TCY v1.2: Missouri Tigers

[primelord]

My last ill fated Missouri dynasty was going to be my last, but then the Tigers beat Illinois for the second straight season and sparked my interest once again. So I will yet again starting up a Tigers dynasty. This will be a pretty vanilla TCY dynasty. No real creative writing and no bizarre house rules. I am just not that creative of a guy. Writing out the dynasties helps me focus more on my team and helps me get into the game more. Hopefully along with that a few of you will enjoy the read as well.

2003 Missouri Tigers

Pre-season rank: 53
Prestige: 75
Academic Rep: 58

For the most part we have middle of the pack rankings in a pretty tough conference. That has made for a pretty challenging dynasty for me in the past.

Syndicate Coordinator
Lionel Marty
Age: 60
Academic Eligibilty: Good
Syndicate Investigation: Good
Solicit Donations: Terrific

We run a clean program so the Syndicate Investigation rating rarely means anything to me. I would prefer our SC was stronger with keeping players eligible, but overall he isn't a bad guy to be stuck with.

Defensive Coordinator
Dwight Newman
Age: 41
Play Calling: Lousy
Injury Avoidance: Fair
Rehab: Very Good
Congeniality: Decent
DL: Lousy
LB: Poor
DB: Good

I like to stress defense on my teams and this guy is just not going to cut it. He is under contract for this season so we will have to live with him this year, but it would take a miracle to keep him here after this season. He deosn;t call a good game, doesn't keep players healthy, and isn;t very good at developing talent. Not the kind of guy I want leading my defense.

Offensive Coordinator
Levon Roberts
Age: 67
Play Calling: Terrific
Injury Avoidance: Lousy
Rehab: Good
Congeniality: Pretty Good
QB: Fair
RB: Lousy
WR: Very Good
OL: Terrible
K: Good
Current Offense: I formation
Years w/offense: 5

I am not real thrilled with Levon as our OC either. His play calling ability is nice, but with the limited talent we have we need our starters to stay healthy and it doesn't look like they will be with him in charge. We will probably look to make a change here in the off season as well. I do like to run my offense out of the I though so his experience with that formation is a plus.

Mid-West Scout

Martin Kelly
Age: 56
QB: Lousy
RB: Terrible
WR: Lousy
OL: Lousy
K: Poor
DL: Decent
LB: Very Good
DB: Good

Not a bad judge of talent on defense, but awful everywhere else. We need a guy who is much more well rounded in our head scouting position. We will be showing Mr. Kelly the door as sson as the season is over. Hopefully he can atleast spot a few solid D prospects out of our home state.

[Celeval]

Ha! Must be that time of year, I just started a TCY dynasty of my own. Will post that one soonish.


I'll be reading...

[primelord]

2003 Schedule

2003 Missouri Schedule
   
Rival: Kansas
Stadium Capacity: 68,300
Season Tickets Sold: 62,500
   
  Week  Opponent                   Result    Attendance  Weather     Television  
1       (32) ILLINOIS                                                TV 2  
2       at Ball State                                                   
3       ALAMOGORDO                                                      
4       MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE                                          
$$5     at Kansas                                                       
$$7     (6) NEBRASKA                                                    
$$8     at (3) Oklahoma                                                 
$$9     (40) TEXAS TECH                                                 
$$10    (37) IOWA STATE                                                 
$$11    at (27) Colorado                                                
$$12    (19) TEXAS A&M                                                  
$$13    at (16) Kansas State

Illinois should be a tough opener at home, but being at home we may have a shot to knock them off. If we can do that we have an excellent chance to go 5-0 heading into the Husker game. Ball State, Alamogordo (SC8 is in New Mexico), Mid Tenn St., and our rival Kansas should all be winnable games. However after that we may not win a game all season.

Back to back games with Nebraska and OU is rough and then add in away games against K State and Colorado and we could be in for a very long second half of the season. I think a 5-7 record is a realistic goal and maybe if we can steal 1 or 2 games we could finish at 6-6.

[primelord]

Originally posted by Celeval
Ha! Must be that time of year, I just started a TCY dynasty of my own. Will post that one soonish.


I'll be reading...

Yea watching Missouri play last weekend just got me itching to play TCY.

[rjolley]

Last 7 games vs top 40 teams. It's great how good the Big 12 is in football. I'm from Big 10 country, and love watching them play, but being in Big 12 country for the past 3 seasons has been a treat.

Just wish they showed more Penn State on Saturday and not so much Cheifs on Sunday. Not everyone is a Cheifs fan. Give us another game to watch. And it really sucks when the game is blacked out. *GRRRR*

Oh, back on topic...good luck. :-)

[primelord]

Kanellitsas, Tyrell     10   QB   Sr*   51                51                  
Borders, Jessie         15   QB   Sr    44                44                  
Hoover, Willie          2    QB*  Fr    20                39                  
Dodge, Chester          4    QB*  Fr    11                31                  
Hardison, Marcus        16   QB*  So*   8                 53

Kanellitsas will head into the season our starter. He isn't anything special, but he looks like a guy that shouldn't lose too many games for us either. His strength si in short passes and he is reasonably accurate so we will keep the passing game pretty simple this year. He also looks like he can make some plays with his legs so he should be ok. Borders will serve as the backup, but his main threat is his running ability. If we need him to throw we are in trouble. Our two freshman will both wear the red shirt this season. Dodge is purely a pocket passer while Hoover is more of a scrambler. Neither one of them look like future stars, but one of them could be leading this offense in a year or two.

Kinney, Josh            29   RB   Sr    43                43                  
Stoole, Walter          38   RB   Sr    35                35                  
Serbicki, Roosevelt     45   RB   So    35                35                  
Smith, Carl             27   RB   Sr    34                34                  
Jacques, Ed             37   RB   So    34                38                  
Nishioka, Julio         20   RB   So    30                33                  
Henry, Richard          22   FB   Sr    49                49                  
Greene, Ty              23   FB   Sr    45                45                  
Hatcher, Scottie        39   FB   Sr    43                43

Josh kinney should be solid as our starting tail back. Much like Kanellitsas he doesn't have exceptional talent, but should be able to do enough to be competitive. We are very thin at RB after him though. Of our 5 other RB's none of them look very promising if asked to carry the load. RB will be a priority in recruiting this season. Richard Henry and Ty Greene will probably split time at the FB spot. Greene is a little better of a blocker so he will be the official starter, but Henry is a decent runner so I expect to get him some decent time as well.

Hutchins, Louie         90   TE   Jr    46                57                  
Becker, Ed              92   TE   Jr    33                33                  
Keith, Nate             80   TE*  Fr    24                33                  
El Nino, Albert         84   TE*  Fr    17                37                  
Sawyer, Jim             83   WR   Jr    60                74                  
Farrow, Mark            88   WR   Sr    57                57                  
Mello, Dale             9    WR   So    40                44                  
Mueller, Colin          86   WR   Jr    39                39                  
Daniels, Dexter         89   WR   Jr    30                50                  
Mathis, Kim             85   WR*  Jr*   25                45                  
Rose, Joel              5    WR*  Fr    19                51

At TE walk on freshman Albert El Nino actually appears to be the most talented of the bunch. And our other freshman Nate Keith should see some good PT too. Out two juniors can;t catch or blcok so I am not certain what they are good for. At Wr Jim Sawyer is the most talented player on the team. He is excellent and getting open and making huge gains on his catches. He is also a top notch return man and will be returning both kick and punts for us. I am a little concerned with putting our best offensive player into special teams, but if we are going to have much of a chance we need Sawyer to get his hands on the ball as much as possible. Farrow and Mello are actually both pretty solid WR's themselves. The WR position will be one of our strong points. Freshman Joel Rose, who will red shirt this season, has some promis, but more as a kick returner than a real threat split wide.

Legan, Richie           55   C    Jr*   12                69                  
Speer, Herb             52   C*   So*   2                 36                  
Knight, Vernon          78   G    Sr*   59                69                  
Harvey, Roger           77   G    Jr*   32                37                  
Stargell, Earnest       67   G    Jr*   13                51                  
Gault, Ricardo          61   G*   So*   6                 38                  
Hepburn, Jeffrey        62   G*   Fr    2                 60                  
Lary, Don               63   T    Sr*   41                41                  
Fields, Stephen         64   T    Sr*   34                54                  
Nesbit, Courtney        66   T    So    29                53                  
Wilhite, Roger          68   T    Jr*   23                44

While they aren't stellar as a group our offensive line has some solid potential across the board. Many of these players could develop into good offensive lineman, but most of them have a good way to go still. Richie Legan will start at C and looks like he will be a good run blocker. He is a little below average on pass blocking, but overall not too bad. Herb Speer should be a solid back up. At guard Vernon Knight looks very good. He is a crushing run blocker and a very solid pass blocker. We will run the ball behind him often. He isn;t reall ready, btu we are going to throw freshman Jeffrey Hepburn in to start at the other G slot. He looks like he has the potential to develop into a star. Roger Harvey and Earnest Stargell will provide solid reserve play. Tackle Don Lary is the anchor of our offensive line. The vast majority of our runs will be behind him and Knight. Stepehn fields will start on the right side, but the rest of our tackles are a bit suspect.

Barrere, Erik           11   P    Sr*   46                54                  
Murrell, Broderick      12   P    Sr    43                43                  
Gogel, Tony             14   K    Sr    31                59                  
Willis, Deon            8    K    Jr*   26                34                  
Gilchrist, Kenyon       18   K*   So    27                58

Our kicking game should be fine with Barrere and Gogel as the starters.

Anderson, Jake          76   DE   Fr    25                48                  
Falkenberg, Derek       74   DE*  So*   24                50                  
Fitzgerald, Stan        91   DE*  Fr    13                50                  
Pozy, Korey             72   DE*  Fr    10                61                  
Hiscock, Reggie         71   DE*  Fr    6                 36                  
Doyle, J.R.             97   DT   Sr    44                67                  
Bjorlin, Korey          70   DT   Sr*   37                62                  
Gaylor, Drew            93   DT*  Fr    11                29                  
Levi, Tyrus             79   DT*  Fr    7                 35

The defensive line is a major area of concern. We do not have a single defensive end with any college experience. Pozy and Hiscock look like they have some potential, but they are not at all ready to play yet. So we will red shirt them and Andersen and Falkenberg will start for us this season. At DT J.R. Doyle is a monster run stuffer. He has no pash rush ability, but should plug up the running lanes very nicely for us. Korey Bjorlin on the other hand is a solid pass rusher and an average run defender. If we get any real production out of our DLine this year it will be from these two guys.

Smith, Howie            94   ILB  Sr    58                58                  
Waters, Phillip         98   ILB  Fr    20                35                  
Braxton, Jay            99   ILB* So    21                63                  
Hardy, Dennis           41   ILB* Fr    18                44                  
Howard, Scott           51   OLB  Sr    41                46                  
Prior, Eric             95   OLB  Sr    41                41                  
McElroy, Antonio        54   OLB  Jr    40                47                  
Blades, Leonard         49   OLB  So    38                48                  
Perry, Deon             44   OLB  So    33                40                  
Meidinger, Geoff        96   OLB  Sr*   25                65

Howie Smith should be good in the middle for us. He plays the run well and is solid in coverage. And if Phillip Walters develops well he should be able to step in to the starting role nicely next season. The OLB position will most likely be handled by several players this season. No one on our team really stands out. Meidinger and Prior will be the official starters, btu we need a serious upgrade in talent at this position.

Ellard, Lamont          32   CB   Sr    42                42                  
Blake, Scott            26   CB   Jr    35                41                  
Erickson, Amos          35   CB   Sr    30                30                  
Garner, Tracy           31   CB   So    24                41                  
Paduano, Cole           21   CB   Jr    22                28                  
Roberge, Victor         43   CB   So*   15                38                  
Rivera, Lonnie          46   S    Jr*   44                51                  
Corns, Jorge            25   S    So    40                53                  
Earley, Blake           34   S    Jr*   34                47                  
Simmons, Carl           42   S    Fr    23                53                  
Von Wyss, Darryl        48   S    So    22                61

We also are in dire need of talent at the CB position. Lamont Ellard will start on one side and Scott Blake and Amos Erickson will rotate heavily at the other. Tracy Garner has some return skills and will be red shirted this season. At safety Rivera and Corns are both very solid and will probably be called on a lot to help out our weaker corners.

Players leaving:
QB - 1, RB - 3, FB - 3, WR - 1, C - 0, G - 0, T - 0, P - 1, K - 1, DE - 0, DT - 1, ILB - 1, OLB - 2, CB - 2, S - 0

Recruiting Priorities
DE, RB, T, CB, OLB, G, QB, FB, DT

[primelord]

Week 1

(32)Illinois (0-0)(-6) at Missouri (0-0) TV2

On paper we have very little chance of winning this game. The Illini have an excelletn QB in Will Gomes and a star RB in Desomnd Money. Combine that with fact they have superior talent at alomst every position and we stand very little shot. Still we are hoping our home field advantage will be enough to carry us to victory. MIZ! ZOU!

Things start to look ugly as the Illini return the opening kickoff all the way down to the Missouri 17 yard line! And the Illini will start their first series inside the red zone. Wonderful. However on their first play from scrimmage Lonnie Rivera picks off an errant Gomes pass and returns it 83 yards for a TD!!!!! 7-0 Missouri!

That was really the only Missouri highlight for the day. We just seemed to have enraged Illinois by scoring first and they ripped off 35 unanswered points after that. Kanellitsas did hook up with Mello on a 53 yard strike late in the 3rd quarter, but it was too little too late by then. Gomes and Money just ate us alive. And we were forced to go to the air early and we just can;t win if we have to do that.

Illinois	7	14	14	3	-	38
Missouri	7	0	7	0	-	14

1Q: 14:47 MIZZ - Lonnie Rivera 83 interception return.
1Q: 14:47 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
1Q: 13:12 ILLN - Gene Singleton 5 pass from Will Gomes.
1Q: 13:12 ILLN - Joel Osorio extra point.
2Q: 09:45 ILLN - Hunter Chandler 41 punt return.
2Q: 09:45 ILLN - Joel Osorio extra point.
2Q: 00:20 ILLN - Desmond Money 4 run.
2Q: 00:20 ILLN - Joel Osorio extra point.
3Q: 11:24 ILLN - Jeremy Cecava 2 run.
3Q: 11:24 ILLN - Joel Osorio extra point.
3Q: 05:06 ILLN - Marty Shea 20 pass from Will Gomes.
3Q: 05:06 ILLN - Joel Osorio extra point.
3Q: 03:45 MIZZ - Dale Mello 51 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
3Q: 03:45 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
4Q: 05:07 ILLN - Joel Osorio 33 field goal.

Game MVP: ILLN 29 Desmond Money

Offensive Leaders

WR Mello 5 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD
WR Sawyer 3 catches, 80 yards

Defensive Leaders

S Rivera 8 tckls, 3 assts, 1 Int, 1 TD
DT Bjorlin 5 tckls, 1 asst, 1 1/2 sacks

Injuries

OLB Eric Prior - Questionable - 2 weeks - Flu

[Buccaneer]

Sigh. I now know what I supposed to have done instead of wasted 2+ weeks playing TCY with New Mexico on the hardest level. In comparing Roster Ratings, I started with a team that rarely had anyone over 30 - and it basically stayed that way for years. Next time, I decided to choose Colorado since I do like the SW region.

[primelord]

Week 2

Missouri (0-1)(-1) at Ball State (0-1)

No TV for us this week, but I guess I can't blame them. After our last game I wouldn't want to watch us either. With that being said I really like our chances in this game. To give you an idea what we are up against Ball State's best player is their punter. I am going to go out on a limb and say despite being on the road we are going to win this game.

Similar to the Illini game, this game had very little drama to it. Fortunately for us we were doing the punishing this time. We were able to get out to a lead early and never looked back. Kinney and Kanellitsas both had excellent games and we crush the over matched Ball State squad.

Missouri	17	10	20	10	-	57
Ball State	7	3	6	0	-	16

1Q: 10:58 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 30 field goal.
1Q: 08:29 MIZZ - Jim Sawyer 12 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
1Q: 08:29 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
1Q: 02:42 MIZZ - Josh Kinney 27 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
1Q: 02:42 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
1Q: 02:34 BALL - Omar Moln 89 kickoff return.
1Q: 02:34 BALL - Bill Granados extra point.
2Q: 13:32 BALL - Bill Granados 21 field goal.
2Q: 07:43 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 36 field goal.
2Q: 01:54 MIZZ - Jim Sawyer 10 run.
2Q: 01:54 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
3Q: 13:25 MIZZ - Josh Kinney 47 run.
3Q: 13:25 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
3Q: 08:52 MIZZ - Josh Kinney 16 run.
3Q: 08:52 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
3Q: 08:00 BALL - Lorenzo Daughtry 16 pass from Geoff Burke.
3Q: 08:00 BALL - Geoff Burke pass for conversion failed.
3Q: 03:28 MIZZ - Lamont Ellard 72 interception return.
3Q: 03:28 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point failed.
4Q: 10:13 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 20 field goal.
4Q: 04:23 MIZZ - Dale Mello 8 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
4Q: 04:23 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.

Game MVP: MIZZ 29 Josh Kinney

Offensive Leaders

RB Kinney 19 carries, 151 yards, 2 TD, 7 catches, 83 yards, 1 TD
QB Kanellitsas 28 of 32, 282 yards, 3 TD 0 Int

Defensive Leaders
DE Anderson 4 tckls, 2 sacks
CB Ellard 4 tckls, 1 Int, 1 TD
DT Bjorlin 1 sack, 1 Int

Injuries

WR Mark Farrow - Out - Herniated Disk - 9 weeks
OLB Eric Prior - Probable - 1 week - Flu

Losing Farrow may hurt the offense a bit.

[primelord]

Week 3

Alamogordo (0-1) at Missouri (1-1)(-8)

Well overall Alamogordo seems to have about as strong a roster as Ball St. did. So I figure we should walk away with this one too. However I am a little concerned with the Alamogordo RB Neil Craig. He averaged over 10 yards a carry in their first game and seems like a real threat on offense. Luckily he has no line blocking for him so we should be able to contain him.

Well needless to say this one did not go the way we planned. We had an awful first half. Here is a recap of our first half. Punt, Int, FG, Int, Punt, Int, Missed FG. Not good at all. We went into the locker room down 6-3 at the half.

Luckily for us we were playing Alamogordo and we were able to score 10 in the 4th to put this one away, but we made this game WAY too close for my liking. Any chance of stealing a game from one of those top 40 teams does not look good at this point.

Alamogordo	6	0	3	0	-	9
Missouri	3	0	0	10	-	13

1Q: 11:15 ALAM - Neal Langley 40 field goal.
1Q: 07:12 ALAM - Neal Langley 32 field goal.
1Q: 02:42 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 32 field goal.
3Q: 06:47 ALAM - Neal Langley 27 field goal.
4Q: 12:33 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 33 field goal.
4Q: 04:25 MIZZ - Jim Sawyer 6 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
4Q: 04:25 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.

Game MVP: MIZZ 78 Vernon Knight

Offensive Leaders

RB Kinney 29 carries, 92 yards

Defensive Leaders

S Rivera 4 tckls, 1 Int

Injuries

Wr Mark Farrow - Out - Herniated Disk - 8 weeks
T Don Lary - Questionable - Stretched Knee Ligament - 7 weeks

[primelord]

Week 4

Middle Tennessee St. (0-2)(-5) at Missouri (2-1)

Now that is just insulting. We are at home against a winless team and we are made the under dogs. Sure we laid an egg against Alamogordo, but c'mon! Out talent is much better at every position than Middle Tennesse St. and I think we are going to take out our anger on them.

Well it was kind of a sloppy game in the rain, but we had little trouble putting away Mid Tenn St. Despite the poor conditions we got a much better game from our QB Kanellitsas. I am a bit surprised so far that Sawyer has not been better.

Middle Tennessee State	0	7	0	0	-	7
Missouri	7	6	6	3	-	22

1Q: 08:23 MIZZ - Dale Mello 64 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
1Q: 08:23 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
2Q: 08:04 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 39 field goal.
2Q: 06:27 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 37 field goal.
2Q: 01:26 MDTN - Warren Hughes 8 run.
2Q: 01:26 MDTN - Joel Derhammer extra point.
3Q: 03:19 MIZZ - Carl Smith 6 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
3Q: 03:19 MIZZ - Tyrell Kanellitsas run for conversion failed.
4Q: 02:23 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 24 field goal.

Offensive Leaders

QB Kanellitsas 15 of 24, 238 yards, 2 TD 0 Int
WR Mello 3 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD

Defensive Leaders

DE Falkenberg 6 tckls, 2 assts, 1 sack
OLB Prior 5 tckls, 1 asst, 2 1/2 sacks

Injuries

WR Mark Farrow - Out - Herniated Disk - 8 weeks
T Don Lary - Questionable - Stretched Knee Ligament - 7 weeks

[primelord]

Recruiting Update

Since we will start seeing results on our recruiting efforts after this week I thought I would give a quick update on some of the players we are targeting. Our #1 target is without question QB Carl Edwards from St. Louis, MO. He is more than likely out of our league. He is the #2 prospect in the enitre nation and could really get our program jump started. He is being recruited by the top schools, but I am hoping being close to home will give us edge. Howvere he is now visting Michigan and Florida and is not visiting us so we are probably falling out of the running. Still we are pushing hard for him.

We have several solid offensive lineman including 3 offensive guards visiting at the moment, but we don't have many guys visiting at many of our key positions.

[primelord]

Week 5

(48)Missouri (3-1) at Kansas (2-2)(-3) TV5

This is a MUST win game. I don't care if we lose every other game this season. We absolutely must beat the Jayhawks. AHAB! All of the Jayhawk talent is focused in their secondary. They have 3 very solid CB's and 2 solid S's. They will make it tough for Kane to have a good day throwing the ball. However their offense is a joke and that should be enough to allow us to take the victory. We have cracked the top 50. I would like to stay there for one more week.

It appears I had that backwards. It turns out that OUR offense is a joke. We were just man handled by the Jayhawks this game. We were only able to manage 76 yards from scrimmage all game! That is awful. On the flip side we gave up 401 yards to Kansas as the kicked the shit out of us. A very disappointing loss, and this is probably foreshadowing some major ass kickings to come. Kane was a disgusting 6 for 22 for 69 yards and 3 Ints! Just like I thought that secondary was very tough on us.

Missouri	0	0	3	0	-	3
Kansas	10	13	3	7	-	33

1Q: 11:26 KANS - Levon Rickman 29 field goal.
1Q: 04:04 KANS - Jared Mathis 16 run.
1Q: 04:04 KANS - Levon Rickman extra point.
2Q: 12:45 KANS - Troy Newsome 6 pass from Ryan Pettis.
2Q: 12:45 KANS - Levon Rickman extra point.
2Q: 06:46 KANS - Levon Rickman 36 field goal.
2Q: 00:57 KANS - Levon Rickman 29 field goal.
3Q: 10:09 KANS - Levon Rickman 42 field goal.
3Q: 00:02 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 46 field goal.
4Q: 07:49 KANS - Max Rhodes 19 pass from Ryan Pettis.
4Q: 07:49 KANS - Levon Rickman extra point.

Game MVP: KANS 22 Shawn Rogers

Defensive Leaders

MLB Smith 9 tckls, 8 assts

Injuries

WR Mark Farrow - Out - Herniated Disk - 7 weeks
T Don Lary - Out - Broken Arm - 7 weeks

Lary had been playign through a bad knee and then broke his arm. Rough season for him and that is going to be very hard on our offensive line.

[primelord]

Week 6

Recruiting
[*]Steve Belzer, an offensive guard from Malden High School in Malden, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
[*]Rodney Ellard, a defensive tackle from South High School in Ballwin, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
[*]Lance Kelley, an inside linebacker from Fort Zumwalt North High School in O'Fallon, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Belzer is a huge signing for us. He is the #1 G prospect in the nation and the #7 overall prospect. It would be nice if we could land 2 top 10 guys this season! Although again Edwards is looking less and less likely.

Lance Kelly is also a very nice pickup. He is a top 50 recruit and the #3 recruit in the state of Missouri. He is pretty small for a MLB at only 216 lbs, and his biggest strength is intercepting passes. I may have to consider swapping him to SS.

Rodney Ellard probably won't be a star, but should be a solid back up for us in the future.

No game this week.

[primelord]

Week 7

Recruiting

No new signings this week.

(23)Nebraska (3-2) at Missouri (3-2) TV5

This one has the makings of a pretty ugly blood bath and it is just the tip of the ice berg. Nebraska has 4 RB's on their roster that would easily start for us. It's hard to find many players on their team that wouldn't start for us. We will hope to put up a brave fight at home, but I will be happy if we can keep them from scoring 50.

Well the final score wasn't too bad, but the game wasn't as close asthe score might make you believe. The Huskers turned the ball over twice on what seemed certain to be scoring drives and kept the game a little closer than it should have been. We are in trouble the rest of this season.

Nebraska	3	10	7	0	-	20
Missouri	0	0	7	0	-	7

1Q: 12:02 NEBR - Vince Rice 25 field goal.
2Q: 10:13 NEBR - Zack Arpaci 8 run.
2Q: 10:13 NEBR - Vince Rice extra point.
2Q: 00:04 NEBR - Vince Rice 32 field goal.
3Q: 08:41 NEBR - Nick Berry 3 pass from Devin Jenkins.
3Q: 08:41 NEBR - Vince Rice extra point.
3Q: 01:05 MIZZ - Walter Stoole 54 run.
3Q: 01:05 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.

Game MVP: NEBR 96 Paul Voetberg

Defensive leaders

MLB Smith 14 tckls, 4 assts, 1 Int
S Rivera 10 tckls, 1 asst
OLB Prior 6 tckls, 5 assts, 2 sacks

As is usually the case on porr defenses with good MLB. The MLB is really starting to rack up the tackles.

Injuries

WR Dale Mello - Out - Torn Knee Ligament - 17 weeks
T Don Lary - Out - Broken Arm - 5 weeks
Wr Mark Farrow - Questionable - 5 weeks

Well the injury to Mello can't help the struggling offense. He had been a pretty effective receiver this season. His year is over though and we will have to trot Farrow back out at under 100%.

[primelord]

Week 8

Recruiting

• Rondell Craig, a fullback from Adlai Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Stephen Walker, a center from Kearney High School in Kearney, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Gilbert Joseph, an offensive tackle from Appleton City High School in Appleton City, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Damon Hansen, a cornerback from Holcomb High School in Holcomb, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Well not surprisingly most of our recruits are coming out of Missouri so far. T Gilbert Joseph was never really much question. He idolized Missouri. He isn't a great player, but should prove to be an average T for us.

Rondell Craig is a nice looking FB and will get start next year as we are losing all 3 of our FB's to graduation. The other two are both solid, but not spectacular prospects.

We have finally convinced QB Carl Edwards to come in for a visit. Florida and Michigan appear to have retracted their offers so it looks like it is down to us, Georgia, and Texas. We hold the edge in academics over UGA, but both schools have a better prestige than we do. Hopefully his mama will convince him he wants to stay close to home.

Missouri (3-3) at (1)Oklahoma (6-0)(-29) TV4

We head down to Norman to face OU and their high powered passing attack. The Sooners are led by Heisman candidate Raymond Woodard at QB. We have virtually no shot at winning this game as the OU squad is littered with pro prospects. We'll just do our best to keep it close.

This one was pretty ugly. Oklahoma took it to us early and we never stood a chance. I told you Woodard led a potent passing attack. He threw for 512 yards against us!!!! That is disgusting. We need some new blood on this team as the guys we have just aren't any good. Kinney was terrible running the ball and I would like to make a change there, but we just don't have anyone else any better. MLB Smtih was once again left to make most of the plays on defense.

Missouri	0	0	7	0	-	7
Oklahoma	0	14	14	10	-	38

2Q: 12:10 OKLA - Calvin Escalante 1 pass from Raymond Woodard.
2Q: 12:10 OKLA - Bo Jordan extra point.
2Q: 01:31 OKLA - Calvin Escalante 5 run.
2Q: 01:31 OKLA - Bo Jordan extra point.
3Q: 05:46 OKLA - Calvin Escalante 15 run.
3Q: 05:46 OKLA - Bo Jordan extra point.
3Q: 03:57 MIZZ - Mark Farrow 5 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
3Q: 03:57 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
3Q: 01:49 OKLA - Mercury Stevenson 24 pass from Raymond Woodard.
3Q: 01:49 OKLA - Bo Jordan extra point.
4Q: 12:22 OKLA - Bo Jordan 25 field goal.
4Q: 00:57 OKLA - K.C. Robinson 18 run.
4Q: 00:57 OKLA - Bo Jordan extra point.

Game MVP: OKLA 11 Raymond Woodard

Defensive Leaders

MLB Smith 15 tckls, 6 assts, 1/2 sack, 1 Int

Injuries

T Don Lary - Out - Broken Arm - 4 weeks
WR Dale Mello - Out - Torn Knee - 16 weeks
WR Mark Farrow - Questionable - Herniated Disk - 4 weeks
OLB Scott Howard - Questionable - 10 weeks

[primelord]

Week 9

Recruiting

• Randy Cortez, a running back from North Miami High School in Denver, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Cornell Rose, a tight end from Richmond High School in Richmond, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Harry Wentland, an offensive guard from Savannah High School in Savannah, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Cortez should be a nice pick up. We need some help in the running game. We lost out on a top notch runner, but he should fill in nicely and we are still in the running for another good looking back. Wentland and Rose really are nothign special.

Still waiting on a decision from Edwards.

(48)Texas Tech (4-3)(-12) at Missouri (3-4)

Looking at the Tech roster they have a stellar secondary and as we saw in the KU game that can kill us. Still they don't look like a power house by any means. They have already dropped a game to #70 N.C. State. We might be able to snaek up and steal a game here. I have not been happy with the way Kinney has played and Stoole has averaged 5.8 yards per carry in a limited number of carries so I am going to give him a shot to start today.

Another classic example of a game that wasn't as close as the score might indicate. Texas Tech moved the ball very well on us all day, but 3 turnovers by the Red Raiders kept the score close. We were actually on top 10-0 at one point in the 2nd quarter, but we weren't able to score after that and Texas Tech went on to win the game.

Texas Tech	0	7	7	0	-	14
Missouri	0	10	0	0	-	10

2Q: 07:28 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 34 field goal.
2Q: 06:18 MIZZ - Blake Earley 58 interception return.
2Q: 06:18 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
2Q: 04:04 TXTC - Donovan Flowers 7 run.
2Q: 04:04 TXTC - Leon Duke extra point.
3Q: 03:12 TXTC - O.J. Burnett 74 run.
3Q: 03:12 TXTC - Leon Duke extra point.

Game MVP: TXTC 69 Edgar Cox

Defensive Leaders

MLB Smith 11 tckls, 3 assts

Injuries

TE Albert El Nino - Out - Broken Ribs - 15 weeks
T Don Lary - Out - Broken Arm - 3 weeks
WR Dale Mello - Out - Torn Knee - 15 weeks
WR Mark Farrow - Questionable - Herniated Disk - 3 weeks
OLB Scott Howard - Questionable - Stretched Knee - 9 weeks
WR Dexter Daniles - Probable - Sprained Ankle - 1 week

El Nino was having a decent season. It's a shame to lose him for the year.

[primelord]

Week 10

Recruiting

• J.T. Roscoe, a quarterback from Affton High School in Saint Louis, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Don Henry, a defensive tackle from Batavia High School in Batavia, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Matthew Bloedorn, an outside linebacker from Byron Area High School in Byron, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Well Roscoe isn't the QB that Edawrads is, but if we fail to land Edwards he still may be a viable starter for us in the future. He is the #16 overall QB prospect and is very athletic so he may work out fine. We still would prefer to land Edwards who is still undecided.

Don Henry will make a nice addition on the DLine. He is a big pass rushing DT. If we don't manage to bring in any DE's we may even consider sliding him to DE.

We only have 3 scholarships left. I am getting worried that we are going to run out of spots before Edwards makes up his mind, but we can;t afford to recind too many other offers in case he spurns us for someone else.

Iowa State (4-4)(-9) at Missouri (3-5)

This is where we finally get back in the win column. I don't care if Iowa State is favored by 9. This is a team we can beat especially at home. The Cyclones are on a 4 game losing streak and we would like nothing better than to extend that streak to 5 games. The experiment with Stoole as the starting RB is over. He averaged 1.5 YPC last game so we have Kinney back in the lineup.

We moved the ball well in this one, but turnovers just killed any chance we had. Apparently the one week benching woke Kinney up as he had a solid day running the ball. However Kane did not have a great day throwing it. It's hard to be too disappointed since we weren't expecting much this year, but I really thought this was a team we could beat.

Iowa State	7	10	7	10	-	34
Missouri	3	3	7	3	-	16

1Q: 12:42 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 27 field goal.
1Q: 09:15 IAST - Corey Thornton 6 run.
1Q: 09:15 IAST - J.T. Hackett extra point.
2Q: 14:43 IAST - J.T. Hackett 43 field goal.
2Q: 02:18 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 41 field goal.
2Q: 00:29 IAST - Rico Fitzgerald 9 run.
2Q: 00:29 IAST - J.T. Hackett extra point.
3Q: 04:32 MIZZ - Mark Farrow 4 pass from Tyrell Kanellitsas.
3Q: 04:32 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
3Q: 01:59 IAST - Carlton Harrison 24 run.
3Q: 01:59 IAST - J.T. Hackett extra point.
4Q: 13:13 MIZZ - Tony Gogel 23 field goal.
4Q: 08:31 IAST - Corey Thornton 17 run.
4Q: 08:31 IAST - J.T. Hackett extra point.
4Q: 02:29 IAST - J.T. Hackett 35 field goal.

Game MVP: IAST 29 Corey Thornton

Offensive Leaders

RB Kinney 19 carries, 94 yards

Defensive Leaders

MLB Smith 12 tckls, 5 assts, 1 Int

Injuries

El Nino, Albert         84   TE*  Fr    Out          Broken Ribs       14 Weeks   
Mello, Dale             9    WR   So    Out          Torn Knee Ligamen 14 Weeks   
Howard, Scott           51   OLB  Sr    Questionable Stretched Knee Li 8 Weeks    
Lary, Don               63   T    Sr*   Questionable Broken Arm        2 Weeks    
Wilhite, Roger          68   T    Jr*   Questionable Strained Quadrice 4 Weeks    
Farrow, Mark            88   WR   Sr    Probable     Herniated Disk    2 Weeks

[primelord]

Week 11

Recruiting

• Carl Edwards, a quarterback from Riverview Gardens High School in Saint Louis, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.
  
• Rick Cantwell, a running back from Grain Valley High School in Grain Valley, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

We receive wonderful news this week. Blue Chip prospect Carl Edwards is coming to Columbia. This is huge for our program. If he pans out he should be a stellar QB and could really help right the ship.

I am very excited about landing Cantwell as well. Our scout didn;t think very much of him and he isn't ranked very high nationally, but when I went to visit him I got the sense he is much better than our scout thinks and we can really use the help in the back field.

Missouri (3-6) at (32)Colorado (6-3)(-24)

At this point I am just hoping for the end of the season to come quickly. We don't figure to stand much of a chance against the Buffs, but we will give it our best.

Ugly, ugly, ugly. There is no other way to describe this game. Atleast it seems like help is on the way.

Missouri	0	0	0	7	-	7
Colorado	7	7	0	21	-	35

1Q: 12:54 COLO - Jerald McNeal 15 pass from Eddie Harden.
1Q: 12:54 COLO - Gene Beckman extra point.
2Q: 07:27 COLO - Jerald McNeal 6 pass from Eddie Harden.
2Q: 07:27 COLO - Gene Beckman extra point.
4Q: 13:42 COLO - Rob Guidry 13 pass from Eddie Harden.
4Q: 13:42 COLO - Gene Beckman extra point.
4Q: 08:51 COLO - Derek Mulitalo 11 pass from Eddie Harden.
4Q: 08:51 COLO - Gene Beckman extra point.
4Q: 07:13 MIZZ - Stephen Fields 35 fumble return.
4Q: 07:13 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
4Q: 04:06 COLO - Artie Bellamy 2 pass from Eddie Harden.
4Q: 04:06 COLO - Gene Beckman extra point.

Game MVP: COLO 19 Eddie Harden

Defensive Leaders

MLB Smith 12 tckls, 4 asts

This guy is just a lock for 10+ tackles a game. We will miss him next year.

Injuries

El Nino, Albert         84   TE*  Fr    Out          Broken Ribs       13 Weeks   
Mello, Dale             9    WR   So    Out          Torn Knee Ligamen 13 Weeks   
Howard, Scott           51   OLB  Sr    Questionable Stretched Knee Li 7 Weeks    
Farrow, Mark            88   WR   Sr    Probable     Herniated Disk    1 Week     
Lary, Don               63   T    Sr*   Probable     Broken Arm        1 Week     
Wilhite, Roger          68   T    Jr*   Probable     Strained Quadrice 2 Weeks

[primelord]

Week 12

Recruiting

• Dexter Tyler, a fullback from Spring Lake High School in Spring Lake, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Tyler caps off what should be a very nice draft class. We didn't get any DE's, but we addressed several other need areas and added a potential top flight QB. We should be able to make a lot of use of these guys next season.

(23)Texas A&M (7-3)(-20) at Missouri (3-7)

Another week, another likely ass whooping.

Texas A&M	6	11	14	14	-	45
Missouri	0	7	7	0	-	14

1Q: 03:41 TXAM - Brian Hudson 2 run.
1Q: 03:41 TXAM - Antoine Gorcester extra point failed.
2Q: 14:55 TXAM - Jake Ficken 19 pass from Terrance Angell.
2Q: 14:55 TXAM - Terrance Angell pass to Ellis Merrill for conversion
2Q: 02:40 MIZZ - Walter Stoole 34 run.
2Q: 02:40 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
2Q: 00:18 TXAM - Antoine Gorcester 36 field goal.
3Q: 07:55 TXAM - Jake Ficken 1 pass from Terrance Angell.
3Q: 07:55 TXAM - Antoine Gorcester extra point.
3Q: 02:18 MIZZ - Walter Stoole 2 run.
3Q: 02:18 MIZZ - Tony Gogel extra point.
3Q: 00:58 TXAM - Brian Hudson 93 run.
3Q: 00:58 TXAM - Antoine Gorcester extra point.
4Q: 04:42 TXAM - Brian Hudson 9 pass from Terrance Angell.
4Q: 04:42 TXAM - Antoine Gorcester extra point.
4Q: 00:16 TXAM - Rick Perez 7 pass from Terrance Angell.
4Q: 00:16 TXAM - Antoine Gorcester extra point.

Game MVP: TXAM 30 Brian Hudson

Offensive Leaders

RB Stoole 13 carries, 120 yards, 2 TD's

Filling in for the injured Josh Kinney Stoole has a very nice game. Where was that when he got the chance to start a few weeks ago? Still it wasn't nearly enough to overcome A&M.

Injuries

El Nino, Albert         84   TE*  Fr    Out          Broken Ribs       13 Weeks   
Kinney, Josh            29   RB   Sr    Out          Torn Wrist Tendon 14 Weeks   
Mello, Dale             9    WR   So    Out          Torn Knee Ligamen 12 Weeks   
Anderson, Jake          76   DE   Fr    Doubtful     Hip Pointer       4 Weeks    
Howard, Scott           51   OLB  Sr    Questionable Stretched Knee Li 6 Weeks    
Wilhite, Roger          68   T    Jr*   Probable     Strained Quadrice 1 Week

The bad news is we lose Kinney. (I guess that is bad news. It all depends how you look at it. ) The good news is we get T Lary back.

[primelord]

Week 13

Missouri (3-8) at (35)Kansas St. (6-4)(-16)

It would be nice to kind of shock the wprld and steal one from k State, but that is very likely. Instead we will likely be blown out again and be happy to have this season behind us.

There just isn't much to say about this game.

Missouri	0	0	0	0	-	0
Kansas State	28	28	0	7	-	63

1Q: 13:36 KSST - Scott Drakeford 1 run.
1Q: 13:36 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
1Q: 09:31 KSST - Carl Neiderer 6 pass from Wally McClurken.
1Q: 09:31 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
1Q: 08:44 KSST - Scott Drakeford 17 run.
1Q: 08:44 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
1Q: 03:00 KSST - Scott Drakeford 1 run.
1Q: 03:00 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
2Q: 07:19 KSST - Scott Drakeford 7 run.
2Q: 07:19 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
2Q: 05:18 KSST - Sammy Poston 12 run.
2Q: 05:18 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
2Q: 00:55 KSST - Teddy Erwin 24 pass from Craig Boyer.
2Q: 00:55 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
2Q: 00:24 KSST - Jimmie Salinger 63 interception return.
2Q: 00:24 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.
4Q: 02:52 KSST - Lawrence Marshall 14 pass from Cary Lucero.
4Q: 02:52 KSST - Bert Dotson extra point.

Game MVP: KSST 29 Scott Drakeford

No real offensive or defensive leaders in this one. Unless you count the K State players.

[primelord]

Post Season Info

Big XII Championship

Colorado upsets Oklahoma in the Big XII championship game 31-28. That also ruined OU's possible shot at a national championship.

Bowl Games

7 Big XII schools made a bowl game this season, but they didn't fare very well going 1-6 including Texas losing the national championship game to Virginia Tech.

In the Heisman race Georgia QB Kenny Grier was robbed of the award by one vote. He finished with over 5000 yards passing and 50 TD's. Pretty amazing considering we aren;t using playoff games. However A&M QB Terrance Angel nudges him out by a single vote.

[primelord]

Season Wrap-Up

Awards

League Wide Major Awards

League MVP               Terrance Angell         Texas A&M                  
Top Offensive Player     Kenny Grier             Georgia                    
Top Defensive Player     Cory Perry              Houston                    
Top Offensive Freshman   Andre Ross              Georgia Tech               
Top Defensive Freshman   Korey Turnbull          Texas A&M

First Team All-Americans

Quarterback              Kenny Grier             Georgia                    
Running Back             Brant Perkins           West Virginia              
Fullback                 Jared Keith             South Florida              
Tight End                Emmanuel Wilson         Alabama                    
Wide Receiver            Brady Pallansch         Georgia                    
Wide Receiver            Kenneth George          UCLA                       
Center                   Alex Seeley             Ohio State                 
Offensive Guard          Dexter Russell          Virginia Tech              
Offensive Guard          Erik Talley             Boise State                
Offensive Tackle         Jose Van Horn           Kansas State               
Offensive Tackle         Steven Chapman          USC                        
Punter                   Keith Griese            Cal                        
Kicker                   Bucky Parker            Virginia Tech              
Defensive End            Kenyon Lofton           Oregon State               
Defensive End            Deion Dowdell           LSU                        
Defensive Tackle         Conrad Haldar           Arizona State              
Inside Linebacker        Ian Barker              Maryland                   
Inside Linebacker        Eugene Meier            Los Alamos                 
Outside Linebacker       Lincoln Richmond        Colorado                   
Outside Linebacker       James Dorsey            Tulsa                      
Cornerback               Fred Downs              Georgia                    
Cornerback               Arnold Richardson       BYU                        
Safety                   Cory Perry              Houston                    
Safety                   Stephen Schlesinger     Northwestern

Second Team All-Americans

Quarterback              Raymond Woodard         Oklahoma                   
Running Back             Toby Snyder             Iowa                       
Fullback                 Julio Breiten           Arizona State              
Tight End                Roman Uribe             Michigan State             
Wide Receiver            Bernard Maki            Washington State           
Wide Receiver            Willie Bruce            Syracuse                   
Center                   Scottie Burroughs       Army                       
Offensive Guard          Kenny Kinard            Ohio                       
Offensive Guard          Henry Ellis             Virginia Tech              
Offensive Tackle         Mark Gregg              Notre Dame                 
Offensive Tackle         Edgar Cox               Texas Tech                 
Punter                   Byron Fleming           Oklahoma                   
Kicker                   Thurman Fulkerson       Alabama                    
Defensive End            Leonard Feenstra        Ohio State                 
Defensive End            Dana Moss               Notre Dame                 
Defensive Tackle         Jesse Nomo              Alabama                    
**Inside Linebacker      Howie Smith             Missouri                   
Inside Linebacker        Harris Douglas          Michigan State             
Outside Linebacker       Dennis Berry            Cincinnati                 
Outside Linebacker       Kelly Galloway          Cal                        
Cornerback               Zack Michel             Notre Dame                 
Cornerback               Herman Webster          Colorado                   
Safety                   Brandon Cassidy         Buffalo                    
Safety                   Richie McDaniel         North Carolina State

MLB Howie Smith gets the nob on the second team all-american list. He had some very impressive tackle numbers this season.

Big XII Major Awards

Conference MVP           Raymond Woodard         Oklahoma                   
Top Offensive Player     Raymond Woodard         Oklahoma                   
**Top Defensive Player   Howie Smith             Missouri                   
Top Offensive Freshman   Mack Shipes             Oklahoma                   
Top Defensive Freshman   Korey Turnbull          Texas A&M

More accolades for Smith.

First Team All Big XII

Quarterback              Raymond Woodard         Oklahoma                   
Running Back             Courtney Walton         Texas                      
Fullback                 Zack Arpaci             Nebraska                   
Tight End                Kendrick Kornbluth      Nebraska                   
Wide Receiver            Sherman Gonzalez        Colorado                   
Wide Receiver            Kyle Ziegler            Texas                      
Center                   Leonard Brennan         Kansas                     
Offensive Guard          Jerry Price             Texas                      
Offensive Guard          Dixon Goodwin           Kansas State               
Offensive Tackle         Jose Van Horn           Kansas State               
Offensive Tackle         Edgar Cox               Texas Tech                 
Punter                   Byron Fleming           Oklahoma                   
Kicker                   Bo Jordan               Oklahoma                   
Defensive End            Victor Davidson         Iowa State                 
Defensive End            Ike West                Texas                      
Defensive Tackle         Hardy Hooper            Texas                      
**Inside Linebacker      Howie Smith             Missouri                 
Inside Linebacker        Leland Carlson          Oklahoma                   
Outside Linebacker       Lincoln Richmond        Colorado                   
Outside Linebacker       Danny Applewhite        Texas                      
Cornerback               Herman Webster          Colorado                   
Cornerback               Earnest Fortner         Texas                      
Safety                   Gary Lucas              Texas Tech                 
Safety                   Byron Cota              Iowa State

And Howie Smith finishes as the only player from our squad getting any post season recognition. Not surprising I guess, but I expected bigger things out of WR Sawyer. I guess he needs someone to throw to him.

[primelord]

2003 Summary for Missouri
   
Record: 3-9
Rank: 95
   
Missouri                Team      Rank  
Rushes                  369       88          
Rushing Yards           885       112         
Yards Per Carry         2.39      117         
Pass Attempts           337       71          
Completions             169       79 (T)      
Passing Yards           1874      98          
Yards Per Attempt       5.56      102         
3rd Down Conversions    26.5      105 (T)     
Points Per Game         14.1      116         
Turnovers               28        72 (T)      
Turnover Margin         0         57 (T)      
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes                  447       81 (T)      
Rushing Yards           1737      76          
Yards Per Carry         3.88      72 (T)      
Pass Attempts           365       72 (T)      
Completions             215       99          
Passing Yards           2872      106         
Yards Per Attempt       7.86      101         
3rd Down Conversions    35.0      69 (T)      
Points Per Game         29.3      90          
Turnovers               28        37 (T)      
   
Primary Formation: I-Formation

Looking at the stats above it is easy to see why we were so bad. We couldn't score any points and we couldn't stop 
anyone. Those tend to be key components to winning ball games.

Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     14    ILLN (62)     38      
2     57    at BALL (120) 16      
3     13    ALAM (78)     9       
4     22    MDTN (66)     7       
5     3     at KANS (105) 33      
7     7     NEBR (29)     20      
8     7     at OKLA (10)  38      
9     10    TXTC (50)     14      
10    16    IAST (56)     34      
11    7     at COLO (27)  35      
12    14    TXAM (34)     45      
13    0     at KSST (33)  63      
   
Passing             Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int  
10 Kanellitsas      QB    303   158   1764  5.82  9     17      
Team                ---   337   169   1874  5.56  9     20      

He had a pretty poor season, but Kane was our best option under center. We will hope one of our two incoming 
freshman will be ready to take the reigns next season. If not we have two red shirt freshman who might be 
able to contribute, but I don't think we can afford to stick with Kane next year.
   
Rushing             Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Stff  YdLst  
29 Kinney           RB    156   549   3.51  2     43    67      
10 Kanellitsas      QB    91    -163  -1.79 0     64    264     
38 Stoole           RB    74    378   5.10  3     24    49      
Team                ---   369   885   2.39  6     150   427     

Kinney was just not the RB I thought he would be. He played well early against our weak opponents, but was 
worthless against the good Big XII defenses. Stoole had some flashes of great play, but didn't play well when 
asked to carry the load. Again we hopefully have an upgrade in the form of incoming freshman next year.
   
Receiving           Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
83 Sawyer           WR    79    32    388   12.1  80    2       
89 Daniels          WR    46    22    295   13.4  37    0       
29 Kinney           RB    44    28    288   10.2  197   1       
88 Farrow           WR    43    19    280   14.7  54    2       
9 Mello             WR    25    15    278   18.5  77    3       
23 Greene           FB    15    9     43    4.7   15    0       
84 El Nino          TE    15    9     71    7.8   14    0       
80 Keith            TE    15    8     39    4.8   11    0       
22 Henry            FB    14    10    77    7.7   34    0       
85 Mathis           WR    14    3     43    14.3  18    0       
Team                ---   337   169   1874  11.0  569   9       

Well we tried to get the ball to Sawyer, but we just weren't able to often enough. Mello was having a pretty 
solid season when he went down with an injury. Our WR's were actually pretty decent. I think with better QBs 
we should get more production from this group.
   
Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  TFL   Ints  Defn  
94 Smith            ILB   103   49    0.5   15    3     8       
96 Meidinger        OLB   69    14    0.0   11    0     4       
46 Rivera           S     63    19    0.0   8     3     11      
95 Prior            OLB   52    13    8.5   16    1     3       
32 Ellard           CB    45    1     0.0   1     3     8       
97 Doyle            DT    37    28    2.0   5     0     0       
76 Anderson         DE    36    10    7.5   13    1     0       
70 Bjorlin          DT    35    18    8.5   15    1     0       
34 Earley           S     35    13    0.0   4     5     4       
26 Blake            CB    30    9     0.0   4     0     1       
74 Falkenberg       DE    28    14    3.5   9     0     0       
35 Erickson         CB    19    9     0.0   2     0     3       
79 Levi             DT    14    4     3.0   5     0     0       
49 Blades           OLB   14    8     0.0   2     0     1       
83 Sawyer           WR    12    0     0.0   0     0     0       
21 Paduano          CB    12    1     0.0   0     0     1       
Team                ---   709   227   36.0  120   17    49

Smith was obviously the defensive MVP this season. We got a nice season from DT Bjorlin too. And OLB Prior 
was a bit of surprise getting good pressure from the LB position. Stll as a whole the defense was just not good.

[primelord]

2003 Departing Class

Borders, Jessie         15   QB   Sr    44                44                  
Kinney, Josh            29   RB   Sr    43                43                  
Smith, Carl             27   RB   Sr    34                34                  
Stoole, Walter          38   RB   Sr    35                35                  
Greene, Ty              23   FB   Sr    45                45                  
Hatcher, Scottie        39   FB   Sr    43                43                  
Henry, Richard          22   FB   Sr    49                49                  
Farrow, Mark            88   WR   Sr    57                57                  
Walsh, Damon            69   T*   Sr    21                32                  
Murrell, Broderick      12   P    Sr    43                43                  
Gogel, Tony             14   K    Sr    31                59                  
Doyle, J.R.             97   DT   Sr    44                67                  
Smith, Howie            94   ILB  Sr    58                58                  
Howard, Scott           51   OLB  Sr    41                46                  
Prior, Eric             95   OLB  Sr    41                41                  
Ellard, Lamont          32   CB   Sr    42                42                  
Erickson, Amos          35   CB   Sr    30                30

Obviously Howie Smith is biggest loss for our team in this group. We also are losing all of our experience at RB and surprising OLB Eric Prior. Still I think we have freshman coming in that will step in nicely.

[primelord]

2003 Recruiting Class

**Edwards, Carl           QB    6-0  191  MO   2     Saint Louis                  
**Belzer, Steve           G     6-4  287  MO   7     Malden                       
**Kelley, Lance           ILB   6-1  216  MO   39    O'Fallon                     
**Henry, Don              DT    6-3  274  IL   96    Batavia                      
**Roscoe, J.T.            QB    6-1  185  MO   133   Saint Louis                  
**Craig, Rondell          FB    5-10 207  MI   189   Sterling Heights             
**Walker, Stephen         C     6-1  250  MO   244   Kearney                      
##Cantwell, Rick          RB    5-9  188  MO   248   Grain Valley                 
**Hansen, Damon           CB    6-1  169  MO   374   Holcomb                      
**Tyler, Dexter           FB    6-2  223  MI   508   Spring Lake                  
**Cortez, Randy           RB    6-0  178  IN   597   Denver                       
$$Wentland, Harry         G     6-1  256  MO   687   Savannah                     
**Bloedorn, Matthew       OLB   6-1  195  MI   731   Byron                        
$$Joseph, Gilbert         T     6-6  294  MO   892   Appleton City                
$$Ellard, Rodney          DT    6-3  256  MO   ---   Ballwin                      
##Rose, Cornell           TE    6-3  215  MO   ---   Richmond

Overall a very nice looking recruiting class. Headlined by QB Carl Edwards. We were greatly helped by Michigan and Florida pulling out of the running early to land him. We have several guys at key areas coming, but we failed to get any DE help which may be an issue for us next season.

That wraps up the 2003 season. A very forgettable season it was, but we have to start somewhere. I think we have a nice freshman base to build off of and would expect we improve some next season.

[Poli]

Nice start, Primelord, well, sort of . I'll be checking in on this. Yes, I know you started your next season's thread...but I'm not there, and navigating is slow for me.