DEFENSE MAKES BIG CONTRIBUTIONS IN BAYLOR WIN

TEMPLE NETS CAREER HIGH RUSHING TOTAL IN BAYLOR WIN
Sophomore TB Tony Temple, making his 1st career start for the injured Marcus Woods, made the most of his opportunity, as he rushed for a career-high 100 yards on 17 carries (5.9 ypa).

Temple had a 35-yarder in the 2nd quarter, and ended with 5 rushes of 8 yards or more, as he provided a nice 1-2 combo with QB Brad Smith, who ran for a game-high 161 yards and 3 TDs.

That marked the 2nd time this season that a pair of Tigers has rushed for 100 yards in a game. Previously, Smith had 184 yards and Woods had 102 in a win at Oklahoma State. Mizzou is now 7-0 under Gary Pinkel when 2 Tigers rush for 100 yards or more in a game (2-0 in 2002; 3-0 in 2003; 2-0 in 2005).

Temple's production was a great thing to see, as he had been held to a total of 56 yards combined (19 carries) in MU's previous 4 games. He missed games #4-5 due to an ankle injury, after he had totaled 173 yards (25 attempts) in MU's 1st 3 games of the season.

Temple enters the Kansas State game with 329 yards on the year, and 3 TDs. He's averaging 5.4 yards per rush, which is a team-best among Tiger tailback regulars.

CROSSETT BOOTS CAREER-LONG FIELD GOAL IN BAYLOR WIN
Mizzou's triple-threat kicker, sophomore Adam Crossett (who handles all of MU's placekicking, punting and kickoff duties) hit a career-long 49-yard field goal Saturday in the 3rd quarter of MU's win that put the Tigers up, 24-0 at the 6:09 mark. That was the longest field goal made by a Tiger kicker since Brad Hammerich nailed a 51-yarder in the 2001 season opener against Bowling Green - Gary Pinkel's first game as MU's head coach.

Crossett also was a perfect 4-of-4 on PATs Saturday and averaged 39.5 yards on 8 punts, with 3 of his punts being downed inside the 20 yardline.

For the season, Crossett is 13-of-18 on field goals (72.2%) and is 30-of-33 on extra points. He is averaging a solid 42.4 yards per punt as well, and ranks 29th nationally in that category. One-third of his punts (15-of-45) have been downed inside the opponent's 20 yardline thus far.

On Oct. 15th, Crossett played hero for the 2nd-straight season in an overtime win over Iowa State, as he drilled a 26-yard FG in the OT period to give MU a 27-24 win, after ISU missed its own 43-yarder in the preceding possession. Crossett beat ISU in Ames to close the 2004 season by making a 25-yarder in OT for a 17-14 MU win that prevented the Cyclones from winning the Big 12 North division outright.

Crossett arguably had his best overall game of the season in that ISU win. He punted 3 times and averaged a career-best 47.0 yards per punt, including a long of 57 yards and one punt that was downed inside ISU's 20-yardline. He was later named as the Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts.

Crossett came up big on kickoffs, as well, as he forced 4 touchbacks on the day in 5 kickoffs. ISU managed only 17 yards on its one kickoff return, and the Cyclones entered the game ranking 17th in the NCAA with a kickoff return average of 25.64 yards per attempt.

TIGER RUSHING ATTACK REGAINS ITS HIGH-OCTANE FORM
Mizzou's ground attack, neutralized the previous two weeks by stout defenses of Kansas and Colorado, got back on track last Saturday in Mizzou's 31-16 win over Baylor. The Tigers rushed for 298 yards and 3 TDs on 50 carries, averaging just under 6 yards per attempt.

On Oct. 22nd, 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. The Huskers brought into the game the nation's #1-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 65.0 yards per game coming in.

After that game, however, stellar defenses of Kansas and Colorado 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.

The next week 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.

In its first 7 games of the year, MU had 16 rushes of 20 yards or more. In MU's back-to-back losses, the Tigers had zero plays of that length, with the longest run coming in at just 11 yards against Kansas.

Last Saturday versus Baylor, Mizzou had 3 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, as Brad Smith had a pair of 56-yard TD runs, and TB Tony Temple added a 35-yarder on the day..

MIZZOU-KANSAS STATE SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark the 91st meeting between Mizzou and Kansas State when they tussle in Manhattan. The Tigers own a commanding 55-30-5 alltime lead in the previous 90 meetings, but of late, its been all Wildcats, as K-State has won each of the last 12 meetings. Prior to that win streak for K-State, Mizzou's lead in the series was an impressive 55-18-5 overall.

Kansas State's margin of victory in the last 12 games has been by over three touchdowns - a full 21.2 points per game. MU's last win in the series was in 1992, when the Tigers claimed a 27-14 win in Columbia.

The Wildcats have won 7 straight games over Mizzou in Manhattan, dating back to MU's last win there in 1989 (W, 21-9) - in KSU Coach Bill Snyder's first season as coach there.

The average margin of victory for KSU in those 7 consecutive wins in Manhattan has been over 4 full TDs - 28.4 points. KSU has shutout the Tigers 3 times in those 7 games, including 32-0 in 1991, 30-0 in 1995 and 66-0 in 1999.

Kansas State remains the only team that Mizzou has not yet beaten since the formation of the Big 12 Conference, as the Tigers are 0-9 thus far against the Wildcats since the formation of the league in 1996.

Mizzou owns a 10-8-1 alltime record at KSU Stadium, which opened in 1968. MU's longest winning streak in the series was 16, from 1939-54. Mizzou once won 15 straight games playing in Manhattan, in a streak that ranged from 1940 through 1968 (KSU snapped the string with a 17-13 win in 1970).

LAST YEAR REWIND: KANSAS STATE 35, MIZZOU 24
Kansas State scored 21 fourth-quarter points to stun Missouri in Columbia and send the Tigers to their fourth straight loss, 35-24.

Backup quarterback Alan Webb threw two touchdown passes and Darren Sproles ran for two scores, helping Kansas State rally from an early 21-point deficit.

Kansas State (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter against the Big 12's best defense to win its 12th straight against the Tigers (4-5, 2-4). The Wildcats' performance was an about-face from the previous week, when they squandered an 18-point cushion in a 35-25 loss at home to Texas Tech.

Antoine Polite's 20-yard touchdown catch from Webb with 9:39 to go put Kansas State ahead for good at 28-24. Three plays later, Brandon Archer intercepted Brad Smith's tipped pass and returned it 25 yards for an 11-point cushion.

Sproles finished with 160 yards on 20 carries, including a 74-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that cut Missouri's lead to 21-14.

Smith threw two touchdown passes to Sean Coffey for Missouri, which lost its fourth straight game.

Webb stepped in after Dylan Meier was 4-for-16 for 37 yards. Webb was 6-for-8 for 111 yards and added 52 yards on 12 carries.

Missouri built a 21-0 second-quarter lead and led 21-7 at halftime despite an error-plagued start. The Tigers lost fumbles on two of their first three possessions, and also had an interception.

Kansas State was held to 15 yards in the first quarter and didn't have a first down until midway through the second quarter. The initial first down came on the Wildcats' only successful possession of the half, capped by Sproles' 18-yard touchdown run with 5:33 left.

Missouri running back Damien Nash didn't start after sitting out the previous week due a disciplinary suspension, but had 118 yards on 12 carries. That included a 66-yard run that set up Joe Tantarelli's 24-yard field goal for a 24-21 lead with 13:08 left.

Smith set a school career record with 41 touchdown passes, two more than Jeff Handy totaled from 1991-94. He finished 15-of-34 for 205 yards and ran for 58 yards on 14 carries.

Brad Smith 1ST QB IN NCAA D-I HISTORY TO ACHIEVE 8,000/4,000 FEAT
With each game, graduate QB Brad Smith seems to establish record after record. As noted earlier, Smith established or tied several more career marks in last Saturday's 31-16 win over Baylor.

One of the more significant marks that he established had to do with the fact that he became the 1st player in Division I-A history to throw for 8,000 yards and rush for 4,000 yards in a career. He was also the first to ever reach the 8,000/3,000 standard, and just the 3rd alltime to join the 7,000/3,000 club.

Smith entered the Baylor game with 8,197 passing yards and 3,907 rushing yards for his career. In leading MU to the win, he amassed another 161 rushing yards (3 TDs) to bump his career total to 4,068 yards (already an NCAA D-IA career record for QBs). He was held to 72 yards passing, which increased his MU-record total to 8,269 yards.

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.

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 NCAA QB RUSHING RECORD AT COLORADO
As touted previously, QB Brad Smith needed just 5 rushing yards entering MU's game Nov. 12th 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, 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 at Kansas State with the NCAA Division I-A record of 4,068 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 NEARING A COUPLE OF MORE MAJOR MILESTONES
Brad Smith enters Saturday's game at Kansas State with 1,774 passing yards and 1,080 passing yards this season. Smith stands 226 passing yards from becoming the 1st player in D-IA history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards twice in his career. He is one of only 2 players to have achieved that feat once thus far, when he threw for 2,333 yards and ran for 1,029 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2002...

With 2,854 yards of total offense this season, Smith needs just 146 more yards to become only the 6th player in D-IA history to reach 3,000 yards in 3 different seasons. 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.

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 has 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 8,269 passing yards, 4,068 rushing yards and 12,337 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 RECORD REPORT: 52 DIFFERENT RECORDS HELD CURRENTLY
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 State with 8,269 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 4,068 career rushing yards entering the KSU game.

Smith holds an impressive 52 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 3 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 recorded only 3 tackles officially last week against Baylor, but was still a key factor in the game as he broke up a career-high 3 passes on the day - including two in the 4th quarter as MU's defense stopped Baylor on downs late in the game to seal the win.

Those 3 tackles raised his career total to 320, and he now enters the Kansas State game Saturday needing just 3 more 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.

Previously, at Colorado, Simpson recorded a team-best 11 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss (4 yards).

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 77 tackles, and is tied for the team lead with 12 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 39 career starts entering the K-State game, he is by far the most experienced player on the Tiger defense (next most active career starts is 27 by Dedrick Harrington)...

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.

After being shut of the sack column at Colorado, Smith got to the QB once again against Baylor last Saturday, upping his MU record to 24.0 sacks. He also had 6 total tackles on the day, and added 2 QB hurries and broke up 1 pass.

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 9.0 sacks into Saturday's game with Kansas State. 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 (86 tackles through 10 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 7 passes broken up...

His 3 fumble recoveries is currently tied for the Big 12 lead, along with Ted Sims of Kansas State and Chris Hudler of Texas Tech.

Overstreet had 5 tackles and 1 pass broken up last Saturday against Baylor, after notching 10 tackles 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 on Oct. 22nd.

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.

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...