Hath Hell frozen over? Is Satan having a snowball fight with Saddam? Maybe not. But if you thought at the beginning of the season that the Missouri Tigers' shot at a national championship was on par with a snowball's chance in hell, maybe so. If you thought, after the Ole Miss game, that its defense would become a strength, I'd have politely disagreed and internally thought you were crazy. But that's exactly where Gary Pinkel and his crew have guided their ship to this point.
The Tiger-Kansas game lived up to expectations, although through 3 quarters, it looked as if Mizzou would run away with it. The game started off as a defensive struggle, with Kansas holding Mizzou to three-and-outs on MU's first two possessions. KU fared little better. But Mizzou rediscovered the man possessed, Tony Temple. TT gnashed and gashed his way through the KU defense for big chunks of yardage, gobbling up a game-high 98 rushing yards on 22 carries.
Thanks, of course, must also go to the line that opened up good running lanes for TT. But unlike so many previous games, he didn't go all Soul Train before deciding where to run. It's tough to advance when you take time to dance, but Tony ditched the dancin' and stuck to the advancin'. He hit the holes and ran like there was no tomorrow. His running helped open up a few passing lanes (not that Daniel and his stable of receivers need many openings), and the Tigers drove down deep into Beak territory.
That drive ended with an unsuccessful fake field goal, but I liked the moxy showed by the Tiger coaching staff on that call. Finance teaches us to take risks when we're young. The game, at that point, was young. The Tigers knew they would have more scoring chances and they like their chances when given a chance to score. So, what the hell. Try a fake field goal on 4th and forever.
The MU defense played stoutly for 3 quarters, particularly the front 7 as they controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game. The Jayhawks' soft schedule seemed to show up early in the game via their inability to ever run the ball and via the confusion they had in the passing game. The defensive backfield was porous, especially late in the game, but they were opportunistic too.
Beak QB Todd Reesing, who had not thrown an interception in several games threw a ball short of his receiver that William Moore picked off at the Mizzou 2. Mizzou, led by the blocking of Spieker, Brown, Madison, Wyrick, and Luellen, the possessed running of Temple, and the poise and accuracy of Chase Daniel, promptly drove 98 yards for a score. Missouri took a 14-0 lead into the locker room and led 21-0 after a drive set up by a 49 yard interception return in the 3rd before the Beaks got their first score.
The Beaks never got their running game going and it wasn't until they went into hurry-up mode in the 4th quarter did things get ticking. The MU defense looked a little gassed in that quarter, having expended so much energy for three quarters and then expending more when the Beaks went to the 2 minute offense with 15 minutes to play. But despite the flury of feathers and a flury of flags on the Tigers (14 penalties for 141 yards), KU never held the lead. But they got close
KU closed to within 6 with a little over 2 minutes to play, but an onside kick was covered by all-hands receiver, Tommy Saunders, and the Tigers could all but run the clock out. Saunders, for those who don't follow Mizzou football, is often Mizzou's go-to receiver on 3rd down because of his velcro-like hands. He also is trusted to hold for extra points and field goals, so it is doubtful the KU kicker could have picked a better person (from Mizzou's standpoint) to kick towards than Saunders. KU did get the ball back with 17 seconds and it wasn't until the D sacked Reesing in for a safety that the game was sealed.
I was one who doubted that KU was as good as their 11-0 season advertised. Don't get me wrong. They've got a fine coach in Mangino and they've got some real good young players. Todd Reesing may be short, but he more than makes up for it in
toughness. Still, he had a lot of balls batted down and he cracked
under pressure at times. The cracking will go away with age and
experience, but unless he goes to the KISS store and buys platform shoes,
the problems associated with the lack of height will stay. He's a
tough kid that shows a lot of moxy, but not as much as his opponent at
QB Saturday night. They look like they will be good for awhile (sorry Husker Fans). Their Big XII schedule gets noticeably tougher next year, as they will have to face Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, so I don't expect an undefeated season next year.
And now, for the second week in a row, Missouri plays the most important game in its history, or at least in the past 47 years. Mizzou gets a chance to avenge a mid-season loss, the only loss of the campaign, to Oklahoma when the two squads meet in San Antonio for the Big XII championship game. Mizzou is currently ranked #1 in the AP and in the BCS. Win this game and the Tigers play for a national championship.
No, that still hasn't sunk in yet. But the Christmas list is growing!
