Tigers, Beavers Square Off For 73rd Sun Bowl Trophy
12/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 21, 2006
#24/25 Oregon State Beavers (9-4) vs. Missouri Tigers (8-4)
2006 Brut Sun Bowl
Dec. 29, 2006 — Sun Bowl Stadium — El Paso, Texas
 |
|
|
|
2006 Mizzou Sun Bowl Guide:
- Game Notes (1.8 MB)
- Bowl Information (1.2 MB)
- Player Bios (2.3 MB)
- Coaches (1.4 MB)
- 2006 Recaps (7.5 MB)
- Bowl History (1.0 MB)
SUN SHINES ON MIZZOU AS TIGERS GO BOWLIN' IN EL PASO
For the 3rd time in 4 seasons under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, Mizzou is playing in a post-season bowl game.
Mizzou, which went 8-4 overall and finished 2nd in the Big 12 North Division (4-4), will take on the #24/25 Oregon State Beavers (9-4 overall, 6-3 in the PAC-10) in the 2006 Brut Sun Bowl, set for Friday, Dec. 29th at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. The game will be televised nationally on CBS, with a kickoff time set for 1:11 p.m. (central).
The post-season appearance is no small feat for Mizzou, as the bowl appearance will mark only the 5th bowl game for the program since 1983. It is the first time that Mizzou has enjoyed a stretch of 3 bowls in 4 years since it went to 5 bowls in a 6-year span from 1978-83.
Mizzou has played its previous 2 bowl games under Pinkel at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Last year, the Tigers defeated South Carolina, 38-31, in one of the most exciting bowls of the 2005 season. Mizzou rallied twice from 21-point deficits behind record-setting QB Brad Smith (282 yards passing, 1 TD & 150 yards rushing, 3 TDs) to post what was the largest comeback win in school history.
Pinkel's previous bowl appearance at MU was in the 2003 Independence Bowl, when the Tigers fell by a 27-14 count to Arkansas.
YOUTHFUL ROSTER POINTS TO BRIGHT FUTURE AT MIZZOU
The Missouri Tigers opened the 2006 season looking to prove the critics wrong who had them pegged to finish 5th in the Big 12 North Division. The most common thought going into the season was that the Tigers would struggle without the services of record-setting QB Brad Smith, who moved on to the NFL's New York Jets.
Sophomore QB Chase Daniel would have none of it, as he helped guide the Tigers to their first 6-0 start since 1973, and to 8 regular season wins for just the 10th time in school history. Daniel set numerous passing records along the way, as his defensive teammates – led by eventual 1st-Team All-Big 12 linebacker Marcus Bacon – were one of the nation's most stout early on, and finished 35th nationally in total defense.
Mizzou returned 17 starters from a year ago, which included 8 starters on offense, 7 on defense, and the punter and placekicker positions. Despite the experience returning, the Tigers were picked to finish 5th in the pre-season media poll.
While 19 seniors will don the Black and Gold for one last time on Dec. 29th, the future still has a cheery feel to it for Tiger fans, as the following facts indicate…
- Mizzou stands in line to return 16 starters from the latest 2-deep in 2007, including 8 on offense, 6 on defense, and 2 on special teams (punter, placekicker)…
- On the latest 2-deep, there are 53 players listed on offense, defense and at placekicker and punter. Of those 53 players, Mizzou stands to return 42 of them in 2007, meaning that 79% of MU's current 2-deep will return next year…
- Of those 42 returnees for 2007, 28 of them are either freshmen or sophomores this season. The breakdown includes 12 freshmen, 16 sophomores and 14 juniors…
- Broken down further, the Tiger offense will return in 2007 20-of-24 players currently listed on the 2-deep. The Tiger defense is set to return 18-of-25 players, while the placekicker and punter spots will return 4-of-4 currently listed…
TIGERS MAKE 24TH BOWL APPEARANCE
The 2006 Brut Sun Bowl will mark the 24th bowl game in Mizzou history – a figure which ranks 29th-most in NCAA history (Alabama has the most with 54). The Tigers have an alltime bowl game record of 10-13, with the 10 wins ranking 31st in NCAA history.
As noted before, Mizzou won its last bowl game in storybook fashion, coming back from 2 different 21-point deficits to defeat South Carolina, 38-31, in the 2005 Independence Bowl.
The game against Oregon State will mark the 3rd bowl appearance for MU under Gary Pinkel, and it puts him in select company, as he joins legendary coaches Don Faurot, Dan Devine, and Warren Powers as the only coaches to lead Mizzou to as many as 3 bowl games. Devine leads the pack with 6 bowl appearances in his 13 years from 1958-70, with Powers next at 5 bowl outings in his 7 years (1978-84), and Faurot next with 4 bowl games in his 19 years (1935-42, 46-56).
TIGERS TO PLAY IN 2ND SUN BOWL
Mizzou has played in one Sun Bowl previously, and that was on Dec. 29, 1973 – 33 years to the date of the 2006 contest between MU and Oregon State – when Mizzou beat Auburn 34-17.
Another irony shows that in 1973, the Tigers began the season 6-0, like the current 2006 edition of Mizzou. And like that 1973 team, Mizzou is now playing in the Sun Bowl again.
Mizzou came into the 1973 Sun Bowl ranking last in total yardage and 7th in scoring offense in the Big Eight, but it racked up 34 points and 390 yards against Auburn, in what was expected to be a defensive struggle.
The 2nd quarter of that game featured a whopping 38 points scored combined between the teams, after a scoreless 1st period. Auburn went on top 3-0, but the Tigers scored 21 straight points on a 35-yard halfback pass from Chuck Link to John Kelsey, followed by a 2-yard TD run by Ray Bybee and a 2-yard pass from QB Ray Smith to Kelsey.
Auburn drove for a late score to make it 21-10 right before half, and apparently had momentum going into the 3rd quarter, but John Moseley followed with an 84-yard kickoff return for a TD as time expired to put the Tigers up 28-10, and effectively ice the game.
The teams traded 3rd-quarter TDs, before a crowd of 31,000 at Sun Bowl Stadium to give MU Coach Al Onofrio his only bowl win in 2 tries.
FB Ray Bybee and TE John Kelsey shared MVP honors on the day, with Bybee running 27 times for 127 yards and 1 TD, while Kelsey had 2 catches – both for TDs – and 37 yards receiving.
|
MU vs. THE PAC-10 |
|
| Team | MU Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 3-0 | |
| Arizona State | 3-2* | |
| California | 2-4-1 | |
| Oregon | 1-0 | |
| Oregon State | 0-1 | |
| Stanford | 0-1 | |
| UCLA | 0-2-1 | |
| USC | 1-2* | |
| Washington | 0-0 | |
| Washington State | 1-0 | |
| TOTAL | 11-12-2 | |
| *-Denotes played in bowl game | ||
|
||
MIZZOU-OREGON STATE HISTORY
Mizzou and Oregon State have met only once previously, and that came way back 50 years ago, when the Beavers visited Columbia and came away with a 19-13 win in the 1956 season opener for both teams.
That season would eventually be the last in the 19-year career of legendary MU Coach Don Faurot.
Mizzou stands 11-12-2 alltime against teams currently comprising the PAC-10 Conference. That includes a 0-2 record against current PAC-10 teams in bowl games (losing in 1924 to USC in the Christmas Bowl, and in 1972 to Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl).
Oregon State will mark the 1st PAC-10 opponent Mizzou has faced since 1990, when then-MU Coach Bob Stull (who is now the Athletic Director at Texas-El Paso) upset 21st-ranked Arizona State in Columbia by a 30-9 score.
While MU is 0-2 alltime in bowl games against teams currently in the PAC-10, technically, the 2006 Brut Sun Bowl will be just the 2nd bowl game MU has played against the PAC-10, as Arizona State was not then a member of the PAC-10 when the Tigers and Sun Devils met in the 1972 Fiesta Bowl.
TIGERS BOAST IMPRESSIVE RESUME
Mizzou's on-field resume in 2006 includes some impressive facts and figures:
- Mizzou has 5 wins in 2006 against teams which gained bowl eligibility, which is 2nd-most in the Big 12, behind only Oklahoma (6) and tied with Nebraska, Texas and Texas A&M. MU's 5 wins over bowl eligible teams include vs. 9-4 and MAC East Champion Ohio (31-6), at 7-5 Texas Tech (38-21), vs. 7-5 Kansas State (41-21), at 6-6 New Mexico (27-17) and vs. 6-6 Kansas (42-17).
- Maybe most impressively, the Tigers' 5 wins over those bowl eligible teams came by an average margin of 19.4 points.
- Additionally, 3 of MU's 4 losses on the year were to teams who are currently ranked, and have a combined record of 29-9: vs. 11-2 Oklahoma (L, 26-10), at 9-3 Texas A&M (L, 25-19) and at 9-4 Nebraska (L, 34-20). Mizzou's 4th loss was of the controversial nature, when a holding penalty negated a game-winning TD on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yardline with just 25 seconds left at Iowa State. The Big 12 office later told Head Coach Gary Pinkel that the call shouldn't have been made. Had it not, MU would have been 9-3 to end the regular season.
- Mizzou's schedule ranks as 33rd-toughest in the nation, according to the NCAA, based on the combined records of all Div. I-A opponents. Mizzou's 2006 Div. I-A foes have a combined record of 62-52.
|
2006-07 BIG 12 BOWL LINEUP |
|
|
|
|
TIGERS CAN BECOME 4TH MU TEAM IN HISTORY TO WIN 9 GAMES
While winning a bowl game can be plenty of motivation in and of itself, the 2006 Tigers are looking to make even more history. If the Tigers can defeat Oregon State in the 2006 Brut Sun Bowl, they will become only the 4th team in MU history to notch 9 wins in a season.
The last time MU won 9 games in a season came back in 1969, when Dan Devine's squad went 9-2 and finished the year ranked 6th in the polls. Prior to that, the only other 9-win seasons in MU's 116 years of football came in 1960 (11-0) and in 1899 (9-2).
With 8 wins already in the bank, the 2006 Tigers have already become the 10th MU team to win 8 regular-season games – and only the 6th since World War II.
Head Coach Gary Pinkel has joined MU legends Don Faurot and Dan Devine as the only Mizzou coaches to achieve 8 regular-season wins twice. Faurot won 8 regular season games 4 times, while Devine did it twice. Pinkel's 2003 Tiger team went 8-4 in the regular season before ending 8-5.
Mizzou's 8-win regular seasons include 2003, 1980, 1969 (9 wins), 1960 (10 wins including a forfeit win from Kansas), 1948, 1942, 1941, 1939 and 1899 (9 wins).
PINKEL HAS WON 16 OF LAST 25 GAMES AT MIZZOU
Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel is in his sixth season at MU and touts a career record of 110-71-3 (60.6%). His career winning percentage of 60.2% to begin the season ranked him 23rd in the nation among active Division I-A coaches with a minimum of seven years coached.
Pinkel, who has led MU to a combined record of 28-20 over the past four seasons (including 16 wins in his last 25 games dating back to the 2004 season finale), and to bowl games in 2003, 2005 and now in 2006, has a six-year record in Columbia of 37-34 (52.1%).
The 2006 season got off to an historic start for Pinkel and his Tigers, as he led MU to its first 6-0 start since 1973, and its first 7-1 start to a season since 1969. He was awared in November with a new 5-year contract that will keep him on the Tiger sidelines through the 2011 season. The new deal trumped the old contract that was set to expire after the 2008 campaign, and it pays him $1.3 million per year with all guarantees – that ranks him 7th in the Big 12 in coaching salaries.
With a team picked to finish 4th in the Big 12 North in 2005, Pinkel's Tigers tied for 2nd place last year (winning all tiebreakers), and were playing for a chance to share for the division title heading into the regular-season finale. Pinkel has led MU to 3 bowl games, which puts him in select company, as he joins Don Faurot, Dan Devine, and Warren Powers as the only coaches to guide MU to 3 bowl games. After beating Nebraska (41-24 in 2005) for the 2nd time in 3 years, Pinkel became the first MU coach since Al Onofrio to defeat NU twice.
Mizzou's 34-7 win over Ole Miss earlier this year drew him above the .500 mark at Mizzou. Pinkel is the first Tiger coach since Powers to have an MU record of above .500 after at least one full season of coaching (Powers left after the 1984 season with an MU record of 46-33-3).
Pinkel has now guided Mizzou to a trio of winning seasons (8-5 in 2003, 7-5 in 2005 and 8-4 in 2006) in his 6 years at the wheel, with those representing 3 of MU's 5 winning campaigns dating back to the 1983 season. He is the first MU coach since Powers to have 3 winning years.
PINKEL STANDS 10-4 ALLTIME AS A COACH IN BOWL GAMES
History shows that MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel has fared pretty well in bowl games as a coach. Pinkel carries a 10-4 coaching record in bowl games into MU's matchup with Oregon State in the 2006 Brut Sun Bowl.
Pinkel is 2-1 as a head coach in bowl games, including a 38-31 win in 2005 over South Carolina, and a loss to Arkansas in the 2003 Independence Bowl, 27-14. As head coach at Toledo, Pinkel's Rockets beat Nevada in the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl, 40-37 in overtime. That game was the first-ever overtime game played under the current overtime rules.
As a top assistant coach under the legendary Don James at Washington, Pinkel coached in 11 bowl games in 12 years, from 1979-90, and the Huskies went a solid 8-3 in those outings.
Here's a recap of Pinkel's bowl game coaching experience:
|
Gary Pinkel BOWL HISTORY
|
|||||
| Season | School | Position | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Sun | Texas | W, 14-7 |
| 1980 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Rose | Michigan | L, 23-6 |
| 1981 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Rose | Iowa | W, 28-0 |
| 1982 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Aloha | Maryland | W, 21-20 |
| 1983 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Aloha | Penn State | L, 13-10 |
| 1984 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Orange | Oklahoma | W, 28-17 |
| 1985 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Freedom | Colorado | W, 20-17 |
| 1986 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Sun | Alabama | L, 28-6 |
| 1987 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Independence | Tulane | W, 24-12 |
| 1989 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Freedom | Florida | W, 34-7 |
| 1990 | Washington | Asst. Coach | Rose | Iowa | W, 46-34 |
| 1995 | Toledo | Head Coach | Las Vegas | Nevada | W, 40-37 (OT) |
| 2003 | Missouri | Head Coach | Independence | Arkansas | L, 27-14 |
| 2005 | Missouri | Head Coach | Independence | South Carolina | W, 38-31 |
THE TIGER-TEXAS CONNECTION
Mizzou hopes that it becomes a bit of a local favorite in El Paso for those fans who come to the game neutral, and it's because of the team's strong ties to the Lone Star State.
Since Gary Pinkel and his staff took over at Mizzou, they have identified the state of Texas as a recruiting area of emphasis.
A look at the Tiger roster shows 24 Texas natives currently suiting up in the 2006 Brut Sun Bowl for Mizzou, including 8 who started in the regular-season finale win over Kansas — Marcus Bacon (LB – Houston); Mike Cook (OL – Friendswood); Chase Daniel (QB – Southlake); Brad Ekwerekwu (WR – Arlington); Ziggy Hood (DL – Amarillo); Domonique Johnson (DB – Texas City); David Overstreet (S – Dallas); and Jared Perry (WR – La Marque).
This will be the 3rd game played Mizzou in the Lone Star State this season, as the Tigers have gone 1-1 with a win at Texas Tech (38-21) and a loss at Texas A&M (25-19).
Here's a breakdown of MU's Texas Tigers:
TEXAS TIGERS |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger (Yr.) | Pos. | Hometown | Tiger (Yr.) | Pos. | Hometown |
| Danario Alexander (Fr.) | WR | Marlin | Domonique Johnson (So.) | DB | Texas City |
| Marcus Bacon (Sr.) | LB | Houston | David Overstreet (Sr.) | S | Dallas |
| Mack Breed (So.) | S | San Antonio | Jared Perry (Fr.) | WR | La Marque |
| Tommy Chavis (So.) | DL | Orange | Mike Prince (Fr.) | OL | Southlake |
| Mike Cook (Sr.) | OL | Friendswood | Kevin Rutland (Fr.) | DB | Houston |
| Chase Daniel (So.) | QB | Southlake | Brant Scott (Fr.) | DL | College Station |
| Connell Davis (Fr.) | TB | Portland | Brian Smith (Sr.) | DL | Denton |
| Brad Ekwerekwu (Sr.) | WR | Arlington | Stryker Sulak (So.) | DL | Rockdale |
| Earl Goldsmith (So.) | TB | Denton | La'Roderick Thomas (Fr.) | DB | Dallas |
| Ziggy Hood (So.) | DL | Amarillo | J.P. Tillman (Fr.) | QB | Houston |
| Del Howard (Fr.) | DB | Dallas | Chad Washington (Fr.) | LB | Lancaster |
| DeQuincy Howard (Sr.) | TE | Tyler | Sean Weatherspoon (Fr.) | LB | Jasper |
REVIEWING THE YEAR THAT WAS
Not much was expected externally of the Missouri Tigers heading into the 2006 season, as Mizzou was picked to finish 5th in the Big 12 North Division by the league media. Using that as motivation, the Tigers proved critics wrong by getting out of the gates at 6-0 – MU's 1st 6-0 start to a season since 1973.
Mizzou was dominant early in the season on both sides of the ball, as the Tigers cruised to their 6-0 start. First-year starter QB Chase Daniel got things off to a great start, as he threw for 320 yards and a school-record 5 TDs as the Tigers pasted Div. I-AA Murray State by a 47-7 score in the season opener.
Ole Miss of the venerable SEC visited Columbia next, and the Tigers cruised to an impressive 34-7 win as the defense held the Rebels to just 162 yards of total offense, while Daniel threw for 243 yards and 1 TD, and ran for 89 yards and 1 TD.
Facing its first road test of the year, the Tigers passed with flying colors, winning a hard-fought 27-17 game at New Mexico in which TB Tony Temple ran for 168 yards and DE Brian Smith was unstoppable, as he tied an MU game record with 4 QB sacks.
Mizzou closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule by posting a 31-6 win over Ohio, who would go on to claim the MAC East Division championship. The Tigers broke open a close game in the 2nd half by dominating on both sides of the ball, outgaining the Bobcats by a 217-31 margin after intermission.
Conference season opened up with a 28-13 home win over Colorado, one week after Colorado had nearly upset top-10 Georgia on the road. Daniel threw for 4 TDs on the day and Mizzou's defense held the Buffs to just 3-of-12 on 3rd down and 0-of-5 on 4th down.
Mizzou hit the road and moved to 6-0 for the first time since 1973, when it won 38-21 at 24th-ranked Texas Tech. The Tigers jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the 2nd quarter, thanks in large part to defensive touchdowns on consecutive snaps on interception returns by DE Xzavie Jackson and S William Moore. After Tech closed to within 24-21 in the 3rd quarter, Mizzou dominated the final 25 minutes and pulled away.
The Tigers were then dealt their first loss of the season in a 25-19 heartbreaker at Texas A&M. Mizzou had a chance to go up on a huge play just 3 plays into the game, when Daniel hit WR William Franklin alone in the secondary for what should have been a 65-yard TD and a quick 7-0 lead, but Franklin was caught from behind inside the 5, and as he was falling into the endzone, the ball was stripped out and rolled through the endzone for a touchback. The game went back and forth all day, and that missed TD proved costly as the Tigers fell by 6 points in the end.
Mizzou returned to Columbia for Homecoming and broke a 13-game losing streak to recent nemesis Kansas State, by cruising to a dominating 41-21 win. The Wildcats scored on the first play of the game when they sacked Daniel and returned the fumble for a TD. Mizzou got a huge goalline stop on 4th-and-1 in the 2nd quarter, trailing, 7-3 at the time, and drove 99 yards for a TD to take the lead. That kick-started an onslaught of 34 conseuctive points scored by the Tigers, and they rolled the rest of the day to move to 7-1.
The 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners came to Columbia next, and while the Sooners did enough to win the game, it was Tiger mistakes that told the story as OU escaped with a 26-10 win. Mizzou jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and after a stop, had a wide-open pass play that should have went for a 60-yard TD and a quick 10-0 lead. But the pass was dropped, and on the next play, OU deflected a pass, intercepted it, and then drove for a TD to re-establish momentum. The Sooners capitalized on MU's generosity, as OU scored all 26 of its points off of MU turnovers, drive-extending penalties and a blocked punt.
At 7-2, and still controlling its own destiny in the Big 12 North, the Tigers traveled to Lincoln, Neb., where they took on Nebraska for what was essentially the Big 12 North title game. Again, it was MU turnovers early that set the tone, as Nebraska scored 14 points on MU interceptions, and jumped to a 27-3 lead. The Tigers would cut it to 27-13 in the 3rd, but couldn't get the key stops as Nebraska held on for the win to drop MU to 7-3.
Next up was Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, where ISU Coach Dan McCarney had announced his resignation the week before. The Cyclones came into the game 0-7 in Big 12 play, and 4-7 overall, and it looked early like MU would roll, as the Tigers took the opening kick and drove methodically for a TD to take a quick 7-0 lead. After a stop and another promising drive, MU fumbled and ISU got momentum and somehow shut down the Tiger offense until the 4th quarter as it surged to a 21-10 lead. MU figured things out in the 4th, however, and after closing to 21-16, got the ball back one last time with a chance to avoid the upset. Daniel led MU on a brilliant drive the length of the field, and on a 4th-and-goal from the ISU 1-yardline with just 25 seconds left, got around right guard for a TD and an apparent win. But MU was flagged for holding on the call, wiping out the play, and MU's 4th-down play was stopped as ISU celebrated a 21-16 win. The crushing defeat turned out controversial, as the Big 12 conference later admitted to Head Coach Gary Pinkel that after reviewing film of the game, the holding call was incorrect and shouldn't have been made.
With that as little consolation, MU took out its frustrations on bitter rival Kansas, claiming an impressive 42-17 win over the Jayhawks to close the regular season 8-4. Mizzou rolled to nearly 500 yards of offense as Daniel threw for a career-high 356 yards and 4 TDs, and the Tigers didn't turn the ball over once. Mizzou's defense held KU in check and PK Jeff Wolfert closed his brilliant season by going a perfect 3-of-3 on both field goals and extra points.
