Sept. 10, 2007
Western Michigan Broncos (0-2) at Missouri Tigers (2-0)
Sept. 15, 2007 — Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium — Columbia, Mo.
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- Game Notes (665 kb)
TIGERS HOST WESTERN MICHIGAN IN 2007 HOME OPENER
The Missouri Tigers (2-0) return to the friendly confines of Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium, where they'll play host to the Western Michigan Broncos (0-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. in MU's 2007 home opener. A crowd of between 50,000-55,000 is expected.
Mizzou is coming off a solid 38-25 win at Ole Miss last Saturday, in a game that saw the Tiger offense amass 559 yards of total offense, as MU jumped out to a 35-7 lead early in the 3rd quarter, and coasted from there. Mizzou has now won back-to-back games away from home against a pair of BCS schools, in Illinois (W, 40-34 on Sept. 1st in St. Louis, Mo.) and Ole Miss.
Western Michigan, the pre-season pick to win the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division this year, is looking to rebound after dropping its first 2 games of the 2007 season – losing 62-24 at then-#3 West Virginia (Sept. 1) and then falling at home last Saturday to Indiana, by a count of 37-27.
TIGERS MOVE TO 2-0 WITH ROAD WIN
The Mizzou Tigers improved to 2-0 on the season with a 38-25 win at Ole Miss last Saturday, thanks in no small part to their explosive offense, which racked up 559 yards of total offense.
Here's a quick recap of the night...
- After a scoreless 1st quarter, Mizzou exploded for 28 points in the 2nd period on 4 Chase Daniel TD passes – 2 to Will Franklin (10 & 40 yds.) and 1 each to the nation's top TE duo Martin Rucker (40 yds.) and Chase Coffman (7 yds.). Coffman's catch came with just :04 seconds left in the quarter, as the Tigers surged to a 28-7 halftime lead...
- Ole Miss gained 207 yards of offense in the 1st half, but the Tiger defense did its job of holding the Rebels to just 7 points. A key play came midway through the 2nd quarter, with MU holding a 14-0 lead, as Ole Miss staged a drive inside the Tiger 10-yardline. MLB Brock Christopher forced a fumble by Ole Miss' Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis, and CB Darnell Terrell pounced on it at the Tiger 7-yardline. Instead of a 14-7 game, the offense went 93 yards the other way to post a 21-0 lead...
- Daniel tied his own MU single-game TD record by striking for his 5th scoring pass on MU's opening drive of the 3rd quarter (37 yards to WR Greg Bracey) to put the Tigers up, 35-7. Ole Miss responded with a pair of TD passes, sandwiched around a short Jeff Wolfert FG, and it stood 38-19 in favor of MU heading into the 4th period (Ole Miss' PAT try missed due a mishandled snap, and then they were forced to go for two the rest of the night, missing on all subsequent tries)...
- The Rebels, to their credit, didn't go away easily, as they scored on a short run just :04 seconds into the 4th quarter, to cut the score to 38-25, but the Tigers ended the game by taking enough time off the clock on offense, and by getting key plays made on defense to get the job done. The Rebels' last 3 possessions ended on downs, with a punt and on an interception to end the game. Mizzou's 559 yards of offense ranked as the 17th-most in MU single-game history, and it was the 7th-highest total ever by the Tigers in a road game.
OFFENSE ENJOYS MAGICAL 16 MINUTES AT OLE MISS
Mizzou's offense was held scoreless in the 1st quarter for the 1st time since game #10 at Nebraska last year, but once the clock switched to the 2nd quarter, it was clobbering time, as QB Chase Daniel and his gang scored 28 points in the quarter to stake the Tigers to a commanding 28-7 halftime lead. Add on a quick score to open the 3rd quarter, and in a stretch of 16:07, Mizzou exploded for 35 points.
On the 1st play of the 2nd quarter, Daniel hit WR Will Franklin from 10 yards out to open the scoring, with 14:55 remaining in the period. The Tiger defense did their part by forcing a 3-and-out by Ole Miss, and Mizzou's offense responded by marching 73 yards in 7 plays, with Daniel-to-Franklin covering the last 40 yards to make it 14-0 at the 9:52 mark. As mentioned above, Ole Miss drove inside the Tiger 10-yardline, but MLB Brock Christopher made Mizzou's defensive play of the game as he forced a fumble that was recovered on the Tiger 7-yardline, and MU's offense made it 21-0 by driving 93 yards in just 1:54 (Daniel-to-Rucker for a 40-yard TD).
After Ole Miss got on the scoreboard, making it 21-7 with just 1:09 before half, the Tigers werent done, as WR Jeremy Maclin returned the kickoff 32 yards to the MU 46-yardline. That field position allowed the Tigers to get serious about a 2-minute drill, and they executed it to perfection, scoring on a Daniel-to-Coffman 7-yard pass with just :04 seconds left.
16 MINUTES, CONTINUED...
If Ole Miss was hoping the 20-minute halftime break would cool off the Tiger offense, they were sorely mistaken, as MU got the opening kick, and drove 70 yards in just 3 plays, with the final 37 yards coming on a Daniel-to-Bracey strike to make it 35-7 with 13:48 left.
So with that, from the 14:55 mark of the 2nd quarter, to the 13:48 mark of the 3rd (16:07 in all), the offense accounted for 35 points – more than 2 points per minute off the clock. In that period of time, the Tigers scored those 35 points while possessing the ball for just a combined 6:47 – that equates to a scoring pace of roughly 297 points for a 60-minute game!!
QB Chase Daniel's QB rating for the 2nd quarter at Ole Miss was a whopping 235.69, as he completed 12-of-17 passes in the quarter for 177 yards and the 4 TDs. If you factor in the opening drive of the 3rd quarter, in those 16 minutes and 7 seconds, his QB rating was 263.8 (13-of-18 for 214 yds., 5 TDs, 0 INTs).
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MU SCORES & DRIVES vs. ILLINOIS |
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| Plays-Yds. | Time | Result | Qtr | How | |
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| 9-80 | 3:14 | TD | 1 | Coffman 1 rec. | |
| 0-0 | 0:00 | TD | 2 | Brown 100 fum. ret. | |
| 12-69 | 2:50 | TD | 2 | Franklin 2 rec. | |
| 2-5 | 0:13 | FG | 2 | Wolfert 27 FG | |
| 7-80 | 2:28 | TD | 3 | Maclin 25 rec. | |
| 0-0 | 0:00 | TD | 3 | Maclin 66 punt ret. | |
| 9-46 | 1:49 | FG | 4 | Wolfert 32 FG | |
at OLE MISS |
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| Plays-Yds. | Time | Result | Qtr | How | |
| 10-55 | 3:01 | TD | 2 | Franklin 10 rec. | |
| 7-73 | 2:38 | TD | 2 | Franklin 40 rec. | |
| 6-93 | 1:54 | TD | 2 | Rucker 40 rec. | |
| 8-54 | 0:57 | TD | 2 | Coffman 7 rec. | |
| 3-70 | 1:05 | TD | 3 | Bracey 37 rec. | |
| 11-58 | 3:05 | FG | 3 | Wolfert 27 FG | |
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QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE IS LIGHTNING FAST
As mentioned above, the Tiger offense has shown its quick-strike nature often thus far this season, as its average scoring drive in 11 offensive scores thus far has been just 2:09. The longest of any of those drives was a 3:14 marathon that covered 80 yards in 9 plays against Illinois in the opener.
There is a :13 second drive factored into that figure that took place in the Illinois game, when MU recovered a fumbled kickoff just before halftime, and kicked a short FG at the gun. If that is backed out of the equation, MU's average drive time for its 10 other offensive scores is still just 2:28.
As per the chart below, of Mizzou's 8 offensive TD drives thus far, 6 have taken just 2:50 or less, including 4 in the Ole Miss game that covered 73 yards in 2:38, 93 yards in 1:54, 54 yards in :57 seconds, and 70 yards in 1:05.
DEFENSE HAS MADE KEY PLAYS TO HELP CLAIM 2-0 START
We're not going to try and force you into believing that this Tiger defense is a reincarnation of the Steel Curtain, but we do want to point out that while Mizzou's defenders have given up some points and yards so far, they have been huge contributors in Mizzou's pair of wins to open the season, in a number of ways.
- The defense has been opportunistic, as it has gotten the ball back 7 times from opponents in two games – 4 fumbles and 3 interceptions...
- Of those 7 turnovers gained, the defense has made the plays with their backs against the wall, so to speak, as 6 of those have come deep in MU territory. Last Saturday against Ole Miss, MU recovered a fumble at its 7-yardline, and ended the game with an interception at its 3-yardline. Against Illinois, the fun started with Pig Brown's NCAA-record-tying 100-yard fumble return for a TD that he picked up in the Tiger endzone, and continued with the defense recovering an Illini fumble on the MU 31-yardline, and a pair of 4th-quarter interceptions that ended key drives on the MU 24-yardline and at the MU 1-yardline as the Tigers protected a 40-34 lead for the win...
- They've made big plays in crunch time, as evidenced by interceptions by SS Pig Brown and FS Justin Garrett against Illinois and Ole Miss, respectively, that ended each opponents' final drives near the MU goalline both times...
- Against Ole Miss, the defense was key in helping build the 35-7 lead, as it held the Rebels scoreless for the 1st quarter, and for the first 17:07 overall before they got on the scoreboard. A majority of Ole Miss' yards came after MU staked out to that huge 35-7 lead, as the Rebels gained 317 of their 534 total yards after that point (60%)...
- Against Ole Miss, the Tiger defense held the Rebels scoreless for the final 14:56 of the game, and their last 3 possessions ended like this: downs, punt, interception.
MIZZOU 8-2 IN LAST 10 HOME OPENERS
If it seems like a long time since Mizzou has played a home game, well, it has been a long time. Dating back to last season, the Tigers have played each of their last 3 games away from Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium, and 5 of their last 6 overall.
Mizzou has won 8 of its last 10 home openers, and stands 82-30-4 (72.4%) overall in home openers from 1890-2006, including a mark of 52-26-3 (66.1%) at Faurot/Memorial.
Head Coach Gary Pinkel is 4-2 at Mizzou in home openers, including a 47-7 win last season over Murray State. The 4 wins have come by an average of 36.0 points, with the smallest margin of victory a 32-point win over Arkansas State to kick off the 2004 season (52-20).
MIZZOU-WESTERN MICHIGAN SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou and Western Michigan will meet for only the 2nd time when they tangle Saturday afternoon in Columbia, with MU claiming the only previous meeting by a 48-34 count on Sept. 18, 1999 in Columbia, Mo.
Current WMU Head Coach Bill Cubit was the Broncos' offensive coordinator that season, and his high-powered and inventive offensive attack that racked up 34 points and 423 yards of offense (320 passing and 103 rushing), was a large reason why Cubit was hired at Mizzou by then-Head Coach Larry Smith as co-offensive coordinator for the 2000 season.
In the game, played before a crowd of 60,206, the Tigers bolted to a 31-14 halftime lead, and held on for the win despite a 260-yard passing night by WMU QB Tim Lester. The Tigers had plenty of offensive firepower of their own, as they ran for 375 yards, including 205 yards and 2 TDs from DeVaughn Black and 139 yards from Zain Gilmore. TE Dwayne Blakley tied an MU single-game record by catching 3 TD passes on the night – one coming from QB Jim Dougherty and the final 2 from QB Kirk Farmer.
Current Tiger Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations Barry Odom had an interception of Lester with just :21 seconds remaining before halftime that MU converted into a FG to take a 31-14 lead into the lockerroom, and the Tigers held on from there.
The night began on a somber note as the crowd observed a moment of silence for Carlalee Ankney, wife of MU defensive coordinator Moe Ankney, who passed away early that morning after a long bout with cancer.
“I just think Moe being here was an inspiration,” Smith said. “He wanted to be here and thought she would have wanted him to be here. He said this was the best therapy for him.”
RICKER, CUBIT AND TABOR RETURN TO MIZZOU
Western Michigan holds plenty of ties to Mizzou, and none moreso than former standout center A.J. Ricker, who starred as a 4-year starter for the Tigers from 2000-2003, playing his final 3 seasons under Head Coach Gary Pinkel. Ricker is a graduate assistant offensive coach for WMU and Coach Bill Cubit.
Ricker started all 47 games of his Tiger career, which was a record at the time, before it was later eclipsed by QB Brad Smith (48 from 2002-05), and he was a big reason for the building of the program. Ricker anchored an offensive line that helped protect and pave the way for Smith to emerge as one of the nation's most exciting and dangerous play makers during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, when he amassed 6,745 yards of total offense and led the Tigers to the 2003 Independence Bowl – MU's 1st bowl appearance since 1998 and only the 3rd overall for the school since 1983.
In 2003, Ricker helped lead an offense that racked up 3,087 yards rushing – the 2nd-highest single-season total in MU history – as the Tigers ended the season ranked 6th nationally in rushing, with an average of 237.46 yards per game.
Ricker earned 1st-Team All-Big 12 honors by league coaches as a senior in 2003 and also was an excellent student who earned 1st-Team Academic All-Big 12 honors twice in his time at Mizzou.
Western Michigan Head Coach Bill Cubit served as co-offensive coordinator for the 2000 season at Mizzou under former Head Coach Larry Smith. The Tigers struggled to a season mark of 3-8 that year, and Cubit left after the staff was dismissed. His offense was a highlight of the season, though, as the creativity shown in play designs and formations helped the Tigers gain 3,861 yards of offense that year.
One more former Tiger is currently on Cubit's staff, in assistant coach Chris Tabor. Tabor, who coaches running backs and special teams for the Broncos, was at MU for 4 seasons under Larry Smith, serving as a graduate assistant coach for 3 seasons (1997-99) and as a full-time assistant for 1 year, in 2000. Tabor was on board for the Mizzou bowl seasons of 1997 and 1998, and he coached running backs and special teams in his last season here.
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TAKEAWAYS BY PINKEL TEAMS |
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| Year | Fumbles | INTs | Total | Games | Avg. P/G | |
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| 2007 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3.50 | |
| 2006 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 13 | 2.15 | |
| 2005 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 12 | 2.00 | |
| 2004 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 11 | 2.09 | |
| 2003 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 13 | 1.85 | |
| 2002 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 12 | 2.00 | |
| 2001 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 11 | 1.36 | |
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TIGERS LEAD BIG 12, RANK 7TH NATIONALLY, IN TURNOVER MARGIN
Mizzou's defense was very opportunistic in the opener against Illinois, as it created 5 turnovers that were all key in helping the Tigers both stake and hold onto the lead in the end.
MU scored 16 points directly off of the turnovers (all in the first half), directly contributing to the 23-6 halftime advantage it held over the Illini. Mizzou didn't score off of the 2 interceptions it gained in the 2nd half, but those picks were still crucial, as they snuffed out each of Illinois' final two drives of the game and came at the MU 24-yardline and 1-yardline, respectively.
Last week at Ole Miss, the defense did its part by creating 2 turnovers, while the offense went turnover-free. As a result, the +2.50 turnover margin rate currently has Mizzou atop the Big 12 and ranked 7th in the NCAA, entering Saturday's game against Western Michigan.
MU gained 1 fumble at Ole Miss that the offense converted into 7 points, and later ended the Rebels' final drive of the game with an interception near the Tiger goalline.
If the defense can continue its opportunistic ways, they'll provide a big boost to the high-powered offensive attack that gathers all the headlines.
Here's a look at the takeaways gained by MU in Gary Pinkel's tenure...
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MIZZOU COACHING WINS LEADERS |
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| Coach | Wins | # Seasons (Years) | Record | Pct. | # Bowls | |
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| Don Faurot | 101 | 19 (1935-42, 46-56) | 101-79-10 | .558 | 4 | |
| Dan Devine | 93 | 13 (1958-70) | 93-37-7 | .704 | 6 | |
| Warren Powers | 46 | 7 (1978-84) | 46-33-3 | .580 | 5 | |
| Gwinn Henry | 40 | 9 (1923-31) | 40-28-9 | .578 | 1 | |
| Gary Pinkel | 39 | 7 (2001-Present) | 39-35 | .527 | 3 | |
| Al Onofrio | 38 | 7 (1971-77) | 38-41 | .481 | 2 | |
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PINKEL GOING FOR 40TH WIN AT MIZZOU SATURDAY
Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel is in his 7th season at MU and touts a career record of 112-72-3 (60.7%).
Pinkel, who has led MU to a combined record of 30-21 over the past 5 seasons, and to bowl games in 2003, 2005 and 2006, has a 7-year record in Columbia of 39-35 (52.7%). Dating back to the 2005 Independence Bowl win over Steve Spurrier and South Carolina, Pinkel has won 11 of his last 16 games overall.
A win Saturday over Western Michigan would give Pinkel his 40th MU win, and would tie him for 4th alltime at MU, with Gwinn Henry, who went 40-28-9 over 9 seasons from 1923-31, and won 3 Missouri Valley Conference titles (1924, 1925, 1927) and led MU to its 1st-ever bowl game, the 1924 Christmas Festival against USC.
Pinkel is in a select group of Mizzou coaches that includes College Football Hall of Famers Don Faurot and Dan Devine, as well as Warren Powers, to be the only coaches to have an MU record of above .500 (with at least one full season coached) dating all the way back to 1935.
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 with a new five-year contract late in the year 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.
Pinkel has led MU to 3 bowl games, and if his Tigers can reach a 4th in 2007, he would join Faurot (4 bowls), Devine (6 bowls), and Powers (5 bowls) as the only coaches to guide MU to 4 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.
Pinkel has guided Mizzou to 3 winning seasons (8-5 in 2003, 7-5 in 2005, 8-5 in 2006), with those representing 3 of MU's 5 winning campaigns dating back to the 1983 season.