by Mizzou Matt
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| Pinkel is 0-6 vs Texas prior to today's game. |
Missouri took the ball on offense first, and drove the length of the field. Threatening to score, Texas forced a fumble and recovered the ball on their own 12. Missouri held them to just a field goal. Powered by a 14-pt 2nd quarter and an interception by Kenji Jackson at the end of the half, the Tigers would take a 14-3 lead into the locker room.
James Franklin went 9-9 for 109 yards in the first half. Texas, who allowed just 28 rushing yards in the previous two games, couldn't find an answer for Mizzou's rushing attack as the Tigers put up 100+ in the first half. Franklin scored from two yards out and Kendial "Showtime" Lawrence ran it in from 35 for the only touchdowns of the game for either team.
The last time Texas played a game in which they failed to score a touchdown: 2004, a 14-0 loss to Oklahoma.
The third quarter was an interesting one. Missouri's Eric Waters blocked the first punt of the year for the Tigers, and Matt Hoch recovered it on the 1-yard line. The Tigers took three plays to try and get in, but failed and had to settle for a field goal from punter Trey Barrow, who is still filling in for Grant Ressel. Texas returned the favor, downing their punt on Missouri's 1-yard line, and just a few plays later, blocked it out of the back of the endzone for a safety. Texas' kicker Justin Tucker missed a 53-yard FG attempt wide left to keep the score 17-5 at the end of three.
Missouri ranked in the top five of 4th quarter scoring in the NCAA coming into today's matchup. Neither team posted any points in the final stanza. The Tigers get their second win over a ranked opponent this year (upset #16 Texas A&M 38-31 in overtime).
The field claimed two injury victims in today's game. Texas' Fozzy Whittaker became the third Longhorn to go down to injury, as he left the game with an injury to his right knee in the first quarter. Henry Josey left the ball game in the third with a left knee injury after getting 19 yards on 11 carries. In a show of class, Longhorn head coach Mack Brown ran across the field to the Missouri sideline to check on Josey and wish him the best.
Lawrence led all rushers with 106 on 18 carries and a touchdown. T.J. Moe led the Tigers' receiving corp with five grabs for 74 yards. Franklin finished the game 18/26 for 186 yards passing and 13 carries for 33 yards.
Texas couldn't decide on a quarterback, which likely led to an imbalance of their O. David Ash played most of the game and went 13/29 for 159 and an interception, but Case McCoy, younger brother to Colt McCoy, saw some playing time to try and spark the struggling offense. McCoy went 3/7 for 13 yards as the Longhorns stuck mainly to the ground.
With the win, Mizzou again moves to .500 on the year with a 5-5, 3-4 record. The Tigers will try once again to get two wins in a row as they take on Texas Tech in the final home game of the season next week. (Tech lost to Oklahoma State 63-6 today, with the offense scoring 0 points [defensive blocked punt returned for TD]).
Pinkel moves to 82-53 at Mizzou, ten wins behind Dan Devine (92), and now just 18 behind the legendary Don Faurot (100).
