Oct. 10, 2005
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TIGER NEWS & NOTES
Iowa State Cyclones (3-2, 0-2) at Missouri Tigers (3-2, 1-1)
Oct. 15, 2005 - Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium - Columbia, Mo.
KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. (central time).
STADIUM: Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium (68,349 - FieldTurf surface). Opened in 1926. MU is 228-162-20 there alltime, including 1-2 in 2005.
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/John Kadlec, color/Chris Gervino, sidelines). Carried on over 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at mutigers.com. The game is also carried on SIRIUS Satellite Radio on Channel #121.
TV: None.
RANKINGS (AP/COACHES): None.
SERIES: MU leads, 55-33-9 overall and has won the last two meetings. ISU holds a 5-4 edge in games since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
COACHES:
Mizzou: Gary Pinkel (Kent, '75), 25-27 at MU (5th year) and 98-64-3 overall (15th year). Pinkel is 2-2 versus ISU and Dan McCarney.
Iowa State: Dan McCarney (Iowa, '75), 48-74 at ISU (11th year) and overall. McCarney is 5-5 versus MU and 2-2 versus Gary Pinkel.
It's Homecoming 2005 at Ol' Mizzou, and the Missouri Tigers (3-2 overall, 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play) will look to defend their home turf against the Iowa State Cyclones (3-2, 0-2). Kickoff for the game is set for 1 p.m. at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium.
The theme for Homecoming this year is "Let the Good Times Roll," and that's certainly what the Tigers hope to do Saturday against the Cyclones. Mizzou is coming off a 38-31 road win at Oklahoma State - a game in which its high-powered offense racked up 549 yards of offense, and its defense made enough big plays to get the win.
Iowa State is looking for its first conference win of the young season, as the Cyclones lost an overtime heartbreaker at Nebraska two weeks ago, and then had their own Homecoming game spoiled in Ames last week by Baylor, as the Bears won, 23-13.
Legend states that the Homecoming tradition got its start at the University of Missouri, in 1911, thanks to the vision and efforts of Chester L. Brewer, MU's Director of Athletics. Although Illinois claims to have staged a similar celebration in 1910, Missouri claims to have been the first school to hold a Homecoming football game.
That year, the Missouri-Kansas game was to be played on a college campus for the first time ever. Previously, the game had been played in either Kansas City or St. Joseph, and Mizzou trailed in the series at the time by a 12-5-3 count.
Brewer wanted to add some spice to the season-ending game in Columbia, so he issued a plea to Mizzou alumni, and especially former Tiger football players to "Come Home" for the game. They did just that, with a record crowd of 9,000 overflowing Rollins Field.
With four minutes to play in that inaugural Homecoming affair, and MU trailing by three points, Tiger captain Glen Schuck booted a tying field goal from a difficult angle. Then, little Billy Blees caught a rampaging KU fullback in the open field in the final seconds to preserve the 3-3 tie, and was carried off the field a hero.
Hence, "Homecoming" was born. MU has a 52-36-5 record in Homecoming games. Kansas has been MU's most common Homecoming opponent, a total of 27 times, with MU holding an 18-7-2 edge in those games.
Iowa State, however, has been a proverbial thorn in the side of the Tigers for Homecoming, as the Cyclones hold a commanding 6-1-2 lead playing as MU's Homecoming opponent in Columbia, with MU's only win coming in 1968. Since then, the Cyclones have spoiled MU's Homecoming with wins in 1970, 1976, 1988, 1999 and 2001, and also by forging ties in Homecoming games in 1982 and 1984.
LEGENDARY MIZZOU FIGURES NORM AND VIRGINIA STEWART TO SERVE AS HOMECOMING 2005 GRAND MARSHALS
The MU Alumni Association and the MU Homecoming Steering Committee have named former men's basketball coach Norm Stewart and former MU Homecoming queen Virginia Stewart as this year's Homecoming grand marshals.
Coach Stewart started his career at Mizzou as a student-athlete on both the basketball and baseball teams. He began his coaching legacy at MU in 1967, retiring in 1999. During his 32 years of coaching men's basketball, he won eight Big 8 Conference championships and six tournament titles. He had an overall record of 634-333. He also led two teams to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, and in the 1993-94 season the team had a perfect 14-0 record in the Big 8. In 38 coaching seasons (32 at Mizzou; 6 at Northern Iowa), Stewart amassed a 731-375 record. The Big 8 Coach of the Year five times and National Coach of the Year twice, Stewart remains one of college basketball's all-time winningest coaches.
Virginia Stewart, who attended Mizzou from 1954-56, was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, was selected as Show-Me queen and was active in numerous other campus activities. During her sophomore year, she was voted Homecoming queen and also met her husband-to-be. Twenty years later, she finished her bachelor's degree, worked as a travel agent for 10 years and worked with a partner to start a company called T.B.C. Inc. and William Cole Advertising Agency.
The Stewarts are currently in partnership with another couple in The Marc Salon and Day Spa and in Chris McD's Restaurant, both in Columbia. Norm Stewart also acts as special assistant to MU Chancellor J. Brady Deaton. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
LAST YEAR REWIND: MIZZOU 17, IOWA STATE 14 (OT)
Adam Crossett's 25-yard field goal in overtime, the first of his college career, gave Missouri the lead and A.J. Kincade's interception preserved a 17-14 victory for the Tigers.
Missouri (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) salvaged a sweet ending to a tough season by breaking a five-game losing streak and keeping Iowa State (6-5, 4-4) from winning the Big 12 North outright.
The Cyclones tied Colorado for first, but Colorado advanced to the conference title game because it beat Iowa State.
Iowa State, which last won a football championship in 1912, had a chance to win it in regulation. But Bret Culbertson was wide right on a 24-yard field goal attempt with 1:02 left, leaving the crowd of 40,626 in a gloomy silence.
Missouri got the ball first in overtime and drove to the Iowa State 7. Coach Gary Pinkel then summoned Crossett, a freshman who took over the place-kicking job only a week ago and had been 0-for-2 on field goals. But he split the uprights from the left hash mark, putting the pressure on Iowa State.
On the Cyclones' first play, tight end Ben Barkema sneaked into the secondary and was wide open at the 7, but Bret Meyer threw the ball behind him and Barkema couldn't hold on.
Iowa State still drove to a first-and-goal at the 3, then lost 3 yards on two plays. On third down, Meyer tried to lob the ball to Jon Davis in the end zone, but Kincade picked it off, denying the Cyclones a championship that was in their grasp.
Missouri's Brad Smith carried 21 times for 101 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown run, and completed 13 of 24 passes for 150 yards with one interception. But his biggest play was a touchdown-saving tackle after a Missouri fumble.
Late in the game, with MU driving to potentially break a tie, wide receiver Thomson Omboga was ruled to have fumbled after a gain over the middle. Iowa State's Steve Paris picked it up at the Missouri 34 and sprinted down the left sideline. Smith bumped Paris out of bounds at the Missouri 15 to save a potential touchdown.
The Cyclones ran three running plays before calling on Culbertson, a walk-on freshman. He had been 7-for-8 on field goals since winning the kicking job but missed the chip shot that might have given the Cyclones the victory.
Though Missouri had nothing to play for, the Tigers came up with a spirited effort on a day that started with the wind chill at 22 degrees and a northwest wind howling at 25 to 35 mph.
The Tigers took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter when Smith caught Iowa State in a blitz and sprinted 36 yards to the end zone through a big hole in the right side of the line. Iowa State tied it on Stevie Hicks' 2-yard touchdown run with 8:58 left, a play set up by Meyer's 35-yard completion to Todd Blythe.
Meyer's 13-yard TD run on an option keeper tied it at 7 in the second quarter, right after Missouri had gone up 7-0 with a 94-yard, nine-play drive against the wind.
Marcus Woods took care of the drive's final 29 yards, breaking two tackles on a 24-yard run to the 5, and taking it in on the next play.
MIZZOU-IOWA STATE SERIES NOTES
Mizzou and Iowa State will meet for the 98th time when they square off Saturday in Columbia, with the Tigers holding a solid 55-33-9 advantage in the previous 97 meetings. The series has been very evenly-matched in the recent past, however, as ISU has won 11 of the last 20 games overall, and 5-of-9 meetings since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996...
Mizzou has won the last 2 meetings with the Cyclones, including a 45-7 Tiger win the last time the two teams played in Columbia in 2003. That win gave MU its eighth win of the season, and solidified the Tigers' selection to play in the 2003 MainStay Independence Bowl. Prior to that Tiger win in 2003, the Cyclones had won four straight games over Mizzou, from 1999 to 2002...
MU and ISU have played tightly-contested games more often than not of late, as four of the last six meetings have been decided by 7 points or less...
LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 38, OKIE STATE 31
Mizzou got its first road win of the season (in its first attempt) last Saturday as the Tigers scored a 38-31 win at Oklahoma State, a win which improved the Tigers to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play.
Tailback Marcus Woods had a rushing and receiving TD in the 1st and 2nd quarters, respectively, in helping MU to a 14-9 lead, and WR Brad Ekwerekwu connected with fellow wideout Sean Coffey on a 30-yard TD pass just before halftime to stake the Tigers to a 21-9 advantage.
Mizzou scored the first 10 points of the 3rd quarter, spurred by Woods' 76-yard punt return that set MU up at the OSU 10-yardline, to go up 31-9. But the Cowboys wouldn't go away, as they scored on two short runs as its offense got untracked after being held in check by MU's defense. After the second score, the successful two-point conversion made it 31-24 heading into the 4th quarter.
After the teams traded punts to begin the final period, Brad Smith put the stake in the proverbial heart, as he raced 59 yards down the right sideline to set MU up on the OSU 15 yardline. Smith would end the day with a season-high 184 yards rushing and 193 passing and 1 touchdown. Two plays later, wideout Brad Ekwerekwu scored on a 13-yard reverse (the first rushing TD of his career), to stretch MU's lead back to 38-24 with 9:07 left.
Again, Okie State rallied, as OSU drove 70 yards in 8 plays, taking only 2:31 to do so, and a short TD pass made it 38-31 with 6:36 to play. Mizzou answered once again, as Smith engineered a brilliant 10-play, 61-yard drive down to the OSU 6 yardline that used up 5 minutes on the clock, before settling for a 23-yard field goal attempt to effectively ice the game.
However, normally reliable Adam Crossett was wide right on the kick, giving OSU one last shot with the ball at its own 20 yardline and 1:36 left on the clock.
The Cowboys advanced 25 yards on three plays before MU safety David Overstreet ended the threat by jumping to grab an interception right in front of the OSU bench at the Cowboy 48 yardline with 55 seconds left. Mizzou ran out the clock to ice the win.
OFFENSE HAS BIG DAY IN WIN AT OSU
Mizzou is coming off a 38-31 road win at Oklahoma State last Saturday in which its offensive attack continued its impressive ways. The Tiger offense rolled up 549 yards of total offense, including 326 yards rushing (3 TDs) and 223 yards passing (2 TDs).
The offensive output came against a Cowboy defense that came into the game allowing only 294.25 yards per game (ranked 22nd nationally). The OSU defense also came into the game ranking 4th nationally in pass defense (146.50 ypg) and 14th in scoring defense (14.25 ppg).
Mizzou enters Saturday's Homecoming game with Iowa State carrying the nation's 7th-ranked offense into the matchup. MU ranks 7th in total offense (508.00 ypg), 6th in rushing offense (265.40 ypg) and 16th in scoring (37.80 ppg) heading into the contest.
Mizzou has racked up offensive outputs of 657 yards against Arkansas State, 490 versus New Mexico, 514 versus Troy, 330 versus #2 Texas and 549 at Oklahoma State. The total against Arkansas State was the 2nd-most in MU single-game history, only eight yards shy of the record.
The Tiger offense got off to a good start, as it scored a TD on its opening possession of the game for the first time all season, marching 67 yards on 9 plays to claim a 7-3 lead. Tailback Marcus Woods capped the drive with a 12-yard run. MU had scored on its initial possession only once in its previous 4 games, with the score coming on a field goal against New Mexico.
DEFENSE MADE PRESENCE FELT
Even though the Tiger defense gave up 31 points to Oklahoma State last Saturday, Mizzou made more big plays than it had in previous games this year, and Tiger faithful will point to that as a sign of improvement for MU's defensive unit.
The first half of the game saw the Tiger defense play some of its best ball of the season, as it held the Cowboys out of the endzone for the entire 30 minutes - marking the first time since the opener against Arkansas State that an opponent had not scored a TD on the Tigers. Mizzou led 21-9 at halftime, and the Tiger defense had allowed only 129 yards of offense.
The Cowboys began to click offensively in the 2nd half, as they scored 3 TDs to make a game of it, but Mizzou's defense still contributed by making enough big plays to get the win. The biggest in the 2nd half was by S David Overstreet, who jumped to intercept the ball near midfield with 55 seconds left to preserve the game.
The Tigers got pressure on the quarterback all day long, as MU was credited with 5 QB sacks. DE Brian Smith had 2 of those sacks, and his 2nd-quarter sack forced a fumble deep in OSU territory that linemate Lorenzo Williams pounced on to set up a Tiger TD just before halftime.
In addition to the 5 sacks, MU's defense held OSU to rushes of zero or negative yards 8 times on the day. OSU averaged just 3.0 yards per rush, gaining 132 yards on 44 attempts. MU also forced a season-high 3 turnovers in the game.
MORE OKIE STATE TIDBITS
MU's win in Stillwater was the Tigers' 4th-straight win playing there, which tied for the 7th-longest winning streak in school history playing at an opponents' home stadium. The longest such streak is a 15-game win streak for Mizzou playing at Kansas State from 1940-1968...
Mizzou won the battle of turnovers for just the 2nd time this season, as the Tigers forced 3 OSU miscues (a most for MU's defense this year), while giving it up just once...
Junior WR Brad Ekwerekwu had an exciting day, as he was involved in two Tiger touchdowns - with neither of them coming on receptions. Instead, Ek threw and ran for his first career TDs, as he lofted a 30-yard scoring strike to running mate Sean Coffey just before halftime to help MU take a 21-9 lead into half. In the 4th quarter, with MU holding a 31-24 lead, he then took a reverse handoff from TB Jimmy Jackson and raced virtually untouched 13 yards for a TD to give MU a 38-24 lead with just over 9 minutes left in the game...
Mizzou came into the game ranked 7th nationally in 3rd down conversions (52.6%), while OSU came in ranked 116th in the same category (21.4%). Those numbers held pretty true in the game, as the Tigers converted 6-of-13 3rd down tries (46.2%), while the Tiger defense held the Cowboys to just 2-of-10 on 3rd downs (20.0%)...
TIGER GROUND ATTACK KEEPS ROLLING ALONG
Mizzou racked up 326 yards rushing against Oklahoma State last time out, as it averaged a healthy 6.7 yards per attempt, on 49 carries. The ground attack was especially potent in the latter stretches of the game, as it ran the ball all but one time in the 4th quarter as MU looked to ice the game.
QB Brad Smith hit a 22-yard pass to TE Chase Coffman on the 1st play of the 4th quarter, but after that, MU ran the ball down the throat of the OSU defense, gaining 155 yards on 16 straight carries (9.7 ypa), before losing 4 yards on a pair of kneel-downs to end the game.
The 326 yards marked a season-high for MU on the ground, and the Tigers enter Saturday's game against Iowa State carrying the nation's 6th-ranked rushing attack, at 265.40 yards per game. The Tigers have rushed for totals of 317 yards (vs. Arkansas State), 242 yards (vs. New Mexico), 303 yards (vs. Troy) and 139 yards (vs. Texas) for the season.
The potent rushing attack is a much-welcomed sight, after MU averaged just 165.00 yards per game in 2004 (ranking 48th overall nationally). Just a year prior, in 2003, MU's ground game was one of the nation's best, as it ranked 6th nationally (237.46 ypg).
Through 5 games this season, Mizzou has 15 rushing TDs, a year after Mizzou managed only 13 scores on the ground in 2004. In MU's 2003 season, the Tigers had an impressive 38 rushing scores.
Additionally, MU's 1,327 rushing yards through 5 games is already much more than half of the season total that Mizzou mustered in 11 games in 2004 (1,815).
Brad Smith HAS RECORD-SETTING DAY IN OSU WIN
QB Brad Smith led Mizzou to its big road win at Oklahoma State, as he accounted for 377 yards of offense on the day, with 193 passing yards (1 TD / zero INTs) and a season-high 184 yards rushing. He completed 21-of-27 passes on the day and had a QB rating of 150.05 (his 2nd-best of the season).
Smith broke the Big 12 career record for rushing yards by a QB during the game, and now stands 5th alltime on the NCAA charts, with 3,568 for his career entering the ISU game. He broke the old Big 12 record of 3,434 by Nebraska's Eric Crouch (1998-2001) on an 11-yard keeper in the 2nd quarter. He stands just 328 yards shy of the NCAA record of 3,895 by Indiana's Antwaan Randle-El (1998-2001).
Also, Smith moved into 16th place on the NCAA career total offense list with his 377 yards. His total is now 11,185 in 41 career games, and he needs 1,079 more to break the Big 12 record of 12,263 set by Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury (1999-2002). Smith passed such names as Eric Zeier (Georgia), Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Ben Roethlisberger (Miami, Ohio) and Carson Palmer (USC) on the list with his performance at OSU.
Smith's rushing total of 1,406 yards during the 2003 season was the 4th-most ever in a season by a quarterback, behind only Beau Morgan of Air Force (1,494 in 1996), Stacey Robinson of Northern Illinois (1,443 in 1989) and Jamaal Lord of Nebraska (1,412 in 2002).
Brad Smith RANKS 3RD NATIONALLY IN TOTAL OFFENSE; LEADS BIG 12 IN RUSHING
QB Brad Smith enters the ISU game ranking 3rd in the country in total offense, at a clip of 340.40 yards per game. He currently leads the Big 12 Conference in rushing (and ranks 13th nationally), with his per-game average of 116.0 yards.
Smith has 580 yards and 6 TDs rushing in 5 games this season, compared to 2004 11-game totals of 553 yards and 4 TDs (a per-game average of 50.3 rushing yards). His pass efficiency rating is currently at 124.5, which is better than his previous season best of 117.3, set as a redshirt freshman in 2002. Smith's 18-yard TD pass to TB Marcus Woods in the 2nd quarter at OSU marked the 50th of his career (an MU record).
Those wondering how QB Brad Smith would take to MU's new offense had their questions answered in a big way early on, as Smith put up total offense numbers of 412 yards against Arkansas State and 413 yards against New Mexico. He had a workmanlike day against Troy, with 262 yards (183 passing / 79 rushing), 2 TDs (1 passing / 1 rushing) and 1 2-pt. conversion run. He was held to a season-low total of 238 yards versus #2 Texas (181 passing / 57 rushing), but did manage 2 rushing TDs. He gained 87 yards rushing on the day, but was sacked 4 times for a total of 29 yards.
Smith had a statistical output of 412 yards of total offense in the season opener against ASU, as he passed for 317 and a career-high (and school-record tying) 4 TDs on the day (6, 1, 7 and 14 yards). Additionally, Smith was MU's leading rusher, as he ran for 95 yards on just 12 carries (7.9 avg.). He did all of this despite playing only 1 series in the final quarter-and-a-half of the game.
Smith completed 29-of-37 passes on the day, without an interception. His single-game QB rating of 186.0 was the 2nd-highest of his career.
Smith was named the SBC Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. It marked the 5th time that he has won the award, with the other instances coming after performances in 2002 vs. Illinois, in 2003 vs. Nebraska and Texas Tech, and in 2004 vs. Iowa State.
Against New Mexico, Smith had 413 yards of offense, as he threw for 248 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 165 yards and 3 TDs in MU's defeat. Smith's 413 yards of total offense was just 6 shy of his personal best, when he amassed 419 in 2003 against Texas Tech (291 rushing, 128 passing).
Brad Smith BREAKS MU CAREER RECORDS FOR PASSING & RUSHING
MU's game vs. New Mexico was bittersweet for the Tigers, because despite the loss, they witnessed history not once, but twice, in the third quarter, as QB Brad Smith broke two major school career records.
First up on the hit list was the MU career passing yardage record of 6,959 by Jeff Handy (1991-94). Smith entered the game against New Mexico with 6,812 yards, just 148 yards from the record. He got that total by early in the 3rd quarter, and the record fell on a 7-yard pass to TB Marcus Woods on MU's 3rd possession of the quarter.
Smith ended the game with 248 yards passing, and he enters Saturday's game with Iowa State with 7,617 career passing yards.
Next up was the MU career rushing record of 3,198 set by Zack Abron (2000-03). Smith entered the game in 2nd place, with 3,083 yards, and needed 116 to break the record. He had 41 yards on the ground at halftime, but really came on in the third quarter as the Tiger offense racked up 203 yards of offense. Smith broke off two highlight-reel runs of 31 and 15 yards that went for TDs as MU rallied from a 21-14 deficit to take a 28-21 lead.
The rushing record came on a 32-yard run by Smith on the next-to-last play of the 3rd quarter. That pushed his game total to 140 yards, and he ended the evening with 165 to give him a total of 3,248. He now has 3,568 career rushing yards entering the ISU game.
MORE Brad Smith QUICK SLANTS
Is the NCAA's active career leader in total offense, with 11,185 yards entering the ISU game. Next most behind him is senior QB Brett Basanez of Northwestern, with 9,126 yards...
Ranks 2nd in the NCAA active career leaders in TDs responsible for, with 86, and trails only 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart of USC (89)...
Can tie an NCAA total offense record if he gains 3,000 total yards this season, then he will join five others (Ty Detmer of BYU; Chad Pennington of Marshall; Tim Rattay of Louisiana Tech; Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech and Timmy Chang of Hawaii) as the only players in Division I-A history to have 3 years of 3,000 yards or more in total offense...
With just 2,500 yds. of offense in 2005, will become only the 3rd player in D-I history to have 4 years of 2,500 yds. (Antwaan Randle El of Indiana and Timmy Chang of Hawaii)...
With 3 rushing TDs and a rushing 2-point conversion against New Mexico, Smith upped his career scoring total to 204 points, making him only the 4th player in NCAA D-I history to throw for 200 points and score 200 points in a career (Rick Leach of Michigan; Antwaan Randle El of Indiana and Joshua Cribbs of Kent State)...
Enters the ISU game ranked 16th in NCAA D-I history in total offense (11,185.), and if he reaches his three-year average of 3,161 in 2005, he'd end up with 12,644 yards, which would put him 5th alltime...
SMITH ONLY 3RD QB IN NCAA D-I HISTORY TO ACHIEVE 6,000/3,000 FEAT
We'll try to wrap up the homage to Brad Smith with the following topic...
With 95 rushing yards Sept. 3rd against Arkansas State, Brad Smith passed the 3,000-yard plateau for his career in that category. That put MU's signal caller in rarified air from a national perspective, as he became only the 3rd player in NCAA Div. I-A history to achieve at least 6,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing. In fact, only 4 others altogether have ever achieved the 3,000/3,000 feat.
As we all know, as a redshirt freshman in 2002, Smith became only the 2nd player in NCAA D-IA history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season, when he threw for 2,333 and rushed for another 1,029. He just missed that feat a 2nd time in 2003, when he threw for 1,977 yards and rushed for 1,406.
WOODS DELIVERS THE GOODS
Sophomore TB Marcus Woods had a very big day last time out at Oklahoma State, as he played a critical role in MU's 38-31 road victory. Woods rushed for a career-high 102 yards on a career-high 20 attempts. He also scored twice on the day, first on a 12-yard run in the 1st quarter to put MU on the board. He later took a shovel pass from Brad Smith in the 2nd quarter and raced 18 yards for the first receiving TD of his career.
Early in the 3rd quarter, Woods gave MU another huge spark, as he took an OSU punt and returned it 76 yards (MU's longest play of the season) down to the Cowboy 10 yardline before being tackled. That set up fellow TB Jimmy Jackson, who punched it in for a TD on the 1st play from scrimmage to put MU up, 31-9.
Had Woods' punt return gone for a score, he would have become the first Tiger in recorded history to score rushing, receiving and punt return TDs in the same game. Former MU great Curtis Brown had rushing, receiving and kickoff return TDs in a 1976 game at USC, but no other Tiger has yet done the rushing, receiving and punt return trio.
Woods, who has a 73-yard punt return for a TD already this season (against Troy), is averaging a salty 44.0 yards per punt return thus far. That figure would lead the Big 12 Conference, as well as the nation, but he is 2 attempts short of qualifying for the list. He has 4 returns on the year for 176 yards and the 1 TD through 5 games.
His return efforts have helped MU ascend to a ranking of 4th nationally in punt returns, at a clip of 23.11 per return. Oddly enough, MU is averaging more yards on punt returns than on kickoff returns (20.43 yds.) at the present time.
Brian Smith MOVES UP THE QB SACK LIST
Junior DE Brian Smith had a big game at Oklahoma State, as he was a disruptive force all day long for the Cowboy offense. Smith had a career-high 11 tackles on the day, including 2 QB sacks, 4 tackles for loss overall, one forced fumble, one QB hurry and one pass broken up.
Smith's forced fumble was a huge play in the game, as he sacked OSU QB Bobby Reid with :34 seconds left in the 1st half, with teammate Lorenzo Williams pouncing on the ball at the Cowboy 30 yardline. On the next play, MU threw a 30-yard TD pass to put the Tigers up, 21-9 at halftime.
Smitty continued his move up the Mizzou career QB sack list. His 2 against OSU gave him 19.5 for his career, and moved him into 2nd-place on the MU career sacks list. He stands now only 3 shy of the record of 22.5 set by former Tiger All-American DE Justin Smith (1998-2000).
Smith got his 2005 season off to a good start, as he recorded 1.5 sacks versus Arkansas State. Those sacks bumped his career total to 16.5 and moved him past former Tiger C.J. Mosley into 6th-place on the MU charts.
In all, Smith recorded 5 tackles on the day, and 1 QB hurry against ASU. His sacks totaled 10 yards in losses.
The Denton, Texas, native led all NCAA freshmen defenders as a redshirt freshman in 2003 with 8 QB sacks. He followed last season with 7 more as a sophomore, and carries a total of 4.5 sacks into Saturday's game with Iowa State.
COFFEY MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME; MOVES UP MU CAREER CHARTS
Senior WR Sean Coffey returned to the Tiger lineup two games ago against Texas, and caught a game-high 6 passes for 43 yards. He followed with a big game at Oklahoma State, as he caught a career-high 7 passes for 97 yards and his 1st TD of the 2005 season on a great grab of a 30-yard pass from fellow WR Brad Ekwerekwu just before halftime.
His performance at OSU moved him up the school career receiving top-10 lists, and he enters the Iowa State game ranking 7th on MU's receiving yardage list (1,370) as well as ranking 9th on the receptions list (95).
With 5 more catches, Coffey will become only the 8th Tiger in history to catch 100 passes for his career. He enters Saturday's game with 95 career receptions for 1,370 yards and 12 TDs, after setting an MU single-season TD reception record in 2004, with 10 scoring grabs.
His return was a welcomed sight, as MU's leading receiver from a year ago (39 catches for 648 yards and the record 10 receiving TDs) had missed games #2 and #3 due to a shoulder he injured in the 2005 season opener against Arkansas State.
MIZZOU HAS BIG 12'S TOP-2 TIGHT ENDS
Mizzou has the Big 12 Conference's top two tight ends, in true freshman Chase Coffman and sophomore Martin Rucker.
Alot of times, we're guilty of writers' embellishments, but the above statement is grounded in absolute fact, as the dynamic duo of Coffman and Rucker are tops in the conference in receptions among tight ends, with 20 and 17, respectively, entering the Iowa State contest.
Coffman has a league-best 20 catches for 212 yards and 2 TDs, good for a per-game average of 4.0 receptions. Coffman is coming off a 5-catch outing at OSU that saw him gain a career-high 60 yards on the day.
Rucker is right behind, with 17 catches for 198 yards, good for an average of 3.40 catches a game. Rucker grabbed 2 balls last time out at OSU, including an amazing one-handed leaping catch that he pulled in for a 23-yard gain that kept alive a 2nd-quarter drive for the Tigers.
This marks the second season in a row that a freshman tight end is making eye-opening contributions for Mizzou. Last year, it was redshirt freshman Martin Rucker who made a splash as he earned freshman All-American status by catching 19 passes for 263 yards and 4 TDs.
Both tight ends for MU have NFL bloodlines. Coffman's father, Paul, was a standout tight end for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs (1986-87), and the Green Bay Packers (1978-85), after playing collegiately at Kansas State.
Rucker is the younger brother of Mike Rucker, who is a standout defensive end with the NFL's Carolina Panthers, and was an All-American collegiately at Nebraska.
IN MEMORY OF A.O.
Hearts will be heavy all season on the Tiger sideline, for while MU's team looks to focus on the football side of life, weighing on everyone's mind will be the loss suffered over the summer of redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron O'Neal.
On July 12th, O'Neal participated with his teammates in a voluntary workout in Columbia. He collapsed after the workout and efforts to save him were unsuccessful. His tragic death was later determined to be due to complications arising from Lymphocytic Meningitis (viral).
While the loss was devastating for everyone in the program, the team has resolutely decided to dedicate its season to A.O.'s memory. A helmet decal is being worn to honor the St. Louis, Mo. native. A moment of silence was held prior to MU's Sept. 10th game between MU and New Mexico, as well.
Additionally, several other means of honoring Aaron are planned throughout the 2005 season, and beyond. Here's a listing of the planned tributes...
A moment of silence was held prior to the Sept. 3, 2005 game with Arkansas State at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo...
A moment of silence was held prior to the Sept. 10, 2005 game with New Mexico at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. For this moment, the MU team lined up on the 25-yardline, in honor of Aaron's jersey number (25)...
The team will wear a commemorative sticker on its helmet (#25) for the 2005 season...
A page dedicated to his memory was put in the game program for the New Mexico game on Sept. 10, 2005...
A page dedicated to his memory has been put in the 2005 Media & Recruiting Guide, and the cover of the book reads "In Memory of Aaron O'Neal #25 - Forever a Tiger"...
Aaron will be kept on the official team roster in all publications until his eligibility would have expired, following the 2008 season...
Aaron will have a page dedicated to his memory in future media guides, through the 2008 season...
Aaron will be honored on Senior Day in 2008, along with his fellow recruiting classmates...
The jersey number 25 will not be assigned to anyone through the 2008 season...
Aaron's locker in the Tom Taylor Complex has been preserved behind plexiglass...
"AO #25" will be painted on the grass berm near midfield beyond both the East and West sidelines at Faurot Field for the 2005 season...
A room (to be determined later) will be named in his memory in the new $16 million renovation and expansion project that is set to break ground this fall...
