Sept. 18, 2006
Missouri Tigers (3-0) vs. Ohio Bobcats (2-1)
Sept. 23, 2006 -- Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field -- Columbia, Mo.
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TIGERS HOST BOBCATS IN QUEST OF 4-0 START TO 2006 SEASON
The University of Missouri Tigers (3-0 overall) return home to the friendly confines of Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium, where they will play host this Saturday afternoon to the Ohio University Bobcats (2-1). Kickoff for the contest is set for 1:08 p.m.
Mizzou is coming off of a hard-fought 27-17 win at New Mexico last week, a win that moved the Tigers to 3-0 to start a season for the 2nd time under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, and for just the 12th time since 1935 (72 seasons), and the 22nd time overall since the program began in 1890.
Ohio makes its first trip to Columbia after dropping a 24-7 decision at Rutgers last Saturday. The Bobcats, coached by former Nebraska Coach Frank Solich, began the season with consecutive wins over Tennessee-Martin (29-3), and at Northern Illinois (35-23). This will mark Ohio's third straight road game.
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4-0 STARTS SINCE 1924 |
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| Season | Started | Ended | Rank | Bowl Game | |
| 1960 | 9-0# | 11-0% | 5th | Orange | |
| 1969 | 5-0 | 9-2% | 6th | Orange | |
| 1973 | 6-0 | 8-4 | 17th | Sun | |
| 1981 | 5-0 | 8-4 | 19th | Tangerine | |
| 2003 | 4-0 | 8-5 | n/a | Independence | |
| % - Won conference championship | |||||
| # - Lost 10th game to Kansas but later awarded victory by forfeit | |||||
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TIGERS ON THE HUNT FOR MU'S 5TH 4-0 START SINCE 1925
After claiming its first road win of the young season in a 27-17 win at New Mexico, Mizzou returns home to Columbia looking to continue building on its promising start to 2006. The Tigers are 3-0 for the 2nd time under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, and are beginning to turn heads after its trio of victories - including an impressive 47-7 season-opening triumph over Murray State on Sept. 2nd, followed by a 34-7 victory Sept. 9th against Mississippi.
This year's Tiger team looks to move to 4-0 for the first time since the 2003 Tigers started the year 4-0, on the way to an 8-5 record overall. That marked the best start to a season for Mizzou since the 1981 Tigers won their first five games, en route to a final mark of 8-4 that year.
The 3-0 start already achieved by Mizzou marks just the 12th time in the last 72 seasons (since 1935) that Mizzou has began a season with three straight wins. In all, it marks the 22nd time starting 3-0 since the program began in 1890.
A win Saturday against Ohio would move the Tigers to 4-0 for just the 5th time since 1925 (a span of 82 seasons), and just the 12th time in what is the 116th year of MU football.
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MIZZOU BIG 12 DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK |
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| Date | Tiger | Position | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/18/06 | Brian Smith | DE | New Mexico | |
| 9/11/06 | Marcus Bacon | LB | Ole Miss | |
| 10/10/05 | Brian Smith | DE | Oklahoma State | |
| 9/28/02 | R.J. Jones | CB | Troy State | |
| 11/1/99 | Jeff Marriott | NT | Texas Tech | |
| 11/9/98 | Wade Perkins | CB | Colorado | |
| 10/19/98 | Wade Perkins | CB | Oklahoma | |
| 11/22/97 | Barry Odom | LB | Tulsa | |
| 11/24/96 | Joe Love | LB | Kansas | |
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Brian Smith NAMED BIG 12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior DE Brian Smith celebrated his birthday last Saturday night in record-setting fashion, as he tied an MU single-game record by notching 4 QB sacks in his personal domination of New Mexico. Smith helped lead an outstanding defensive effort for Mizzou, which held the Lobos to just 201 yards of total offense, and kept them without an offensive touchdown until 25 seconds left in the game.
Smith's 4 QB sacks totaled 34 yards in losses, and were part of MU's 8 sacks overall on the night as the Tiger defensive line wreaked havoc from the get-go. In all, Smith had 6 tackles, with 1 other TFL (2 yards), he forced a fumble that set up an MU field goal just before halftime, he broke up a pass and had 1 other QB pressure.
For his monster efforts, Smith was named Monday as the Big 12 Conference's Defensive Player of the Week. It marks the 2nd time that the Denton, Texas native has earned the weekly award, adding to his previous one that came in 2005 against Oklahoma State. This is the 9th time overall that a Tiger has won Big 12 Defensive POW honors, including the 2nd straight week (LB Marcus Bacon won in week #2), and the third straight week that a Tiger has won an award (QB Chase Daniel won the Offensive POW award in week #1).
Smith is the 2nd Tiger defender to win the award twice, matching the pair won by former CB Wade Perkins during the 1998 season.
For the record, Tigers have won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors 11 times previously (6 by Brad Smith, 2 each by Corby Jones and Devin West, 1 by Chase Daniel) and 4 times have won league Special Teams Player of the Week honors (2 by Marcus James, 1 each by Adam Crossett and Brad Hammerich).
Big 12 Career QB Sacks |
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| Sacks | Player | School | Years | |
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| 34 | Aaron Hunt | Texas Tech | 1999-2002 | |
| 30 | Brian Smith | Mizzou | 2003-Present | |
| 29.5 | Darren Howard | Kansas St. | 1996-99 | |
| 28 | Adell Duckett | Texas Tech | 2001-04 | |
| 25 | Dan Cody | Oklahoma | 2000-04 | |
MORE NITTY-GRITTY ABOUT SMITTY
Senior DE Brian Smith might not have 69 records on the books that former Tiger QB Brad Smith had, but "Smitty" has one very prominent claim to fame - the MU career QB sacks record. Smith entered the 2006 season already as MU's career record holder, wtih 24, including a career-high 9 turned in last year.
He's already upped that record to 30 with 6 sacks in 3 games so far, as he turned in 1 QB sack in each of MU's 1st 2 games prior to last Saturday's 4-sack fest at New Mexico.
Smith enters the Ohio game leading the nation with his average of 2.0 sacks per game. He also stands just 4 sacks away from the Big 12 Conference career record of 34, set by Aaron Hunt of Texas Tech, from 1999-2002.
Smith is currently at No. 2 on the Big 12 career list.
Smith became an every down player for the first time in 2005, and he turned in a career year in virtually every category. He had 66 tackles, and led the team with 17 tackles for loss (for 70 yards in losses) in addition to his sacks. Smith had 12 QB hurries and forced 2 fumbles on the year to boot, and was named a 1st-Team All-Big 12 by the Houston Chronicle.
A very focused and hard-nosed player, Smith showed toughness and desire to compete when he played in MU's bowl game against South Carolina last season after having his knee scoped just 2 weeks ahead of time to clean up a nagging injury he played with all season.
The Denton, Texas, native led all NCAA freshmen defenders as a redshirt freshman in 2003 with 8 QB sacks. He followed with 7 more as a sophomore, and added a career-best 9 in 2005. The MU single-season QB sack record is 11, set by Justin Smith in 2000.
MIZZOU-OHIO SERIES HISTORY
While Saturday will represent the first time that Mizzou and Ohio meet on the gridiron, the head coaches on both sidelines will not be meeting each other, or facing the other school, for the first time.
Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel and Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich have faced off three times previously, from 2001-03 when Solich was sideline boss for his alma mater Nebraska. Solich won the first two encounters (36-3 in Columbia in 2001, and 24-13 in Lincoln in 2002), while Pinkel got an historic win for MU with a 41-24 victory in 2003 in Columbia. That marked Mizzou's 1st win over Nebraska since 1978, breaking a 24-year stranglehold that the Huskers held in the series.
In all, Ohio's Solich is 5-1 in previous encounters against Mizzou, as he won games in 1998 (20-13 in Lincoln), 1999 (40-10 in Columbia) and 2000 (42-24 in Lincoln) in addition to the aforementioned wins above.
Mizzou's Pinkel enters Saturday's game with a perfect 5-0 alltime mark against Ohio, with all 5 wins coming in a six-year span from 1991-96 as head coach of Toledo. Pinkel beat the Bobcats in 1991 (17-13), 1993 (28-10) and 1995 (31-20) at home, and claimed road wins at Ohio in 1994 (31-6) and 1996 (24-23).
LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU PULLS AWAY FOR 27-17 WIN AT NEW MEXICO
Mizzou moved to 3-0 on the season with a gritty 27-17 win at New Mexico last Saturday night in Albuquerque, N.M. The Tigers started off hot, as they had in each of their first two games, and took a quick 10-0 lead after its first two possessions on a 37-yard FG by PK Jeff Wolfert, and a 6-yard TD pass from QB Chase Daniel to TE Martin Rucker.
But what appeared to be headed for a Tiger rout just as quickly turned into a tight ballgame, as New Mexico got a defensive score on an 11-yard interception return early in the 2nd quarter (Daniel's 1st INT of the season) to make it 10-7.
Despite forcing 3 turnovers in the 2nd quarter, Mizzou couldn't capitalize as it was stopped short on a 4th-and-1 try from inside the Lobo 5-yardline on one occasion, and could manage only a 2nd Wolfert FG (36 yards) just before half to make it 13-7 in favor of MU.
The Tiger defense continued its dominance in the 2nd half, and it appeared the offense was getting re-started as it drove another time inside the Lobo 10-yardline, only to see TB Tony Temple lose a fumble near the goalline that New Mexico recovered in the endzone for a touchback. When the Lobos then drove 45 yards and got a 52-yard field goal just before the end of the 3rd quarter, it seemed as the home team was prime for pulling an upset.
But Mizzou would have none of it, and re-established its dominance on both sides of the ball in the 4th quarter. Daniel directed the offense to a pair of methodical, clock-eating drives that consumed a combined 23 plays and 11:09 and produced 14 points (Daniel scored 1st on an 8-yard keeper with 10:52 left, and TB Earl Goldsmith scored from 2 yards out with 1:46 left) to ice the game and make it 27-10 Mizzou.
The Lobos mustered their only TD drive of the night in sanitation engineering time, and got a TD pass with just 25 seconds left, but it was too late, as the Tigers moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2003.
DEFENSE RANKS 1ST IN BIG 12, 2ND IN NCAA IN TOTAL DEFENSE
Mizzou's defense, which returns 7 starters from a year ago, has been nothing short of outstanding in MU's first 3 games of the 2006 season.
Heading into the Ohio contest, MU's defense tops the Big 12 Conference, and ranks 2nd nationally, in total defense, allowing just 171.00 yards per game - just 1 yard per game behind national leader LSU (170.00 ypg). The Tigers held New Mexico to 201 total yards on the road (with 66 of those coming during garbage time), and previously held Ole Miss to just 162 total yards in a 34-7 win, and began the year with a stifling performance against Murray State, as they held the Racers to just 150 yards in MU's 44-7 win.
Against New Mexico, the Tiger defense was dominant most of the night, as it held the Lobos to just 135 yards of offense before their last drive, and Mizzou forced 3 turnovers, and sacked the UNM quarterback 8 times for 55 yards in losses.
The 8 QB sacks pushed the Tigers near the top of the national rankings in sacks, as MU stands #2 heading into the Ohio game with an average of 4.67 per game.
Against Ole Miss, the Tiger defense was swarming from the get-go, holding the Rebels to just 7 total yards on 11 plays in the first quarter as MU built a quick 10-0 lead. Mizzou eventually forced 3 turnovers on the day, all coming on interceptions, and now has garnered 5 takeaways through 2 games (4 INTs, 1 fumble). About the only hiccup defensively was a short TD drive allowed late in the 2nd quarter after Mizzou fumbled away a punt return to the Rebels - Ole Miss recovered on the MU 35-yardline and took just 2 plays to score a TD to cut the lead to 17-7.
That solid overall performance followed up an even stingier outing in the 2006 season opener against Murray State. The Tiger defense limited Murray State to just 150 yards of total offense on the night, forcing two turnovers (1 fumble, 1 interception).
Mizzou kept the Racers out of the endzone for the game's first 58 minutes and 3 seconds, until Murray State hit a 13-yard TD pass with just 1:57 left. Regardless of the score, the defense held up its end of the bargain, allowing just 10 first downs overall.
The Tiger defensive line, considered by most to be the strength of the unit heading into the season (with 4 returning starters) lived up to its billing, as it was instrumental in holding Murray State to only 27 yards rushing on 25 carries (1.1 avg.).
The longest rush of the night for MSU was just 12 yards - and that was the only run the Racers had over 8 yards long. The longest pass play on the night for the Racers was just 15 yards.
Mizzou was dominant early on, as it did not allow the Racers a first down until the 7-minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Murray State had just 14 yards of total offense in the first quarter and mustered only 42 by halftime.
TIGER OFFENSE ALSO LEADS THE BIG 12, RANKS 5TH NATIONALLY
Not to be outdone by their defensive teammates, the Tiger offense has also been prolific in the early going, as it also leads the Big 12 - and ranks 5th in the NCAA - through 3 games, averaging 485.33 yards per game. That gives MU the current ability to boast the top-ranked offense AND defense in the Big 12 Conference, as well as both being top-5 units on the national scene to boot.
Mizzou began the season with a 589-yard outing in a 47-7 win over Murray State, then laid 471 more yards on Ole Miss of the Southeastern Conference in a dominating 34-7 the next week. The production dropped a little last week, as New Mexico's unique 4-2-6 defensive look contained the offense a little better, but the Tigers still managed 396 yards.
DEFENSE STINGY ON THE GROUND, NO RUSHING TDS ALLOWED SO FAR
The Tiger defense ranks 2nd in the Big 12 Conference, and 6th in the NCAA, in rushing defense, allowing only 44.00 yards per game on the ground thus far. Mizzou trails only Texas in the league, as the Longhorns are currently giving up only 25.00 rushing yards a game.
Mizzou has yet to allow a rushing TD this season through 3 games, making it one of only 11 defenses entering the weekend that can make that claim. Two of the other 10 also hail from the Big 12 Conference - Baylor and Kansas State.
In 2005, the Tigers allowed 23 rushing TDs (an average of just under 2 per game), including at least 1 in every game but Baylor.
Opponents in 2006 are averaging just 1.6 yards per attempt on the ground so far, less than half of the 3.8 yards per carry allowed by MU in 2005.
In its opener, Mizzou permitted just 27 yards rushing by Murray State, and followed by allowing 72 net rushing yards to Ole Miss (which had gained 240 yards on the ground in their season opener against Memphis). Last week, the Tiger defense allowed only 33 rushing yards to a New Mexico team that gained 202 yards on the ground in an upset win in Columbia (45-35) in 2005.
TONY SHOWS `EM HE'S A TIGER
Junior TB Tony Temple was named the starter after turning in an impressive fall camp. Temple worked hard in the weight room over the summer and is now up to 200 pounds for the first time in his career (he played at 190 last year, but was down to 176 at the end of the season).
Temple is coming off a career game in which he rushed for 168 yards on 22 carries (a healthy 7.6 avg.) - both career-high numbers. He carried the burden for the MU offense in the pivotal 4th quarter, as he gained 69 key yards on 9 attempts as MU burned the clock on a pair of TD drives that iced the game in MU's 27-17 victory.
Temple's yardage total was the most in a game for a Tiger running back since Oct. 7, 2000, when Zain Gilmore rushed for 169 yards against Oklahoma State. He is currently averaging 119.00 yards per game on the ground, a figure which ranks him 2nd in the Big 12 Conference, and 11th nationally through 3 games.
Temple showed great resiliency on the night, as he recovered from a key fumble in the 3rd quarter that derailed a promising Tiger drive. With MU leading13-7, and in position for a score on the New Mexico 11-yardline late in the 3rd quarter, Temple got the call and went around left end for a nice gain, but when he was hit at the 6-yardline, the ball flew out and rolled into the Lobo endzone, where it was recovered by New Mexico for a touchback. The Lobos promptly drove 44 yards the other way and got a field goal to cut it to 13-10.
Undaunted, Temple was determined to make up for his mistake, and he did just that in the 4th quarter, as he rushed for gains of 8, 13 and 8 on MU's possession that ended in a Chase Daniel 8-yard TD to make it 20-10 with 10:52 left. He later carried 6 times for 40 yards on MU's next drive that ended in an Earl Goldsmith TD to ice the game at 27-10 with 1:46 left. Included in that drive was a nifty 27-yard darting run that saw Temple take it down to the UNM 2-yardline.
Temple showed right away this season that he is carrying his added bulk well, as he plowed over Murray State for a career-high 119 yards rushing in the season opener, on just 15 carries - good for a salty average of 7.9 yards per carry.
Temple had runs of 27 and 22 yards on the night, with the latter being of the highlight-reel variety, as he went around left tackle, got flipped head-over heels about 10 yards downfield on a tackle, rolled over the would-be tackler but did not go down, regained his footing and raced another 12 or so yards before being dragged down.
He also showed an improved ability to provide blocking for QB Chase Daniel, as he was seen picking up charging defenders to free Daniel up to get the ball away safely.
The junior from Kansas City, Mo. followed with another 70 yards on 14 carries (5.0 avg.) in week #2 against Ole Miss.
Temple played in 10 games a year ago, and led Tiger tailbacks with a per-carry average of 5.4 yards per attempt. He ended the year with 437 yards and 3 TDs, and made starts in 2 of the Tigers' last 3 games of the year.
He also serves as MU's primary kickoff return man. Temple ranked 4th in the Big 12 in 2005 with a return average of 23.5 per return. He's returned only one kick so far in 2006 - against Murray State, and made it good for a 26-yard effort.
MU-NEW MEXICO POST-GAME WRAPUP, PT. 2
• Mizzou had a new starting lineup for its offensive line at New Mexico, as sophomore Ryan Madison made his 1st career start, coming at left guard. Monte Wyrick, the starter at left guard each of the 1st two games, moved over to right guard where he started...
• Mizzou held an advantage in total yards in the 1st quarter of 126-to-25, as the quarter ended with MU leading, 10-0...
• Sophomore PK Jeff Wolfert was perfect on the night, as he connected on both of his FG attempts (36, 37) and was perfect on 3 PATs. He is now 5-of-7 in FGs for the season, and a perfect 13-of-13 on point afters...
• True freshman CB Del Howard continued his solid play, as he stepped in front of a New Mexico pass in the 2nd quarter to grab an interception for the 2nd straight game. He is tied through 3 games for the team lead now, with 2 INTs (S Brandon Massey also has 2)...
• Mizzou also got the win despite leaving lots of potential points on the field. Mizzou failed on a 4th-and-1 attempt on the UNM 5-yardline late in the 2nd quarter, and also fumbled into the UNM endzone that ended another potential TD drive, in addition to giving the Lobos 7 points on the interception return. In all, the Tigers were 5-of-7 in red zone opportunities, while New Mexico reached the red zone only once, which resulted in their late TD...
• QB Chase Daniel handled his first road start in winning fashion, as he completed 25-of-36 passes for 199 yards and 1 TD, to go with the 1 INT. He also carried the ball 11 times for 25 yards, which included an 8-yard TD run with 10:52 left in the game that extended MU's lead to 20-10. With the Tigers leading just 13-10 entering the 4th quarter, Daniel calmly led the Tiger offense on a pair of methodical, clock-draining drives that ended in a pair of TDs (his own was followed by TB Earl Goldsmith's 1st-career TD with 1:46 left) that iced the game...
• Mizzou was unable to capitalize fully on 3 New Mexico turnovers, as the Tigers scored just 3 points off of those Lobo miscues. New Mexico scored 7 points off of MU's 2 turnovers...
• Reigning Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week LB Marcus Bacon had a solid game, as he recorded 7 tackles, and recovered a fumble, giving him one turnover gained in each game so far (he's recovered 2 fumbles and intercepted 1 pass)...
• Senior DE Xzavie Jackson had 2 tackles on the night, but they were both big, as he twice got in the backfield to sack the Lobo QB. Others with sacks included CB Domonique Johnson (1), and DT Lorenzo Williams (1)...
• Junior WR Will Franklin led the way Saturday with a career-high tying 9 receptions (76 yards), while TEs Martin Rucker (6 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD) and Chase Coffman (4 catches, 33 yards) also contributed in big fashion on the night...
• The Tigers suffered some bad news on the injury front, as sophomore DT Ziggy Hood left the game with a broken right foot. He will have surgery Monday to fix the injury and is expected to be back within 4-6 weeks. The Amarillo, Texas native had started all 3 games thus far for the Tigers, and was the team leader in TFLs (4.0) and QB sacks (3.0) entering Saturday's game at New Mexico...
TIGER SACK ATTACK BRINGS THE PAIN
Mizzou's defensive line was dominant last time out at New Mexico, as the front four wreaked havoc all night long on the Lobo offense. Mizzou ended the night with 8 QB sacks for total losses of 55 yards.
After notching 3 sacks in each of its 1st two games, the Tigers now enter the Ohio contest leading the Big 12 Conference, and ranking 2nd in the NCAA, in sacks per game, with an average of 4.67 per outing.
At New Mexico, the D-Line accounted for 7 of the 8 sacks, with DE Brian Smith (4 for 34), DE Xzavie Jackson (2 for 12) and DT Lorenzo Williams (1 for 4) setting the tone early and often. CB Domonique Johnson even got in on the act as he recorded his 1st career sack in the 1st quarter, good for a loss of 5 yards.
Through 3 games, Mizzou is almost halfway to its 12-game sack total from the 2005 season. MU currently has 14 sacks for 89 yards, after notching 30 sacks in 2005 for 234 yards.