Oct. 20, 2008

Colorado Buffaloes (4-3, 1-2)
at #16/16 Missouri Tigers (5-2, 1-2)
Oct. 25, 2008 – Faurot Field/
Memorial Stadium – Columbia, Mo.

TIGERS HOST BUFFALOES FOR 2008 HOMECOMING CONTEST
   The Missouri Tigers (5-2 overall, 1-2 in Big 12 Conference play) look to get back in the win column this Saturday as they play host to the longtime rival Colorado Buffaloes (4-3, 1-2) this Saturday at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. Kickoff for the game, which will be televised by Fox Sports Net, is set for 5:30 p.m. (central).
   Mizzou, ranked 16th in both the Associated Press and USA Today Top-25 polls, is looking to bounce back from its first two-game losing streak since 2006. The Tigers, who jumped out to a 5-0 start and stood as high as No. 2 in the USA Today poll and No. 3 in the A.P. poll prior to the current two-game skid, have dropped consecutive games to current #8/#7 Oklahoma State (28-23 in Columbia), followed by a 56-31 setback last weekend at #1/#1 Texas.
   Colorado finds itself at 4-3 overall, including an identical 1-2 league mark to MU coming into Saturday’s battle in Columbia. The Buffaloes got off the schneid in league play last week, as they hung on to defeat Kansas State, 14-13 in Boulder, Colo., despite getting shut out in the second half of play. Colorado was sparked by the debut of true freshman QB Tyler Hansen, who burned a planned redshirt season by coming off the bench late in the 1st quarter with CU trailing, 7-0.
   Hansen led Colorado to both of its scoring drives on the night, as he split reps with starter Cody Hawkins. Hansen ended the game 7-of-14 passing for 71 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, while Hawkins was 6-of-11 for 35 yards. Hansen also proved potent carrying the ball, as he rushed 19 times for 86 yards, providing a nice complement to Buff TB Rodney Stewart, who carried 29 times for 141 yards and 1 TD in the game.
   Prior to last Saturday’s win over KSU, Colorado began the season 3-0, gaining wins over Colorado State, Eastern Washington and West Virginia before dropping three straight against Florida State, Texas and Kansas.

SELLOUT CROWD EXPECTED FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT HOME GAME
   Another huge crowd is anticipated for Saturday’s Homecoming affair against Colorado, as all 68,349 tickets were sold in advance for the second straight game. Previously, MU sold out in advance of its last home game, on Oct. 4th, against Oklahoma State. Announced attendance for the game was 68,349.
   This will mark only the 6th capacity crowd to visit Memorial Stadium since 1995, when the stadium was re-configured to seat 68,174. The current capacity is officially 68,349, after the Press Tower was added prior to 2000. Before 1995, the stadium could hold over 70,000 fans, with the record alltime crowd being 75,298 to see Mizzou and Penn State play in 1980.
   This Saturday will mark the first consecutive sellouts ever at Mizzou in the modern-day capacity, and it will be the first overall since 1980, when MU saw back-to-back crowds of 75,298 (Penn State) and 72,333 (Colorado) in the old stadium configuration.
   Interestingly, all five of the previous modern-day sellouts came against opponents who entered the game in Columbia as a ranked squad. This week will mark the first such sellout against a non-ranked foe. Here’s a quick look at the modern-day sellouts at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium...

MIZZOU-COLORADO SERIES
   Mizzou and Colorado have faced each other 73 previous times in their history, with the series pretty close over the years. Mizzou holds a 39-31-3 edge in series history, having won 2 straight games and 3 of the last 4 meetings in all.
   The Tigers have won 2 in a row from CU in Columbia, taking a 28-13 contest in 2006, preceded by a 17-9 win here in 2004. Colorado’s last win in Columbia was a 42-35 overtime win in 2002, when the 18th-ranked Buffaloes scored first in overtime on Chris Brown’s 3rd rushing TD of the day, and they sealed the win by forcing and recovering a fumble after a Tiger pass completion from QB Brad Smith to WR Darius Outlaw on MU’s ensuing overtime possession.
   Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, Colorado has a 7-5 edge in the series, thanks to a 5-game win streak from 1999 to 2003. In that stretch, 3 of the games were won by CU by 7 points or less, including two that went to overtime (46-39 in Boulder in 1999, followed by the aforementioned 2002 contest in Columbia).
   The series, while it’s fairly even overall, has been dominated by periods of win streaks by both sides. Colorado won 12 straight games over the Tigers from 1985-96, which preceded an MU 6-game win streak from 1979-84. Mizzou also had a 4-game win streak from 1962-65, as well as a 10-game streak from 1938-50 (didn’t play from 1943-45).
   Mizzou holds a 24-11-2 edge in games played in Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. Tiger skipper Gary Pinkel has won 4-of-7 matchups against the Buffaloes, including each of the previous two against current CU Coach Dan Hawkins.

LAST YEAR REWIND: #9 MIZZOU 55, COLORADO 10
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Chase Coffman turned No. 9 Missouri’s trip to Colorado into his own personal pro tryout, displaying the talent that has NFL scouts drooling over the 6-foot-6, 245-pound touchdown machine.
   The junior tight end caught three of Chase Daniel’s five TD passes as the Tigers trounced the Buffaloes 55-10 on Saturday night for their first win in Boulder since 1997.
   His three TDs gave Coffman 19 for his three-year career, surpassing the school record of 18 set by wide receiver Justin Gage from 1999-2002.
   It started with a 25-yarder, a pass he caught over the middle and zigzagged his way through a half dozen defenders. On his second score, he hurdled free safety Ryan Walters at the 5-yard line before bullying his way into the end zone to make it 38-10.
   “I’ve been doing it because I’m getting tired of people diving at my knees,” Coffman said. “This time, it just happened to work and I landed and just kept going.”
   Coffman has attempted the hurdle in scrimmages but this was the first time it worked in a game.
   Following Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins’ third turnover, Coffman showed soft hands and superb concentration in pulling in a 5-yarder that made it 48-10.
   It was also a historic night for Jeremy Maclin, who gained 187 all-purpose yards to break the single-season school record at Missouri, which is off to an 8-1 start for the first time since 1969.
   Mizzou racked up 596 yards of total offense, while its defense was just as dominant, holding Colorado to just 196 yards of offense, while forcing 7 consecutive 3-and-out series spanning the 2nd and 3rd quarters as MU pulled away. The 55 points were the most Colorado had allowed at home since a 59-20 loss to Missouri on Oct. 8, 1983.
   “It’s huge,” said Daniel, who completed 26 of 44 passes for 421 yards. “Oklahoma lost here. They gave Florida State all they wanted here. It was good to come out here and win a game, the first time since ‘97. We’ve been breaking down barriers and that was one of them.
   Maclin, a redshirt freshman, had 108 yards receiving, 12 rushing, 44 yards on kick returns and 23 on punt returns. That gave him 1,682 all-purpose yards in nine games, breaking Devin West’s record of 1,621 yards set in 1998.
   “They’ve got a lot of nice things going,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said. “... You never expect to go down like that.”
   Defensive tackle George Hypolite intercepted Daniel’s first pass, which was deflected, giving the ball to the Buffs offense at the Missouri 11 and setting up Byron Ellis’ 2-yard TD run that gave Colorado a 7-0 lead.
   Daniel responded with a 72-yard pass to William Franklin, setting up 3-yard touchdown toss to tight end Martin Rucker.
   Alonzo Barrett’s blocked punt set up the Buffs with another short field and Kevin Eberhart’s 24-yard field goal put them on top 10-7.
   Then they surrendered 48 unanswered points.
   It began to completely unravel when Hawkins was being pursued by two defenders and tried to pass anyway. The ball slipped out of his right hand and Lorenzo Williams recovered for the Tigers.
   Three plays later, Daniel hit Maclin with a 46-yard touchdown toss that gave Missouri its first lead at 14-10.
   The Buffs went three-and-out on their next four possessions. In between, the Tigers scored on Jeff Wolfert’s 27-yard field goal, Tony Temple’s 4-yard run and Coffman’s 25-yard catch-and-run as the Tigers built a 31-10 halftime lead.
   Colorado also went three-and-out on its first two drives after halftime. When Hawkins completed a first-down pass, the crowd mockingly cheered but then began heading to the exits on the next play when a pass was tipped by linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and intercepted by free safety William Moore.

TIGER TIGHT ENDS HAVE STAMPEDED BUFFALOES OF LATE
   While Colorado mascot Ralphie the Buffalo is known for his stampedes around Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., it’s been the Missouri tight ends over the last couple of years who have rampaged through the gridiron against the Buffaloes, causing much havoc.
   In the last three meetings between Mizzou and Colorado, Mizzou’s tight end combination of Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker have combined for 36 catches for 302 yards and 7 touchdowns. In the last two games alone, the numbers include 21 catches for 183 yards and all 7 of the TDs.
   Rucker, of course, is no longer with the Tigers, as he’s plying his trade in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns. Coffman, a senior in 2008, is well on his way to an All-American year and possible front-runner status for the John Mackey Award, as he has 56 catches for 694 yards and 4 TDs already in 2008. In 2007, Coffman caught an MU-record 3 TD passes at Colorado, and those catches gave him the MU career receiving TD record of 19 at the time, which he has since extended to 24 entering Saturday’s game.

HOMECOMING RETURNS TO ITS BIRTHPLACE AT MIZZOU
   Legend says 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 at the time. Although Illinois staged a similar celebration in 1910, Missouri claims its 1911 effort as the first formal Homecoming celebration surrounding a 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 Missouri trailed in the series by a 12-5-3 count at the time.
   Brewer wanted to add some spice to the season-ending game in Columbia, so he issued a plea to Mizzou alumni and especially to former Tiger football players to “Come Home” for the game. They did just that, with a record crowd of 9,000 overflowing old Rollins Field.
   With four minutes to play, and MU trailing by three, Tiger captain Glen Shuck 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 tie, and was carried off the field a hero.
   Hence, “Homecoming” was born. MU has a 55-36-5 record in Homecoming games over the years. Not surprisingly, Kansas has been its most common opponent for the game – with MU holding an 18-7-2 edge in 27 such meetings – although the two did not meet on Homecoming from 1960 until 2000 in Columbia.
   Saturday’s opponent, Colorado, has served as MU’s Homecoming opponent 8 times previously, and the Buffaloes have played the role of spoiler quite well, as the results are dead even, at 4 wins apiece. At right is a quick look at the previous MU-Colorado Homecoming tilts in Columbia.

COFFMAN CONTINUES ALL-AMERICAN PLAY, LEADS ALL BCS TIGHT ENDS IN RECEPTIONS AND YARDAGE
   Mizzou’s John Mackey Award candidate TE Chase Coffman had yet another All-American performance in MU’s loss last Saturday at #1 Texas. The senior from Peculiar, Mo. caught 12 passes for 140 yards and 1 TD, and was seen breaking tackles, hurdling defenders and making difficult catches in traffic all night long. The receptions and yards marked a career high for Coffman, who also made history with his 3rd catch, which gave him the MU career record of 204, surpassing the previous mark of 203 formerly held by TE Martin Rucker (2004-07). Coffman enters Saturday’s game against Colorado with an MU-best 213 career receptions for 2,366 yards (2nd on MU’s career list) and 24 TDs (1st on MU’s career list).
   Coffman has 23 catches for 244 yards and 1 TD in his last 2 outings, after catching 11 passes for 104 yards against Oklahoma State two games ago. One of those grabs included a spectacular catch on MU’s opening drive where he leaped backwards near the left sideline to snare a ball out of the air with one hand and bring it in for the catch – all while the OSU covering him was being flagged for pass interference.    The gain went for 21 yards and extended MU’s drive that resulted in a short field goal for a 3-0 lead.
   If that catch isn’t on your local neighborhood highlight reel, just give us a call and we’ll e-mail a clip to you, it’s a definite must-see!
   He now has 4 100-yard outings in seven games in 2008, to match his 120-yard performance against Illinois and 127-yard day against Nevada already this year.
   Coffman is the NCAA Division I-A (FBS) active career leader for tight ends in both receptions (213) and yards (2,366), and he ranks #5 on the list among all players. His career yardage total ranks 15th overall among all active players, and he is the only TE on the top 20 of both lists compiled by the NCAA.
   For the 2008 season, Coffman ranks #2 among all tight ends in receptions (56), as well as yards per game (99.14), and he is the clear leader among BCS school tight ends. His stats are enough to rank him 6th in receptions among all players, and he also ranks 14th nationally among all players in yardage.

LAST TIME OUT: #1 TEXAS 56, #11 MIZZOU 31
   Top-ranked Texas showed that its selection as #1 in both polls was no fluke, as it jumped out to a 35-0 1st-half lead over 11th-ranked Missouri, and cruised to a 56-31 win in Austin. The Longhorns scored TDs on each of their five first-half possessions, driving 94, 82, 43, 41 and 92 yards to open up an insurmountable 35-0 lead before the Tigers could muster a 33-yard Jeff Wolfert at the halftime gun to get on the board.
   Texas ended the night with 591 yards in total offense, while the Tigers were held to a season-low 348 yards. UT’s Colt McCoy was unstoppable, as he connected on 29-of-32 passes for 337 yards and 2 TDs, while adding 2 rushing TDs to boot. Fellow Texas native and longtime friend Chase Daniel was no slouch either, as he ended the game 31-of-41 passing for 318 yards and 2 TDs, with 1 INT, but it was McCoy who stole the show with his near flawless play.
   When McCoy and his teammates weren’t executing to perfection, they took advantage of breaks to make the Tigers pay, including one sequence where McCoy was hit deep in the backfield by Tiger DE Tommy Chavis and fumbled the ball. What looked like it might be a big play for the Tiger defense turned into Longhorn good fortune as the ball bounced perfectly into McCoy’s hands, and he took one step and threw downfield for a 23-yard gain to keep alive another TD drive in the first half. Earlier in the game,    Mizzou caused a fumble on Texas’ opening possession, only to see that ball roll directly to a Longhorn player to keep the drive alive.
   Mizzou went 3-and-out in each of its first two possessions and saw Texas claim a quick 14-0 lead after a pair of long scoring drives. The Tigers appeared to have some momentum going as they converted on a 3rd-down pass from Daniel to WR Jeremy Maclin to get to near midfield. However, officials called offensive pass interference against the Tigers to wipe out the first down and make it 3rd-and-20 on MU’s 20-yardline. The Tigers couldn’t convert, and Texas got the ball on a short field and promptly drove for a 21-0 lead.
   Later in the half, Mizzou sustained it’s first drive of the game and appeared to make it 28-7 with under 4 minutes in the half, as Daniel connected with WR Danario Alexander on a 4th-down TD pass in the left corner of the endzone. However, replay officials reviewed the play and felt that there was conclusive video evidence that Alexander came down out of bounds, so they took the 7 points away from MU. Instead of a 28-7 game, Texas got the ball back and drove 92 yards the other way to make it 35-0.
   The Tigers played even with the top-ranked Longhorns in the 2nd half, outscoring them 28-21 as Daniel threw TD passes of 13 yards to TE Chase Coffman and 18 yards to WR Jared Perry, while TB Derrick Washington ran for a 2-yard score (the first rushing TD of the year against Texas’ defense), while Daniel kept for a 1-yard TD run of his own. But it was too little, too late as the Tigers dropped their second-straight game after starting the season 5-0 and climbing to as high as No. 2 in the USA Today and No. 3 in the Associated Press polls.
   Coffman was MU’s star of the night, as he caught a career-high 12 passes for 140 yards and the 1 TD, which he snagged out of the air, virtually taking the ball out of thin air away from a UT defender who seemed to have a better chance at claiming the ball. Coffman stabbed the ball inside the 5-yardline and turned into the endzone for the score, his 4th of the season and his 24th of his career (extending his MU career record).
   Maclin had 197 all-purpose yards on the night, including 66 receiving yards (on 8 receptions), and he gave MU good field position several times with his kickoff returns. He took the game’s opening kick back 39 yards to the MU 42-yardline to set the Tigers up in business. But in a sign of what was to come on the night, Maclin was stuffed for a 7-yard loss on 1st down on an attempted reverse, which put the Tigers behind the chains from the start and led to a 3-and-out series to set the tone.

PINKEL STANDS 3RD ON ALLTIME MU COACHING WINS LIST
   Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel is in his 8th season at MU and touts a career record of 127-76-3 (62.4%). The Illinois game to open the 2008 season was the 200th in Pinkel’s head coaching career.
   Pinkel, who has led MU to a combined record of 45-25 (64.3%) over the past 5 seasons, and to bowl games in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, has an 8-year record in Columbia of 54-39 (58.1%). Dating back to the 2005 Independence Bowl win over Steve Spurrier and South Carolina, Pinkel has won 26 of his last 35 games overall.
   MU’s win in the 2008 opener against Illinois gave Pinkel his 50th MU win, and he now ranks 3rd on the coaching wins list at MU, with 54.
   Pinkel is in a select group of Mizzou coaches that includes College Football Hall of Famers Don Faurot and Dan Devine, as well as    Warren Powers, to be the only coaches to have an MU record of above .500 (with at least one full season coached) dating all the way back to 1935.
   For the efforts in 2007, Pinkel was a finalist for several national coach of the year awards, including the Robinson, Bryant and Munger awards. He was also named the National Coach of the Year by FieldTurf in 2007.
   Pinkel has led MU to 4 bowl games, and if his Tigers reach a 5th in 2008, he will join Devine (6 bowls), and Powers (5 bowls) as the only coaches to guide MU to 5 bowl games.
   Pinkel has guided Mizzou to 4 winning seasons (8-5 in 2003, 7-5 in 2005, 8-5 in 2006, 12-2 in 2007), with those representing 4 of MU’s 6 winning campaigns dating back to the 1983 season.

WOLFERT BREAKS MU CAREER SCORING RECORD
   Lost in the shuffle of Mizzou’s loss to Oklahoma State on Oct. 11th was the fact that senior PK Jeff Wolfert broke the MU career scoring record. The record-breaking points came on his 1st-quarter 18-yard field goal to cap the game’s opening possession. He entered the OSU game with 284 points, which was tied going into the contest tied for the record with former standout QB Brad Smith, who also scored 284 points from 2002-05.
   After a 5-point game against OSU and a 7-point outing last Saturday against #1 Texas, Wolfert enters the Colorado game with 296 points.

QUICK-STRIKE OFFENSE
   If you like following the Tiger offense, you’re best advised not to blink when they’re on the field, because Mizzou strikes quickly when it’s out there. MU is quickly disproving that winning the time of possession battle is the key to winning football – while Missouri is 5th the nation in total offense (520.86 ypg), they’re doing it despite ranking 118th nationally in time of possession (25:40 average through 7 games).
   In fact, in a survey of Div. I (FBS) SIDs, Mizzou is 2nd in the country in most TD drives of under two minutes in length, with 19.
   Mizzou had 6 TD drives in this category against Nevada, while turning in 3 each against Nebraska, Buffalo and SEMO, 2 against Illinois and 1 vs. Oklahoma State and Texas.

JUST FIVE THREE-AND-OUTS SO FAR FOR #1 OFFENSE
   Mizzou’s #1 offense, through 5 games thus far in 2008, had yet to leave the field having had to punt after a three-and-out possession, spanning 48 possessions through that stretch. After scoring a FG on their first drive of the game in game #6 against Oklahoma State, the streak ended at 49, as OSU forced the first 3-and-out of the season on MU’s 2nd possession.
   In 72 possessions with QB Chase Daniel at the helm, the #1 offense has scored 42 times, including 35 TDs and 7 FGs. The non-scores have resulted in just 13 punts (only 5 after just three plays), 4 lost fumbles, 5 interceptions, 4 missed FGs and 4 lost on downs.
   In an amazing two-game stretch spanning the Southeast Missouri State and Nevada games, Daniel led the offense to scores on all 13 possessions in which he took the field (12 TDs and 1 FG). In those two games combined, Daniel had more TD passes (7) than incomplete passes (6). After scoring a TD and a FG on the first two drives of the Buffalo game, that streak was upped to 15 straight scoring drives. It ended on possession #3 of that game, when the drive stalled after 5 plays and a punt.

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