MISSOURI ON THE ROAD
Missouri enters Saturday's contest in Lawrence riding a two-game road win streak. Missouri's road finale last season at Baylor resulted in a 47-22 victory. In their first road game of 2001, the Tigers defeated Oklahoma State by a score of 41-38 in three overtimes. A victory on Saturday would give the Tigers a three-game road winning streak for the first time since 1994 when the they won at Houston, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.

TIGERS IN LAWRENCE
A win on Saturday would break a five-game losing streak at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan. Missouri has not won in Lawrence since the 1990 season, a 31-21 victory. The Tigers have scored just seven points at Kansas in the last two games. The Jayhawks won the meeting in 1997 by a score of 15-7. They shutout Missouri by a score of 21-0 in 1999.

SCOUTING KANSAS
The Kansas Jayhawks enter Saturday's contest with a record of 2-3 and 1-2 in Big 12 Conference play. Like Missouri, KU split its first two non-conference games, defeating Southwest Missouri State by a score of 24-10, and losing to nationally-ranked UCLA, 41-17. The Jayhawks have dropped conference games to Coloardo and Oklahoma, while defeating Texas Tech in Lubbock, 34-31 in three overtimes. Terry Allen is 20-30 as head coach at Kansas. The Jayhawks have gone with two quarterbacks for most of the season. Redshirt freshman Mario Kinsey has thrown for 479 yards and rushed for 173 yards. He has scored three touchdowns on the ground. Zach Dyer has thrown for 328 yards, completing 31-of-59 passes. KU's leading rusher is Reggie Duncan, who averages 4.2 yards per carry. Duncan has carried 81 times for 341 yards. The Jayhawks possess one of the top kickers in the Big 12 in Johnny Beck. Beck is 10-of-11 in field goal tries this season, including 8-of-9 from beyond 40 yards. Beck has connected on two field goal attempts beyond 50 yards, including a career-long 59 yard FG. Defensively, the Jayhawks are led by linebacker Marcus Rogers, one of the top tacklers in the Big 12 Conference.

HEAD COACH GARY PINKEL
Head Coach Gary Pinkel is in his first season at Missouri. In 10 seasons at the University of Toledo, Pinkel established himself as one of the most successful head coaches in Mid-American Conference history. He enters Saturday's contest with a career mark of 75-40-3. He is 2-3 as head coach at Missouri. He left Toledo with 73 wins, ranking him fourth among coaches in MAC history. His Toledo teams finished in the top three in the MAC or MAC West Division eight times, including four first-place finishes. Three of those teams advanced to play in the post-season and captured one MAC Championship and three MAC West Division titles.

PINKEL RANKS HIGH ON ACTIVE COACHES WINNING PCT. LIST
Gary Pinkel enters Saturday's contest against Kansas ranked 15th among active Division 1-A football coaches in winning percentage. His 75-40-3 career record gives him a winning percentage of .648. Only two current Big 12 coaches rank higher than Pinkel, R.C. Slocum at Texas A&M (6th) Bill Snyder at Kansas State (10th).

LAST YEAR: KU 38 MU 17
Kansas quarterback Dylen Smith racked up 311 yards in total offense while Kansas intercepted a pass for a touchdown and returned a punt for a touchdown en route to a 38-17 victory over Missouri. The Tigers led 7-3 when Duke Revard recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, but the Jayhawks answered by scoring the next 14 points. After an 8-yard scoring strike from Smith to wide receiver Roger Ross, Kansas scored again just 19 seconds later when Tim Bowers intercepted a Darius Outlaw pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to give Kansas a 17-7 lead. Mizzou took the momentum back heading into halftime. With 5:17 left in the second quarter, Outlaw hooked up with Eric Spencer for a 60-yard touchdown pass to make it a 17-14 KU lead at halftime. The third quarter was won by Kansas. The Jayhawks scored on their first possession, capped off by a 3-yard run by Smith to up their lead to 24-14. With 4:30 left in the third stanza, Kansas landed a big blow. Ross scored his second touchdown of the day for Kansas, this time on a 62-yard punt return, giving the Jayhawks a commanding 31-14 advantage. Missouri threw four interceptions in the game and was only able to put three points on the board in the second half. Kansas held the Tigers to just 10 yards net rushing on the afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT
Missouri looks to bounce back this week after suffering a tough 20-14 loss to Iowa State last Saturday at Faurot Field. The game came down to one final play for the Tigers, but a tremedous defensive play by Iowa State gave the Cyclones the victory. After a scoreless first quarter, Iowa State finally broke through on a 21-yard scoring run by Ennis Haywood (27 carries, 123 yards, 2 TD) to give the Cyclones a 7-0 lead. Missouri answered on its next drive. Quarterback Kirk Farmer capped off a 6-play, 52-yard drive with a 5-yard bootleg into the end zone to tie the game 7-7. The Tigers had a chance to score before halftime, but with 40 seconds to go in the second quarter, Farmer's pass to Tay Jackson was intercepted by ISU's Harold Clewis to stall the drive. The game was tied at halftime. The defensive battle continued until Mizzou finally took the lead with 5:37 left in the third quarter. Dwayne Blakley scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead. Like Missouri did in the first half, the Cyclones answered right back. Quarterback Seneca Wallace led the Cyclones on a 9-play, 74 yard drive. A 35-yard run by Wallace put Iowa State into the red zone. Haywood then tied the game with a 4-yard TD run. Iowa State scored first in the fourth quarter. Kicker Tony Yelk connected on a 21-yard field goal to give the Cyclones a 17-14 lead. Iowa State then took advantage of a costly Missouri turnover. Tay Jackson fumbled the ball on the kickoff and ISU gained possession. The Mizzou defense stepped up and held the Cyclones to a field goal, making the score 20-14 with 3:48 left in the game. Farmer led the Tigers down the field. The Tiger quarterback rushed for 30 yards and threw for 33 yards, including a 27-yard completion to freshman Thomson Omboga who made a diving grab to get the Tigers to the Iowa State 22-yard line. Missouri advanced the ball to the Iowa State 4-yard line and had fourth-and-goal with 7 seconds left on the clock. Farmer threw a bullet of a pass to Blakley, who had cleared the linebackers into the end zone, but a diving Adam Runk of Iowa State deflected the pass just before it reached Blakley to clinch the victory for Iowa State.

DYNAMIC DUO
Missouri linebackers Sean Doyle and Jamonte Robinson have become one of the best linebacking duos in the country. In the Tigers' first five games, Doyle and Robinson have combined for 133 tackles. Doyle leads the team with 13.8 tackles per game. Robinson is averaging 13.0 tackles per game. Last week against Iowa State, Robinson racked up a career-high 18 tackles while Doyle had 16. Both Doyle and Robinson will rank among the nation's top 20 tacklers when the national defensive rankings are announced at mid week.

ROBINSON TACKLES HIS WAY INTO THE TOP 10
Senior linebacker Jamonte Robinson is climbing the career tackles chart at the University of Missouri. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native has 334 career tackles, ranking him sixth all-time at Missouri. Robinson recorded a career-high 18 tackles last Saturday against Iowa State. The week before, Robinson tied a career-high with 15 tackles at Oklahoma State. He has 45 tackles in the last three games. Robinson is one of 10 players in school history to record 300 career tackles. He needs 12 tackles to crack Missouri's all-time top-five.

ZACK AND ZAIN, BETTER THAN EVER
Missouri's running game continues to improve with every game. Sophomore Zack Abron and senior Zain Gilmore have provided the Tigers with a big boost in the last two weeks. Abron rushed for a career-high 147 yards on 21 carries last week against Iowa State. It was Abron's second 100-plus game of the season, the first against Southwest Texas (106 yards). He averaged 7.0 yards per carry, including a career-long 37-yard run last Saturday. The week before, it was Gilmore who got the Missouri offense off and running. The senior rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries at Oklahoma State. Gilmore has now rushed for 1,636 yards in his career. He is 364 yards away from 2,000 yards and just 194 yards away from breaking into Missouri's all-time top 10.

HAMMER-TIME
Senior kicker Brad Hammerich is making a bid to be the best kicker in the Big 12 Conference. The Chesterfield, Mo., native was the hero at Oklahoma State, converting four field goal attempts, (47, 39, 31 and 36 yards) including the game winner in the third overtime. Hammerich is now 7-for-8 in field goal tries this season. His only miss was from 50 yards out. In the season opener against Bowling Green, he nailed a career-long 51 yarder. Hammerich is 48-of-49 in his career in PAT attempts. He is 23-for-32 in field goal tries. Just one of those missed field goals has come on attempts of under 40 yards. He is 15-of-16 from inside 40 yards in his career and 8-of-16 from beyond 40 yards. Four of his eight misses beyond 40 yards have been from beyond 50 yards. He is 1-for-5 in his career from 50 yards out. Hammerich has a big-time leg, evident by a 56-yard field goal in the Black and Gold Game in the spring.

12-GAGE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gage is Missouri's best offensive weapon. He has recorded 34 receptions for 370 yards and two touchdowns. Gage has also scored on an 18-yard blocked punt return. He enters Saturday's contest tied for 13th in the country in receptions per game with 6.8. Against Oklahoma State, the Jefferson City, Mo. native had yet another great game. He pulled in a career-high 12 receptions for 113 yards and scored a touchdown. He was also on the receiving end of a two-point conversion. His 113 receiving yards was his second 100-yard receiving game of the season. Gage has now caught at least one pass in each of his last 16 games. Playing wide receiver for the first time in his life last season, Gage earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and was the MU offensive MVP. His 44 receptions ranked 10th among Missouri single-season leaders. His 709 receiving yards was seventh-best in school history. The 6-4, 208-pounder is perhaps the Tigers' best overall athlete. A former quarterback, Gage has completed 16 passes in his career, two of them for touchdowns. Gage has also been a key reserve each of last two seasons for Quin Snyder's basketball team.

FARMER BACK IN THE HUDDLE
Junior quarterback Kirk Farmer returned to the starting lineup against Nebraska for the first time since week four last year. Farmer, who has had to recover from hand and knee injuries this season, returned after 10 practices and completed 15-of-39 passes for 128 yards against the Huskers. It was just the sixth start of Farmer's career. After another full week of practice, Farmer continued to make progress against Oklahoma State. He completed 20-of-33 passes for a career-high 247 yards and three touchdowns. Farmer led a scoring drive with 1:22 left in the second quarter that resulted in a field goal to give the Tigers momentum heading into the second half. He then engineered three straight third quarter scoring drives against the Cowboys. Last week Farmer, completed 14-of-31 passes for 137 yards while rushing for 50 yards. The Jefferson City, Mo., native split time with Jim Dougherty in 1999, starting one game before breaking his leg in week six. Last year, Farmer started the first four games of the season before going down with a seperated shoulder at Nebraska in week four, an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

BYNUM TIES MIZZOU QB SACK RECORD
Junior defensive end Antwaun Bynum tied the Missouri single-game record for quarterback sacks against Oklahoma State. Bynum sacked OSU quarterback Aso Pogi four times in Mizzou's 41-38 triple overtime victory over the Cowboys. Bynum tied the record held by Bobby Bell (1983 vs. BYU in the Holiday Bowl) and Justin Smith (2000 at Baylor). Bynum now has five sacks on the season. His career night at Oklahoma State also included a career-high 14 tackles and two forced fumbles. The St. Louis, Mo. native is playing defensive end for the first time in his career. He came to Missouri last year as a junior college transfer from Hutchinson C.C. where he was an All-American linebacker. He recorded 24 sacks in two seasons at Hutchinson.

MISSOURI BLOCK PARTY
The Missouri Tigers have blocked five kicks in their first five games this season. The Tigers have blocked two field goal attempts, two PATs and one punt. The two blocked PATs belong to junior defensive tackle Cedric Harden, giving him four blocks for his career. The Missouri blocked punt was by sophomore cornerback Michael Harden. No relation to Cedric, Harden's blocked punt resulted in an 18-yard touchdown return by Justin Gage. Keith Wright blocked a field goal attempt by Nebraska, but the most important block of the year was made by senior linebacker Jamonte Robinson who blocked an Oklahoma State field goal attempt in the third overtime of the Tigers 41-38 victory.

RICKER ON RIMINGTON TROPHY WATCH LIST
Sophomore center A.J. Ricker is among 21 players in the nation on the Rimington Trophy "watch list." The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the best offensive center in college football, and is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. The Klein, Texas native started all 11 games as a redshirt freshman last year. He snapped the ball 654 times without committing a single penalty. He recorded 45 knockdowns and allowed just seven hits on the Tigers quarterbacks.

DEFENSIVE FRONT FOUR
Missouri's defensive front four was literally pieced together this past spring. Defensive end Antwaun Bynum is a former linebacker, defensive end Dan Davis is a former tailback and defensive tackle Keith Wright is playing inside for the first time in his career. Only Cedric Harden is playing his natural position. This group continues to get better and better with each week. By adding senior defensive tackle Chris Ryan and redshirt freshman Nick Tarpoff into the mix, Missouri's defensive front four have combined for 26 tackles for loss and nine quarterback sacks. They have hit the quarterback 19 times, forced three fumbles and recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and blocked three kicks.

MU PASS DEFENSE
The Missouri Tigers are ranked fourth in the country in pass defense. Opponents are throwing for 141.6 yards per game against the Tigers. Last week, the Tigers held Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace to 13-of-22 passing for 75 yards.

ALL-BIG 12 PERFORMERS LEAD THE MIZZOU DEFENSE
The experience on the defensive side of the football is talented. Five returning defensive players have been All-Big 12 selections. Both linebackers, Jamonte Robinson and Sean Doyle, have been honorable mention All-Big 12 picks. Defensive backs Antoine Duncan and Clarence Jones were honorable mention All-Big 12 selections last season and junior defensive tackle Cedric Harden has also been an All-Big 12 pick.

RESHUFFLING THE SCHEDULE
Due to the attack on the United States on Sept. 11, the Missouri Tigers have reshuffled their schedule. The Tigers will makeup their game with Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Saturday, Dec. 1. Missouri has also moved its' game against Kansas State to Nov. 24 to accomodate the Wildcats who will play Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17, the original date for the MU-KSU game. The last time Missouri had a football game postponed or cancelled was back in 1918. The entire season was cancelled due to an influenza epidemic.

TIGERS EARN PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Three Missouri Tigers were named preseason honorable mention All-Americans by Street & Smith's. Wide Receiver Justin Gage, offensive guard Mike Hayes and linebacker Sean Doyle were all recognized by Street & Smith's. Hayes was also named to The Sporting News "All-Underrated Team."

"TOUCHDOWN JOE" STRIKES AGAIN
Junior R-back Joe Chirumbolo earned the nickname "Touchdown Joe" two years ago after catching three touchdown passes as a fullback and rushing for another. It seems like every time Chirumbolo touches the ball, good things happen. "Touchdown Joe" is back in 2001. He has three receptions on the season, two of them are touchdowns. Against Bowling Green. Chirumbolo capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone for the Tigers' first touchdown of the season. Against Southwest Texas, Chirumbolo pulled in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Darius Outlaw.

2001 TIGER CAPTAINS
Six seniors were voted captains by their teammates in the spring for 2001 season.

IF IT GOES TO OVERTIME ...
Missouri has played six overtime games since overtime was instituted into college football in 1996. The Tigers are 4-2 in OT with three of those victories against Oklahoma State. In 1996, Mizzou defeated the Cowboys 35-28 in Columbia. That same season, Missouri needed three overtimes to knock off Baylor in Waco, Texas. The final score of that game was 49-42. In 1997, the Tigers defeated the 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in double-overtime, 51-50. Two weeks later, Missouri suffered its first overtime loss in the infamous "kicked ball" game as No. 1 Nebraska escaped Columbia with a 45-38 overtime win. The Tigers fell in overtime in 1999 at Colorado, 46-39 ... This year, the Tigers won their fourth overtime game, a triple-overtime thriller at Oklahoma State.