6th-Ranked Tigers Face Final Road Test at Kansas State
11/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 12, 2007
#6/6/5 Missouri Tigers (9-1, 5-1) at Kansas State Wildcats (5-5, 3-4)
Nov. 17, 2007 — Bill Snyder Family Stadium — Manhattan, Kan.
 |
|
|
|
- Game Notes (831 kb)
TIGERS FACE FINAL ROAD TEST IN HOPES OF STAYING IN BIG 12 RACE
The Missouri Tigers (9-1 overall, 5-1 in Big 12 Conference play) hit the road for the final true road game of the 2007 season, as they travel to Manhattan, Kan., where they'll take on the always-tough Kansas State Wildcats (5-5, 3-4). Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the game, which will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
Stakes are high for Mizzou Saturday, as the Tigers need to win to keep pace with the North Division leading Kansas Jayhawks (10-0, 6-0), who play host to Iowa State Saturday afternoon. The Tigers will have to get the job done in an environment that has been perpetually hard to handle, as K-State has not lost to MU in Manhattan since 1989.
Kansas State is looking to rebound from consecutive road losses that have dropped them from contention in the North Division, losing at Nebraska last week (73-31) prior to being upset at Iowa State (31-20) the week prior. The Wildcats are a solid 4-1 at home in 2007, with their only loss a 30-24 heartbreaker to in-state rival Kansas.
|
MOST WINS, REGULAR-SEASON |
|
| No. | Season | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1960* | |
| 9 | 2007 | |
| 9 | 1969 | |
| 9 | 1899 | |
| *-Includes forfeit win
from Kansas (they cheated) |
||
TIGERS CAN BECOME 2ND MU TEAM IN HISTORY TO WIN 10 GAMES
Mizzou will take to the field Saturday in Manhattan, Kan., with a chance at making history. With a 9-1 record entering the game, the Tigers will look to become only the 2nd team in school history to win 10 games in a season.
The only other time MU has won 10 games was back in 1960, when the Tigers had a 10-1 record on the field, but a perfect 11-0 mark in the record books, after a regular-season finale loss to rival Kansas was later forfeited by KU for using an ineligible player.
That 1960 team won 9 regular season games, then won its bowl game (1961 Orange) for 10 on-field wins, and 11 wins in the record books.
The 2007 squad could become the first Tiger team to ever win 10 regular-season games on the field with a win Saturday in Manhattan. And with a minimum of 3 games remaining in the season (including a bowl outing), the overall record of 11 wins by the 1960 team is still in play.
The 2007 Tigers have already turned a big achievement, as they are only the 4th team in school history to amass 9 regular-season wins.
Mizzou has now won 8 regular-season games in consecutive years for only the 2nd time in school history — 1941 and 1942 was the only other such occasion for the program, now in its 117th season of competition.
Head Coach Gary Pinkel joins MU legends Don Faurot and Dan Devine as the only Mizzou coaches to achieve multiple 8-win regular seasons. Faurot won 8 regular season games 4 times, while Devine did it twice. Pinkel's teams have now done it 3 times (2003, 2006, 2007).
TIGERS LOOKING FOR 1ST 6-WIN CONFERENCE SEASON SINCE 1969
At 5-1 currently in the Big 12 Conference, the Missouri Tigers are looking for a win Saturday that would give them 6 league wins for the first time since 1969, when MU went 6-1 in the old Big Eight Conference – 1969 was the school's last title in football.
The school record for most wins in a conference season is 7, from the 1960 team that went 7-0 in league play in the record books – with the loss to Kansas later forfeited. That team went 6-1 on the field in league play.
A win in either of MU's last 2 conference games would make them only the 4th team in school history to win as many as 6 league games. In addition to the 1960 squad, both the 1969 (t-1st) and 1965 (2nd) teams finished 6-2 in conference play.
|
MU BY THE DECADES (SINCE 1940S ONLY) |
||
| Yrs. | Record | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940-49 | 60-37-4 | 0.614 | |
| 1950-59 | 43-53-5 | 0.450 | |
| 1960-69 | 77-22-6 | 0.762 | |
| 1970-79 | 58-56 | 0.509 | |
| 1980-89 | 45-64-4 | 0.416 | |
| 1990-99 | 43-67-3 | 0.394 | |
| 2000-07 | 49-44 | 0.527 | |
|
|||
MIZZOU IN THE MIDST OF ITS WINNINGEST DECADE SINCE THE 1960S
A fun fact to ponder is that in the decade of the 2000s, Mizzou has upped its record to 49-44 (.527), and that is the school's best winning percentage in a decade since the 1960s, when MU enjoyed its most successful era ever.
From 1960-69, the Tigers went 77-22-6 (.762), and were the only school in the nation to never lose more than 3 games in any season during that decade. Under Hall of Fame Coach Dan Devine, the Tigers finished the season ranked in 8 of those 10 years, including 4 in the top-10 (5th in 1960; 6th in 1965; 9th in 1968; 6th in 1969).
Additionally, the 49 wins MU currently has posted this decade (8 seasons), has already surpassed the 10-year win totals for the school in both the 1980s (45) and 1990s (43).
Here's a look at the decade-by-decade marks...
TIGERS RISE TO #6 IN A.P. POLL, ALSO STAND #5 IN BCS RANKINGS
After its 40-26 victory over Texas A&M last Saturday, Mizzou moved up 1 spot in the Associated Press Top-25, to 6th. This marks the 9th-consecutive week the Tigers have been ranked, with the current ranking the highest for any Mizzou team since peaking at #5 in the A.P. poll during the 1979 season.
The 5th week of BCS rankings was released Sunday, and the Tigers rose to a school-best #5, and were one of 4 Big 12 Conference teams included in this week's top-25: #3 Kansas, #4 Oklahoma, and #13 Texas were the others.
A few notes about MU carrying a ranking into a game:
- MU is 94-59-1 overall (61.4%) in its previous 154 games as a ranked team, including 3-5 alltime as the #6-ranked team in the AP poll.
- Mizzou has played 67 previous times on the road as a ranked team, and the Tigers stand 36-30-1 alltime in those games (54.5%).
- Breaking that down further, Mizzou has played 46 times in its history on the road as a ranked team, playing against an unranked opponent. In those instances, MU sports an alltime mark of 31-14-1 (68.5%), and MU is 7-1 as a ranked team playing at an unranked Kansas State team.
- Mizzou is 11-7 under Head Coach Gary Pinkel when playing as a ranked team, including 6-1 in 2007, 3-2 in 2006, 1-1 in 2004 and 1-3 in 2003.
TIGERS' SPOT IN BCS POLL IS HIGHEST IN PROGRAM HISTORY
The BCS standings (www.bcsfootball.org) this week reflect the Mizzou Tigers at #5, climbing from #16 after the initial rankings four weeks ago, and up 1 from last week's #6 spot.
This week is the 73rd week a set of rankings has been compiled, and Mizzou's showing at #5 is the highest any Tiger team has stood in the rankings (which began in 1998), and only the 12th time overall that MU has made the BCS rankings.
MIZZOU MOVES TO 9-1 WITH 40-26 WIN OVER TEXAS A&M
Mizzou improved to 9-1 for the first time since 1969 with a 40-26 win last Saturday against Texas A&M in what served as the home finale for MU in 2007.
A three-pronged offensive attack of QB Chase Daniel, WR Jeremy Maclin and TB Tony Temple led the way, as the Tigers got up early, withstood a 3rd-quarter A&M charge, and pulled away late with outstanding execution in the 4th quarter when the chips were down to send 20 seniors, who were playing in their final home game, off in style.
Daniel had a career-best QB rating of 189.91, as he completed 27-of-35 passes for 352 yards and 3 TDs, with zero INTs. The junior calmly engineered a pair of 4th-quarter 80-yard TD drives that salted the game away, as A&M had twice pulled to within five points.
Maclin was his normal game-changing self, as he mustered 267 all-purpose yards on the day, including a career-high 146 receiving yards, to go with 2 receiving TDs. Both scores were impactful, as his first came just before halftime with MU clinging to a 17-9 lead, when he took a short pass from Daniel, dodged one would-be tackler by the sideline, and turned on the burners, racing untouched 82 yards for a score that marked the 2nd-longest passing TD in MU history. His 2nd score came with less than 4 minutes in the game, and was a nice 12-yard catch that he spun around a tackler near the goalline to get home and up MU's lead to 38-20. Maclin broke the Big 12 Conference freshman all-purpose season yardage record on the day.
Temple had his best game of the season, and it came as he was playing with a heavy heart, as his grandmother passed away in his hometown of Kansas City, Mo., on Monday. Temple ran for a season-best 141 yards, and had a 44-yard TD off left tackle to open scoring in the 1st quarter – that marked MU's longest run of the 2007 season to date.
FS William Moore had another big day defensively, as he continues to help pick up slack for the loss of co-captain SS Pig Brown for the season (ruptured Achilles'). Moore had 6 tackles against A&M, and had at least two game-impacting plays that stood out. The junior from Hayti (pronounced HAY-tie), Mo., had an acrobatic INT in the 2nd quarter that thwarted an A&M drive and set up MU for the Daniel-to-Maclin 82-yard TD pass that extended MU's lead to 24-9 at half. His TFL was one of the bigger momentum plays in the game, coming on an A&M screen pass on a 3rd-and-9 from the MU 12-yardline with 11:33 left in the game and MU clinging to a 24-19 lead. His play prevented the Aggies from potentially taking the lead, but it also pushed the ensuing field goal attempt back to a 36-yarder, and it was promptly missed by A&M's kicker. Moore now has a team-best 5 INTs on the season, and that ties him for 1st in the Big 12, and rates him 11th nationally. He also ranks 12th in the Big 12 in tackles, with a per-game average of 7.40.
|
Chase Daniel BIG 12/NCAA RANKINGS |
|||
| Opponent | Big 12 | NCAA | Stat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Completions/Game | 2nd | 4th | 28.1 | |
| Tot. Offense | 2nd | 4th | 355.4 | |
| Passing Yds./Game | 2nd | 5th | 330.6 | |
| Passing Yards | 2nd | 5th | 3,306 | |
| Pts. Responsible For | 2nd | 10th | 17.8 | |
| Pass Efficiency | 3rd | 11th | 154.69 | |
| TD Passes | 3rd | 7th | 26 | |
| Completion Pct. | 3rd | 5th | 69.40% | |
|
||||
DANIEL MAKING A RUN FOR HEISMAN CONSIDERATION
Oh no, we didn't? Oh, yes, we did!
Junior QB Chase Daniel continues to make a claim to top signal-caller status in the Big 12 Conference, and for top national honors as well with his stellar play. Among those national honors that his name keeps popping up for around the country is the mother of them all – the Heisman Trophy.
Daniel received a letter from the Heisman Trust just last week indicating that he is being followed by many of the voters, and thus, is in a position to potentially garner an invite to the Heisman ceremony in New York City the weekend of Dec. 8. Finalists will be announced Dec. 5.
The Tiger signal caller, who has already been named a semifinalist for the O'Brien and Maxwell Awards, justified that Heisman correspondance on Saturday, when he turned in a career-best QB rating of 189.91 in leading MU to a 40-26 win over Texas A&M. On the day, Daniel completed 27-of-35 passes (77.1%), for 352 yards and 3 TDs with zero INTs.
Daniel was stellar when the chips were down Saturday, as he calmly led a pair of 4th-quarter TD drives with MU clinging to a 5-point lead each time. Both traveled 80 yards in distance, and ate up valuable clock time. Daniel was a perfect 6-of-6 passing in the 4th quarter for 59 yards and 1 TD (12-yarder to WR Jeremy Maclin with 3:41 left to clinch it).
That performance came just one week after Daniel became the 1st repeat winner of the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week this season, when he won the Big 12 award for his 421-yard, 5-TD performance at Colorado in which he completed 26-of-44 passes and had a QB rating of 172.42. The yardage marked a career high for Daniel, with the TD passes tying his own school single-game record he'd established twice previously (2006 vs. Murray State and 2007 at Ole Miss). Daniel led MU to a 55-10 win in Boulder.
Daniel has now won the weekly Big 12 award for the 2nd time this season, and the 4th time in his 22 career starts. He won the award earlier this year for his performance in leading Mizzou to a 41-6 win over #25 Nebraska on Oct. 6th, when he passed for a then-career-best 401 yards and had a career-high 473 yards of total offense in all as the Tigers rolled up 606 yards on the night. He also won during the 2006 season for his efforts against Murray State and Kansas.
Daniel enters Saturday's game against Kansas State ranked among the best in the Big 12 and the NCAA in several categories, and he has the Tigers 9-1 for the 1st time since the Nixon Administration (1969), and sitting 5th in the latest BCS poll (MU's highest-ever showing). He has also led MU to consecutive 8-win regular seasons for just the 2nd time in school history (1941-42).
Here's a quick look where Daniel ranks...
|
MACLIN'S ALL-PURPOSE GAME-BY-GAME YARDAGE (TDs in parentheses) |
|||||
| Opponent | All-Purpose | Rush | Rec. | PR | KOR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Illinois | 227 (2) | 29 | 43 (1) | 74 (1) | 81 | |
| at Ole Miss | 181 | 19 | 52 | 14 | 96 | |
| vs. Western Mich. | 275 (2) | 52 (1) | 96 (1) | 31 | 96 | |
| vs. Illinois State | 238 (2) | 22 | 53 (1) | 81 (1) | 82 | |
| vs. Nebraska | 149 | 53 | 62 | 8 | 26 | |
| at Oklahoma | 189 (2) | 32 (2) | 53 | 0 | 104 | |
| vs. Texas Tech | 66 (1) | 2 | 64 (1) | 0 | 0 | |
| vs. Iowa State | 170 (1) | 26 (1) | 65 | 3 | 76 | |
| at Colorado | 187 (1) | 12 | 108 (1) | 23 | 44 | |
| vs. Texas A&M | 267 (2) | 32 | 146 (2) | 7 | 82 | |
TOTALS |
1949 (13) |
279 (4) |
742 (7) |
241 (2) |
687 |
|
|
||||||
MACLIN NEEDS 78 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS TO BREAK NCAA FRESHMAN RECORD
Speaking of someone playing at an All-American level, freshman phenom WR/PR/KR Jeremy Maclin, who leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 9th nationally in all-purpose yardage (194.90 ypg), enters Saturday's game at Kansas State with a shot at breaking the NCAA freshman season record for all-purpose yards. Maclin comes into Saturday's contest with 1,949 all-purpose yards.
That total leaves Maclin just 78 yards shy of breaking the NCAA freshman record of 2,026 set by Terrell Willis of Rutgers in 1993. The Kirkwood, Mo., native is also on pace to break the NCAA freshman per-game all-purpose yardage mark of 184.8, established in 1991 by Marshall Faulk of San Diego State.
With his 267-yard day last time out against Texas A&M, Maclin broke the Big 12 Conference freshman season record of 1,937 set by Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma in 2004.
One could make a pretty good argument that Maclin has been the biggest impact freshman in the country this season, at least in terms of being vital to his team's success.
In addition to leading the Big 12 in all-purpose yards (and ranking 9th nationally), Maclin currently ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in punt returns (12.68 avg.), 6th in the Big 12 in receiving yards (74.20 ypg), 10th in receptions (5.00 rpg), 10th in kickoff returns (22.90 avg.) and 11th in scoring (7.80 ppg).
He's made big play after big play in key situations for the Tigers, and has no doubt been a big reason why MU is 9-1 for the 1st time since 1969 and in its highest-ever BCS position currently, at 5th. Maclin has scored a TD in 5 straight games, has at least 1 score in 8-of-10 outings, and has 5 multiple-TD games thus far.
RUCKER LEADS ALL OF NCAA'S TIGHT ENDS IN RECEPTIONS PER GAME
All-American candidate TE Martin Rucker bypassed the NFL draft after his junior year, in order to come back to help lead his team to great things in 2007, and also to help improve his draft status for next year. Through 10 games, his decision appears to have been an extremely good one, as Rucker has played like a man among children, as he leads all of the nation's tight ends with his per-game averages of 6.60 receptions and his yardage average of 67.10 yards (66 receptions, 671 yards, 5 TDs in all) is 5th-best nationally among tight ends. He also ranks 22nd nationally – among all position players – with his 6.60 catches per game.
It's hard to imagine a tight end playing more inspired ball right now, as Rucker has been a beast every time he's touched the ball – we're hyperbolizing a little here, probably, but it's hard to remember a time when he was brought down by any less than 3 people on a play when he's touched the ball this season.
The co-captain was a focal point of the offensive attack that rolled up 606 yards against Nebraska, as Rucker caught 9 passes for 109 yards and 1 TD against the Huskers. He followed with a 6-catch, 35-yard outing at Oklahoma where he caught a TD pass in the 4th quarter. Rucker is had a 6-catch night at Colorado that saw him break the MU single-season record for most receptions by a tight end (old mark was 54 by Chase Coffman in 2006), and he's coming off a 6-catch, 54-yard day against Texas A&M.
Rucker, who was voted a team co-captain by his teammates this off-season, caught 53 passes for 511 yards and 5 TDs a year ago. He entered his senior season (after bypassing the NFL Draft) already holding the MU career records for TEs in receptions (119) and yardage (1,341).
With updated career numbers of 185 receptions for 2.012 yards and 15 TDs, Rucker is now just the 3rd Tiger ever (1st tight end) to reach 2,000 yards. He also stands just 16 catches shy of breaking the MU career receptions record of 200 held by former standout WR Justin Gage (200 from 1999-2002).
Rucker is the younger brother of Mike Rucker, who was an All-American defensive lineman at Nebraska and is a standout with the NFL's Carolina Panthers. His father, Martin Sr., also has a very public job, as he is a State Representative in the Missouri House of Representatives, for District 29.
BY AIR, OR BY LAND, THE TIGER OFFENSE IS SCORING LIKE NO OTHER
Mizzou ranks 7th nationally in scoring offense coming into Saturday's game, averaging 41.80 points per game. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this is the consistency with which the Tigers have scored this year – Mizzou has scored 30 points or more in each of their 10 games so far, and that's something that's never been done before at the school.
The previous longest stretch of consecutive games scoring 30 points or more was 5, and that was done only twice before, in 1997 under Coach Larry Smith, and in 2002 under Coach Gary Pinkel.
The 10 games of scoring 30 or more this season is also the MU single-season record.
With 418 points scored so far, the current Tigers have already broken the season school record of 399 points, set in 13 games by the 2003 squad. With at least three games (including a bowl game) on the horizon, MU's current pace of 41.80 ppg extrapolates to a 13-game total of a massive 543 points! This year's team has also, in just 10 games, already surpassed the team records for points in a 12-game season (369 in 2005) and an 11-game season (368 in 1997).
|
MOST GAMES SCORING 30 PTS. OR MORE |
|
| NO. | SCHOOL | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Mizzou | |
| 9 | Hawaii, Texas Tech | |
| 8 | Boise State, Florida, Kansas, LSU, Navy, Nevada, Purdue, UCF, West Virginia |
|
| 7 | Arizona State, Arkansas, Clemson, Houston, Indiana, Kansas State,Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, Tulsa, UTEP |
|
|
||
MIZZOU ONE OF ONLY 2 TEAMS TO SCORE 30 PTS. EACH GAME IN 2007
Another testament to the consistency with which Chase Daniel and the Tiger offensive attack is playing this year – a check of the national results in 2007 shows that Mizzou is one of only two schools in the country to score at least 30 points in every game.
MU and Hawaii are the only schools to make that claim, but MU has the most in the nation, doing it 10 times so far, while Hawaii has played one less game to this point. Here's a quick look at teams with the most 30-point games so far (through games of Nov. 10th)...
|
TEXAS A&M OFFENSIVE COMPARISON |
||||
| Texas A&M | Rush Yds. |
Avg. Rush |
20-Yd. Runs |
Long Run |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st 10 Games | 228.3 | 5.1 | 16 | 65 | |
| vs. Mizzou | 133 | 3.4 | 0 | 13 | |
|
|||||
DEFENSE HOLDS A&M RUN GAME IN CHECK, RUN DEFENSE NOW RANKS 25TH
The Mizzou defense has been playing at a high level in Big 12 Conference play, and the Tigers on that side of the ball contributed heavily to MU's 40-26 win over Texas A&M Saturday. The Tigers held A&M to 133 yards rushing – nearly 100 yards under the Aggies' average of 228.30 yards per game coming in.
After the solid day against the run, MU's rushing defense has moved into the top-25 of the NCAA rankings, and the Tigers enter Saturday against Kansas State ranked 25th, allowing 118.70 yards per game. That's a solid improvement from the 2006 season, when MU ranked 58th nationally in rush defense, allowing an average of 134.54 yards per game.
Here's a look at what A&M did on the ground, compared to what they were averaging prior to Saturday...
|
MIZZOU 2007 DEFENSIVE NUMBERS ALLOWED |
|||||||
| Rush | Avg. | Pass | Total | 3rd | 20-Yd. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Yds. | Rush | Yds. | Off. | Pts. | Downs | Plays | |
| Illinois | 119 | 3.5 | 316 | 435 | 34 | 5-14 | 7 | |
| at Ole Miss | 229 | 6.0 | 305 | 534 | 25 | 7-15 | 7 | |
| Western Mich. | 132 | 3.5 | 240 | 372 | 24 | 3-16 | 2 | |
| Illinois State | 155 | 3.9 | 242 | 397 | 17 | 8-17 | 2 | |
| Nebraska | 74 | 3.0 | 223 | 297 | 6 | 6-16 | 0 | |
| at Oklahoma | 118 | 3.6 | 266 | 384 | 41 | 10-14 | 4 | |
| Texas Tech | (-9) | (-0.6) | 397 | 388 | 10 | 7-18 | 1 | |
| Iowa State | 152 | 3.9 | 237 | 389 | 28 | 11-20 | 4 | |
| at Colorado | 84 | 2.8 | 112 | 196 | 10 | 3-17 | 1 | |
| Texas A&M | 133 | 3.1 | 247 | 380 | 26 | 9-16 | 3 | |
|
||||||||
DEFENSE TURNING HEADS AND MAKING STATISTICAL STRIDES
Mizzou's defense took some lumps from the peanut gallery after its first two games, when it allowed 435 yards to Illinois and 534 yards to Ole Miss to begin the season.
But Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus' troops have worked hard to get better, and his young squad has done just that in the past month-and-a-half, as the Tigers have held 8 straight foes to under 400 yards of offense – and recently had a smothering effort at Colorado, where they held Colorado to just 196 yards and 10 points. The Buffaloes entered the game averaging 376.78 yards of offense and 25.33 points per game.
The 10 points that CU scored were set up by an interception that gave the Buffs the ball at MU's 11-yardline on the 1st possession of the game, and a field goal that was set up by a blocked punt that gave Colorado the ball at MU's 36-yardline.
Prior to that, Mizzou had a very impressive day against Texas Tech in which it held Tech's high-flying offense very much in check. The Red Raiders came into the game ranked 1st in the nation in passing offense (500.4 ypg) and total offense (582.0) and were 2nd nationally coming in in pass efficiency (177.9 rating) and 3rd in scoring (50.0 ppg). Eberflus was selected as the National Defensive Coordinator of the Week for his team's performance against the Red Raiders by both Rivals.com, and by the Master Coaches' Survey.
Despite the scoreboard saying that Oklahoma scored 41 points against MU, the Tiger defense played much better than that, as OU scored 21 points off of turnovers. Here's a quick comparison of what OU was averaging coming into the game, and what MU allowed...
The big plays have come down markedly, as MU has allowed only 14 plays of 20 yards or more in its last 7 games combined, compared to 14 of 20 or more in the 1st 2 games alone. Nebraska failed to produce a single offensive play of 20 yards or more, with the longest pass going for 18 yards, and the longest rush being 17 yards, while Texas Tech and Colorado each had just one play of 20 yards or more.
Here's a look at some game-by-game numbers for the Tiger defense thus far in 2007:
DON'T JUDGE THIS DEFENSE SOLELY BY ITS STAT RANKINGS
A quick look at the NCAA stat rankings shows that MU ranks 96th in pass defense, allowing 258.5 yards per game. That is a little misleading however, as the Tigers have played from ahead for the vast majority of time this season, forcing opponents to throw the ball early and often, and giving up mostly meaningless yards in between the 20s.
Perhaps a more impressive category to peruse would be pass efficiency defense, where the Tigers rank 40th nationally (3rd in the Big 12), with a rating of 118.4. The Tigers intercepted Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell 4 times on Oct. 20, when he had only 3 INTs all year coming into the game, and just recently held Colorado's Cody Hawkins to 112 yards passing and no TDs for the 1st time in his career.
In Big 12 Conference games, MU ranks 2nd in pass efficiency defense, with an opposing QB rating of 115.3. The Tigers have allowed only 6 TD passes in 6 league games, which is fewest in the conference.
For the season, even though MU ranks 96th in pass yardage allowed, the Tigers have allowed only 12 TD passes by opponents, which is tied with Oklahoma for fewest in the Big 12, and only 24 teams nationally have allowed fewer than 12 TD passes by foes.
TIGERS LEAD THE NATION IN 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS
The latest NCAA stats show that Missouri enters this weekend's games atop the nation's rankings in 3rd-down efficiency, converting a nation-best 57.4% (85-of-148). Mizzou maintained the top spot in the rankings after a 9-of-15 performance last Saturday against Texas A&M.
Earlier, MU had a solid 9-of-16 showing (56.3%) on the road in the Tigers' 41-31 loss at 6th-ranked Oklahoma – that, despite the fact that OU came into the game ranked 3rd nationally in 3rd-down defense, allowing opponents a conversion rate of just 25.5%.
MIZZOU-KANSAS STATE SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou and Kansas State will square off for the 93rd time when they meet Saturday in Manhattan, with MU holding a 56-31-5 lead overall in the prior 92 meetings.
The 56 wins is the 2nd most by MU over any opponent, just 1 win shy of the 57 wins the Tigers hold alltime over Iowa State (57-34-9 overall, including the 2007 win).
While Missouri holds the historical edge in the series, it had been dominated by the Wildcats recently, up until MU's 41-21 win last year in Columbia. That win broke a 13-game KSU winning streak in the series, as the Wildcats won each year from 1993 to 2005. Prior to that KSU winning streak, Mizzou held a commanding 55-18-5 advantage in the series ledger.
Mizzou holds a 28-14-2 lead in games played in Manhattan, but the edge is only 10-9-1 in KSU's Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Tigers actually played the first game ever in the stadium when it was renamed to its current name, as former coach Bill Snyder announced his retirement the week of MU's game there in 2005. The Wildcats sent their legendary coach out a winner, defeating the Tigers by a 36-28 count.
The Tigers will be looking for their first win in Manhattan since 1989 (a 21-9 win in Snyder's first year at K-State), with the Wildcats winning the last 8 straight there.
LAST YEAR REWIND: #24 MIZZOU 41, KANSAS STATE 21 (2006)
A wet field, a slippery ball, a 13-game losing streak — none of it mattered to Chase Daniel.
Missouri's sophomore quarterback put on another passing display, throwing touchdown passes to four different receivers as the 24th-ranked Tigers beat Kansas State 41-21, snapping a 13-game losing streak against the Wildcats.
Missouri (7-1, 3-1) overcame a turnover turned into a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to bounce back from the previous week's 25-19 loss to Texas A&M and get off to its best start since 1969.
The game, played in a driving rain, marked Missouri's first win over Kansas State since a 27-14 victory in Columbia in 1992.
Kansas State seemed poised for the upset early. Defensive end Rob Jackson broke around left end on the first play from scrimmage at the Missouri 41 and blindsided Daniel, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by linebacker Zach Diles, who ran 43 yards for the score.
After Jeff Wolfert made a 30-yard field goal for Missouri, the Wildcats had a chance to go up 14-3 early in the second quarter. But on fourth-and-goal from the 1, James Johnson was stopped for no gain, as he was stuffed by DL Tommy Chavis shy of the goalline.
Missouri then completely changed the momentum of the game, as it drove 99 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 14-yard pass from Daniel to tight end Martin Rucker to make it 10-7 MU.
The Tigers made it 17-7 later in the half. On third-and-1 from the Missouri 48, Daniel threw a short sideline pass to Will Franklin, who spun around a defender on single coverage and ran untouched to the end zone.
Daniel, who set a team record with five TD passes in a season-opening 47-7 win over Murray State, was 24-of-31 for 262 yards. He broke Terry McMillan's record of 18 touchdown throws in a season, set in 1969.
Franklin had five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Chase Coffman had six catches for 75 yards and a 14-yard fourth-quarter score. Tony Temple gained 62 yards on nine carries.
Kansas State freshman quarterback Josh Freeman, who came in completing just 43.1 percent of his passes, was 5-of-19 for 63 yards, was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. He was also sacked four times, twice by linebacker Marcus Bacon.
But the Wildcats had success running the ball, rushing for 262 yards. Johnson carried 20 times for 127 yards and a fourth-quarter 9-yard score, and Patton rushed 18 times for 112 yards and a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The start of the second half was a disaster for Kansas State as the Wildcats committed turnovers on three of their first four plays from scrimmage, resulting in 17 Missouri points.
Freeman was intercepted by Dedrick Harrington at the Missouri 48, and the Tigers eventually scored on a 3-yard pass from Daniel to Tommy Saunders. After the kickoff, Darnell Terrell outmuscled Yamon Figurs for a Freeman pass at the Kansas State 29 and returned it to the 11, setting up a 20-yard field goal by Wolfert.
Two plays after that, Missouri's Brock Christopher jarred the ball loose from Patton, and David Overstreet picked up the fumble and ran 41 yards for a touchdown.
TIGERS ALSO 3RD IN NATION IN FEWEST YARDS PENALIZED
One of Head Coach Gary Pinkel's tried and true lines has to do with Missouri beating Missouri, and how penalties and mistakes do just that. So far in 2007, his Tigers have done a good job of not beating themselves with penalties, as MU ranks 3rd in the nation in fewest penalty yards per game, with just 34.10 yards averaged. Mizzou's opponent this Saturday, Kansas State, is on the opposite end of that spectrum so far in 2007, ranking 116th currently, with a per-game average of 72.60 yards.
Through 10 games, MU has been flagged 46 times for a grand total of 341 yards. They are coming off a game in which they were penalized just 4 times for 45 yards against Texas A&M. Previously they were penalized 4 times for 35 yards at Colorado, a game after they were flagged just 1 time for 7 yards against Iowa State – a tough pass interference call which went against MLB Brock Christopher that extended an ISU drive on 3rd-and-long.
Prior to that, MU was flagged just 3 times for 33 yards against Texas Tech. Previously, the Tigers were cited 5 times for 25 yards at Oklahoma, after getting flagged 9 times for a season-high 79 yards against Nebraska the week before.
OFFENSE AVOIDING THE THREE-AND-OUT
Few things cripple an offense more than the dreaded failed possession that ends up going three-and-out with a punt. Mizzou's offense has proven astoundingly successful in 2007 at avoiding that pratfall, however, as through 10 games, MU has gone three-and-out (followed by a punt) only 14 times.
Five of those 14 times came in the season opener against Illinois, and another 2 came in game #2 in the 4th quarter at Ole Miss when MU had a big lead and was more concerned with milking clock than anything else. Mizzou has had just 7 three-and-out offensive possessions total in the last 8 games...
