #2 and #3 due to a shoulder injury suffered in the season opener against Arkansas State.
Coffey ranks 5th in the Big 12 Conference - and 1st among non-Texas Tech players - with a average of 5.71 catches per game. He's got a team-best 40 catches for 448 yards and has 2 TDs thus far, despite missing those 2 games. Coffey has caught 15 passes combined in the last 2 weeks for Mizzou, as he hauled in 7 balls for 61 yards at Kansas and followed with a career-high 8 receptions last week at Colorado, for 55 yards.
Coffey returned to the Tiger lineup against Texas on Oct. 1st, and caught a game-high 6 passes for 43 yards. He followed with a big game at Oklahoma State, as he caught 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 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.
The Nebraska game 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 against Baylor ranking 5th on MU's career receiving yardage chart (1,596), and 6th on the MU career receptions list (118). He set an MU single-season TD reception record in 2004, with 10 scoring grabs (39 catches for 648 yards overall in 2004).
Brian Smith BECOMES MIZZOU'S ALL-TIME QB SACK KING
Spoiled by Mizzou's loss on Oct. 29th at Kansas was the fact that junior DE Brian Smith became MU's alltime QB sack king. Smith entered the game with 21.5 career sacks, just 1 shy of the record set by former All-American DE Justin Smith (22.5 from 1998-2000).
Smitty didn't waste much time, as he recorded his first sack of KU QB Jason Swanson midway through the 1st quarter (loss of 7 yards) to tie him with Justin Smith. He later broke the record as he combined with DT Lorenzo Williams in the 3rd quarter on another sack to give him 1.5 for the day, and an MU-record 23.0 for his career. Smith ended the day with 7 tackles in all, including 2.5 for loss (1.5 sacks), and added 1 QB hurry and 1 pass broken up.
Smith was shut of the sack column last week at Colorado, but he did record 6 tackles on the day, including 1 tackle for loss and he added 1 QB hurry.
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.
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 8.0 sacks into Saturday's game with Baylor. The MU single-season QB sack record is 11, set by Justin Smith in 2000.
THESTREET.COM LEADING THE WAY DEFENSIVELY
Junior safety David Overstreet came to MU as a highly-touted QB prospect, but after switching to defense as a redshirt freshman, he's now firmly entrenched as one of the top playmaking safeties in the Big 12 Conference.
Overstreet is MU's leading tackler (81 tackles through 9 games) and also leads the team in both interceptions (2 INTs) and fumble recoveries (3). His 5 total takeaways is a team-leading number. He also ranks 3rd on the team with 6 passes broken up...
His 3 fumble recoveries is currently tied for the Big 12 lead, along with Ted Sims of Kansas State.
Overstreet had 10 tackles last time out at Colorado. Prior to that, he had a 4-tackle day at Kansas, but his biggest play set up what ended up being MU's only score on the day, when he picked up a KU fumble and returned it 19 yards to the Kansas 43-yardline in the 1st quarter.
Overstreet had 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 two weeks ago.
Overstreet led MU's improving defense with a 10 -tackle performance against the Huskers. 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, 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.
STRYKER STRIKING STRIKINGLY
Redshirt freshman DE Stryker Sulak (pronounced SHOE-lock) has emerged as big-play maker over the last few weeks. The Rockdale, Texas native was inserted into the starting lineup Oct. 15th against Iowa State, and the move has paid off, as Sulak has provided numerous big plays since.
Sulak has forced a fumble in each of MU's last three games, entering Saturday's home finale against Baylor. His 3rd-quarter sack of CU QB Joel Klatt jarred the ball loose, and teammate Jamar Smith picked up the ball and raced untouched 12 yards for a TD, making the score 24-12 at the time. Sulak ended the game with 5 tackles, including 2 TFLs on the day.
The previous week at Kansas, Sulak forced a fumble in the 1st quarter that was recovered by MU's David Overstreet. That led to MU's only points of the game in the Tigers' 13-3 loss.
Prior to that, Sulak had 6 tackles and forced a fumble against Nebraska. He got his first career start on Oct. 15th against Iowa State, and proceeded to sack ISU's QB Bret Meyer on the 1st play of the game.
Sulak enters Saturday's game with Baylor tied for the team lead with his 3 forced fumbles. He also 3rd on the squad with 4.0 QB sacks (34 yards) and 3rd in QB hurries (5). He has 27 tackles overall on the season, with 21 of those stops coming in the last 4 games since he was inserted into the starting lineup.
TIGERS POST COMEBACK FOR THE AGES AGAINST IOWA STATE
On Oct. 15th, Mizzou staged a huge comeback win, as MU rallied from a 10-point 4th-quarter deficit to post a thrilling 27-24 overtime win against Iowa State.
Research indicates that the 10-point rally equalled the most prolific 4th-quarter comeback win in recent school history (dating back to 1958). The only other time MU has won a game when it trailed by as many points in the 4th quarter came in 2003, when the Tigers beat Nebraska in 2003 after entering the 4th quarter down by a 24-14 count.
Here's a quick look at the top 4th-quarter comeback wins since 1958...
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...