by Mizzou Matt 9/17/11
With the big win, the Tigers took some time to dive in the deep end of their depth chart, and they surfaced with a promising sight- the ability to get yards and points. Just how deep did they go? To the 3rd string and beyond. Third string quarterback Ashton Glaser, fourth string running back Daniel Carpenter and even backup punter Christian Brinser all took snaps late in the 4th quarter. This, after Henry Josey and Jared Culver paved the runway for an aerial attack by James Franklin and backup Jimmy Costello. The Tigers struck first on a 37-yard Franklin pass to a wide open Wes Kemp. They never took time to look back. Powered by 21 points in the 1st quarter and a repeat performance of 21 in the second, the Tigers cruised into halftime up 42-0.
Henry Josey. You'll be hearing his name a lot more as the season progresses, I'm sure of it. Prior to today's game, Josey's career high was 112 yards, set against McNeese State in 2010. Tonight he cut, juked and broke tackles on his way to 129 yards...in the 1st quarter. His day came to a close at halftime, finishing with a game- and career-high 263 yards rushing on 14 attempts and 3 TD. Josey found pay dirt on rushes from 6, 21 and 68 yards out. With Josey sitting out in the second half, Devin West's 319 yards still stands as the most in Tiger history for a single game, set against Kansas in 1998.
Bring in 5'11", 250lb backup Jared Culver, who with De'Vion Moore and Kendial Lawrence being out with injuries, saw some valuable playing time, including a trip to the endzone. Culver rushed 11 times for 86 yards and a score. Going deeper than Culver, the 3rd string RB Greg White rushed 10 times for 36. Quarterback James Franklin, who head coach Gary Pinkel said rushed too much last week (27 attempts at ASU), carried the ball only 6 times, only managing 1 yard of rushing. Backup QB Jimmy Costello added 29 yards, 3rd string QB Ashton Glaser accounted for 3, WR L'Damian Washington tallied 10 and even 4th string RB Daniel Carpenter saw a snap. Big gainers belong to Josey and Culver, who had runs of 68 (TD) and 60 yards, respectively. The Tigers finished with 428 yards rushing.
Franklin passed the ball 25 times, completing 18 for 246 yards and 3 TD. He almost had an interception inside the WIU 10, but thanks to Washington getting physical and wrestling for the ball, he did not. Costello went 2/2 for 70 yards and a TD in relief of Franklin. Costello's touchdown pass in the 4th quarter was the first of his career. Team total: 316 yards passing.
The field generals spread the ball around very well to their wideouts. T.J. Moe led the receiving corps with 68 yards on four grabs and a TD. L'Damian Washington, Jimmie Hunt, Wes Kemp, Marcus Lucas, Henry Josey, Greg White, Bud Sasser, Michael Egnew, Eric Waters, Rolandis Woodland and Jerrell Jackson all finished with at least one reception. Big gainer of the night was Hunt, who reeled off a 54-yard reception from Costello in the 4th quarter. The touchdown was the first of both Costello and Hunt's collegiate careers. Kemp finished with two touchdowns on two receptions for 47 yards.
Total offense: A school record 744 yards. Though its against WIU, that number is still rather impressive. The previous offensive record was 655 yards against Kansas, set in 1949. The 69 points ties the mark set against Kansas in 1969 and breaks the 60-point margin of victory set against Centre (KY) which was set in 1928. The shutout is the Tigers' third over the past 16 games (Colorado 26-0, Iowa State 14-0 in 2010).
Mizzou (2-1) finished the day with 30 first downs compared to WIU's one. That's not a typographical error. The Tigers allowed only ONE first down for the Leathernecks (1-2), due in large part to a veteran defensive squad that gets better week after week. Sheldon Richardson, Brad Madison, Brayden Burnett and reservist Matt Hoch added sacks to their stat sheet. Defensive back Robert Steeples hauled an interception, which was the lone WIU turnover. Punter Trey Barrow, who booted a 73-yard punt last week at Arizona State, punted only once tonight for 37 yards. Backup punter Christian Brinser came in late in the 4th and delivered a nice 47-yard punt of his own. Neither were returned. Grant Ressel, who struggled last week at ASU, regained composure to go 2/2 on field goals with a long of 28 and also went 9/9 on extra points.
There was a moment that made the Tiger Faithful hearts skip a beat- when Moe left the game in the 2nd quarter after trying to return a punt. After fielding the punt, he was quickly wrapped up by the WIU coverage. He tried to twist his way out of the tackle, but in doing so he appeared to have injured his leg. Moe never returned to the game. E.J. Gaines came in to take the punts, returning only one for 44 yards and a TD.
The first drive for Mizzou was a long one, or at least it seemed that way. The drive was only 7 plays (capped off by the 37-yarder to Kemp), but 3 plays found laundry on the field. Mizzou was penalized 9 times for 67 yards, WIU 7 for 52. Most of the Tiger penalties were due to illegal substitutions (breaking the huddle with 12 players). Missouri had 15 drives, scoring on 11. Two lost fumbles deep in Leatherneck territory ended what could've been points on the board.
Next week the Tigers travel to Norman, OK to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Last year, Mizzou knocked off the BCS number 1 Sooners in Columbia, on Homecoming, by the score of 36-27. Oklahoma will certainly have momentum of their own going into the game, as they are coming off a 23-13 road victory tonight against fifth-ranked Florida State.
Around the Big 12:
Kansas, after starting 2-0 this year, fell short (very short) against Georgia Tech today, losing 66-24.
ISU came back to beat 2010 Big East champs UConn 24-20 on Friday.
Texas, who lost to UCLA last year in Austin, sought retribution in the form of a 49-20 win.
Texas Tech knocked off New Mexico 59-13.
Baylor shut out Stephen F. Austin 48-0.
Texas A&M made beating Idaho look easy, winning 37-7.
Kansas State shut out Kent State 37-0.
