Last Saturday's last-minute thriller over Texas Tech came
down to a dramatic goal-line stand, and when the fluttering ball nestled into
the loving arms of Michael Sam for the game-winning interception at the Tiger
4-yardline, my vertical jump, measured normally at about six inches, must have
increased to well over 9 ½ inches. From
my perch just behind the south end zone on the field, that ball hung in the air
seemingly forever, but when Sam corralled it, there were lots of high fives and
hugs taking place on the sideline, and in the stands, I'm sure.
The way we won that game got me to wondering, when was the
last time the Tigers won a game on a goal-line stand? If it seems like it's been a little while,
you're right, it has been, at least in terms of a true goal-line stand. The last time Mizzou won a game with a
defensive stop on a play that originated from inside the MU 10-yardline was
back in 2004 at Iowa State. The other
instances I have found from the Big 12 era include two other overtime games -
1997 at Oklahoma State and 1996 vs. Oklahoma State in Columbia. Again, this is only on plays that were
snapped from inside the MU 10-yardline, and don't count game-saving/game-ending
interceptions or other types of plays such as the 2008 Alamo Bowl when William
Moore batted down a desperation Hail Mary by Northwestern in the endzone to end
that overtime win. It also doesn't
include another last-minute win in 2008, when Brock Christopher intercepted a
Baylor pass on the Bear 34-yardline with 1:40 to play to preserve a 31-28 win. There are many other last-minute wins over
the years, but I'm talking about the ones which truly count as a goal-line
stand.
Here's a look back at those instances, dating back through
the Big 12 era...
2011 vs. Texas Tech - Leading 31-27 (after trailing 14-0 in
the 1st quarter, and 27-17 entering the 4th), Mizzou saw
Tech march downfield quickly into the redzone, and with a full complement of
time outs, the Red Raiders had a 1st-and-10 at the Tiger 11-yardline
with :44 seconds left. A short pass in the
left flat went for four yards and Tech was forced to used its first timeout (a
key development) as two Tigers were there to stop the play for a four-yard gain
to the MU 7, with :37 seconds left. What
happened next would send joy throughout Memorial Stadium, as Tech QB Seth Doege's
attempted pass over the middle was deflected at the line of scrimmage by the
big paws of DT Dominique Hamilton and intercepted at the 4-yardline by DE
Michael Sam. Mizzou took three knees, as
Tech used their two remaining timeouts, but the third snap burned the clock and
gave Mizzou its sixth win to attain bowl eligibility for a school-record 7th
straight season...
2004 at Iowa State - This was Brad Smith's junior season,
and the year had turned into a disappointing one. The Tigers opened the year 4-1 but a
five-game losing streak ensued to knock that record to 4-6 and put the team out
of bowl contention (the schedule was only 11 games that season). With nothing left to play for but pride, the
Tigers went to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones, who needed only
a win to claim the Big 12 North Division title outright and gain a berth into
their first-ever Big 12 Championship Game.
The Cyclones were heavy favorites, but the Tigers were game from the
start, and held a 14-7 lead midway through the 4th quarter before
ISU tied it up, and then later missed a 24-yard field goal to force overtime. In the extra period, Mizzou had the ball
first, and got as far as the Cyclone 7-yardline before having to settle for a
25-yard field goal from Adam Crossett to take a 17-14 lead. Iowa State took four plays to reach the
Mizzou 3-yardline, where they had a 1st-and-goal and tons of
momentum, just three measly yards away from their first conference title of any
kind in football since 1912. Mizzou
safety Nino Williams crashed hard on a run by ISU RB Stevie Hicks to hold him
to no gain on 1st down, and then safety Jason Simpson forced Hicks
out of bounds on the edge on 2nd down for what was a three-yard
loss. Facing 3rd-and-goal
from the 6, QB Bret Meyer tried to hit TE Jon Davis in the right corner of the
end zone, but Mizzou's A.J. Kincade snagged the ball for an interception to end
the game, dash Iowa State's title game dreams, and send the Tigers out on a
high note in what was a tough last month of the season...
1997 at Oklahoma State - One of the classic games in the
last half-century of Tiger football, as the Tigers went to Stillwater and upset
the 12th-ranked Cowboys in double overtime by a 51-50 score. It was a game of huge momentum swings, as the
Tigers gave up the first score of the game but then scored 30 straight points
to hold a commanding 30-7 lead after a 23-yard touchdown run by Corby Jones to
open the 3rd quarter. But the
Cowboys wouldn't go away, and they put up 30 straight points of their own to
take a 37-30 lead with about two minutes to play. Jones answered though, and hit Ricky Ross on
a 38-yard TD pass with around :30 seconds left to send it into overtime. After the teams traded TDs in the first
overtime period, Mizzou got the ball first in the second OT session, and took a
51-44 lead on a 15-yard run by Corby Jones, followed by Scott Knickman's
PAT. The Cowboys answered with a 6-yard
TD run to pull to withing 51-50, and here's where the goal-line stand came into
play: OSU chose to go for two points and the win. The Cowboys lined up for two in a swinging
gate formation, but as OSU's Tony Lindsey dropped to pass, he was flushed out
of the pocket by Tiger DE Marquis Gibson.
Fellow linemen Donnell Jones and Brian Cracraft were able to hem Lindsey
in and tackle him short of the goal line as he tried to run it in for the
game-winning score. Instead, the Tiger
defense had made a game-winning stop to improve to 5-3 on the year and win on
the road against a ranked opponent - a feat which wouldn't be accomplished by a
Tiger team until 2011...
1996 at Oklahoma State - Mizzou claimed a 35-28 win in the
first overtime game ever played at MU.
The overtime rule had been put in place for the 1995 bowl game season,
and it was adopted in full for the 1996 season.
Had it not been in place, this game would have ended in a 28-28 tie when
the Cowboys tied the game up at 28-28 on a 15-yard TD pass from Tone Jones to
Andre Richardson with :37 seconds left in regulation. Mizzou got the ball first in overtime and
scored in three plays, as Corby Jones ran for four yards, and that was followed
by a 13-yard run by Brock Olivo, and then an 8-yard score by Olivo for a 35-28
lead. Oklahoma State took over, needing
a TD and PAT to tie, or a TD and 2-point conversion to win. They quickly got into position, as they
reached the Tiger four-yardline.
Eventually, OSU faced a 4th and goal from the 4. On the 4th-down play, the Tigers
caught a break when Jones threw the ball in the flat toward a wide-open
Richardson, who only had to catch the ball and waltz into the endzone. Richardson, however, just flat out dropped
the ball, and when the pigskin fell harmlessly to the grass, the Tigers were
victorious in their first overtime game.
Fast forward to 2011, and Mizzou's 10 alltime overtime wins is most in
the NCAA...
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