Sept. 30, 2007
Columbia, Mo. -
The University of Missouri football team climbed to 17th in both major polls today, as both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls had MU up three spots, from 20th last week. The Tigers moved up the polls, despite being idle last Saturday.
The ranking represents the highest MU has been in the Associated Press poll under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, and the highest overall by the program since 1998, when Mizzou reached as high as 13th in mid-November of that season. Mizzou ended that season 8-4 overall and ranked 21st in the final A.P. poll.
Mizzou has been ranked higher than its current #17 spot only three times dating back to 1981. In that season, MU began its season unranked, but stood ranked 13th in the A.P. poll after winning its first four games, then moved to 8th after reaching 5-0. The Tigers then dropped two straight games to fall out of the rankings, but ended the year ranked 19th after defeating Southern Miss in the 1981 Tangerine Bowl. The only other week in which MU has been ranked higher than its current #17 was the one week in 1998.
The Tigers are preparing for a Big 12 North Division showdown this Saturday evening in Columbia, Mo., against the #25/23 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1 overall, 1-0 in Big 12 play). The game, scheduled for a national ESPN telecast, will kick at 8:15 p.m., and a sellout crowd is anticipated. Less than 200 reserved seats remain available for the game, and can be ordered online at www.mutigers.com, on the phone at 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Columbia), or in person at the MU Ticket Office at Mizzou Arena.
The last time that both Mizzou and Nebraska met when both teams were ranked was in 1998 in Lincoln, when #7 Nebraska held of #19 Mizzou by a 20-13 score. The last time that both teams met in Columbia as ranked teams, was in 1981, when #15 Nebraska squeaked out a 6-0 win over #19 Mizzou.
The last time that Mizzou entered a game as the higher-ranked team than Nebraska was in 1969, when the 7th-ranked Tigers claimed a 17-7 win over the 20th-ranked Cornhuskers, in Columbia.
For complete, updated national rankings, links are provided on the sidebar of the MU Football home page on www.mutigers.com.