When the Defense Roars: Missouri Tigers Dynasty

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview *|* August 31, 2014
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#3 Missouri Tigers (0-0, 0-0 Away)		#24 Alabama Crimson Tide (0-0, 0-0 Home)
Game Notes Missouri holds a 2-1 overall record against Alabama. Unfortunately the two teams haven't play since 1978, when then #1 Alabama thumped #11 Missouri 38-20. In 1975 the Missouri Tigers defeated then #2 Alabama 20-7. Since this game hasn't been played in 36 years it's two entirely different programs. Since then Missouri has won 2 conference championships and only been ranked #1 in two years (2007 and 2011). Alabama on the other hand has won 6 conference championships, 3 national championships, and been ranked #1 more than a handful of times. Missouri's spread offense should challenge Alabama's defensive, as Missouri has a very balanced and deadly rushing and passing attack. Combined with Missouri's speed heavy defense this could be a blowout victory for the Tigers.

Other games of interest

Ohio State (0-0) at #6 Virginia Tech (0-0)
Temple (0-0) at #8 Penn State (0-0)
Central Michigan (0-0) at #13 NC State (0-0)
#7 Michigan State (0-0) at #23 Notre Dame (0-0)
#1 Oregon (0-0) at #21 Ole Miss (0-0)
Georgia (0-0) at #22 Mississippi State (0-0)
#2 Wisconsin (0-0) at Washington State (0-0)
Kentucky (0-0) at #5 Auburn (0-0)

[Kcordloh]

Tigers trump Tide in Chik-Fil-A-Kickoff Game

The Missouri Tigers last faced the Alabama Crimson Tide in 1978. It was a glorified whooping as the Tide marched towards a national championship.

This time the Tigers provided the whooping as the young squad suggested that perhaps they just reload in Columbia, MO anymore.

The first quarter was just a defensive battle, the Tide couldn't get their offense rolling and neither could the Tigers. The Tigers intercepted Hutson Mason on his very first pass attempt of the game, but then David Steele promptly fumbled it back to the Tide on the very next play.

Finally with 1:04 left in the first period David Steele punched it into the endzone with a 2 yard rush, making it 7-0 Tigers.

A D.J. Washington interception later, and the Tigers scored on a 15 yard pass from E. Torres to W. Leftwich with 0:31 left in the first period to go up 14-0.

The second period was more of the same as C. O'Connor nailed a 49 yard field goal with 3:01 left, and David Steele tasted paydirt at 0:29 with a short 7 yard rush to make it 24-0 Tigers.

The Tigers outgained the Tide 200-91 in the first half with 71 rushing yards and 129 passing and just the one turnover. The Tide attack was 28 rushing and 63 passing with 6 first downs and 2 turnovers.

Alabama finally got on the board with 4:56 left in the third quarter when S. Smith broke free and gobbled up 74 yards to make it 24-6. The Tide went for two with a wildcat formation but Smith was stuffed, and the Tide had to kickoff down 24-6.

S. Smith breaking 3 tackles on his way to the endzone

Alabama's offensive line was dominated by the front four of the Tigers, they had no answer for three quarters, giving up multiple sacks and tackles for loss. Alabama finally scored again at 0:58 left in the third with a H. Manson 37 yard pass to D. Harwell for a TD making it 24-13 Tigers, but the Tide had the momentum.

Missouri made the odd decision of running a no-huddle hurry up offense to finish the third quarter and start the fourth despite it being a field position battle. With 5:56 left in the fourth quarter H. Manson was backed up on 3rd and 17 in his own endzone and went for the homerun. Unfortunately he overthrew his receiver and hit D.J. Washington who ran it back to the five yard line.

D. Washingtons amazing interception return

Missouri punched it in with a pass from E. Torres to David Steele for 7 yards and 7 points with 5:04 left in the game, with the Tigers up 31-13.

Alabama fought down the field and into the red zone but the Tigers defense just bent, didn't break, and forced the Tide to settle for a 37 yard field goal, making it 31-16 with 3:31 left in the game. Missouri retaliated by recovering the onside kick and then increasing the score on one play with David Steele rumbled 45 yards for another TD, making it 38-16 with 3:26 left to play.

Missouri got the ball back and Steele hit paydirt one more time, just reinforcing that the Tide do not have the premiere running back anymore, Mizzou does. Steele's final 47 yard TD rush with 1:36 left capped a great day for him and all Missouri fans. Steele finished with 26 touches, 167 yards, 4 TD, 1 catch for 7 yards and another TD.

Steele jogging in his 4th rushing TD of the game

Missouri POTGs:
Offense: David Steele: 26 rushes for 167 yards and 4 TD and he also had a catch for 7 yards and TD.
Defense: D.J. Washington 5 tackles, 2 int.

Missouri Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide
Aug 31, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#3 Missouri Tigers (0-0)	10	10	0	21	45
#24 Alabama Crimson Tide (0-0)	0	0	13	3	16

Team Stats Comparison
	MIZZ	ALA
Total Offense	374	329
Rushing Yards	225	99
Passing Yards	149	230
First Downs	18	21
Punt Return Yards	65	10
Kick Return Yards	50	62
Total Yards	489	401
Turnovers	2	4
3rd Down Converstion	3-11 (27%)	4-16 (25%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1 (100%)	1-2 (50%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-4-0 (66%)	3-0-1 (33%)
Penalties	0-0	4-33
Posession Time

[Kcordloh]

Top 25 results: Week 1

Top 25 scoreboard

Results

Ohio State defeated #6 Virginia Tech 30-23

#8 Penn State defeated Temple 38-21

Central Michigan trounced #13 NC State 45-17

#7 Michigan State defeated #23 Notre Dame 49-26

#1 Oregon defeated #21 Ole Miss 36-17

Georgia defeated #22 Mississippi State 35-20

#2 Wisconsin pasted Washington State 45-0

Kentucky upset #5 Auburn 15-13

[Kcordloh]

Coaches Top 25

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 1, 2014
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Oregon (41)	1	0
2	3	Missouri (20)	1	0
3	2	Wisconsin	1	0
4	4	Kansas	0	0
5	7	Michigan State	1	0
6	8	Penn State	1	0
7	9	Maryland	0	0
8	10	Illinois	0	0
9	11	TCU	0	0
10	12	Boise State	0	0
11	14	Michigan	0	0
12	15	Florida	0	0
13	6	Virginia Tech	0	1
14	16	USF	0	0
15	17	Iowa	0	0
16	18	LSU	0	0
17	19	BYU	0	0
18	5	Auburn	0	1
19	20	South Carolina	0	0
20	--	Ohio State	1	0
21	25	Houston	0	0
22	--	Oklahoma State	0	0
23	21	Ole Miss	0	1
24	--	Connecticut	0	0
25	--	Arkansas	1	0

[Kcordloh]

Tigers have bye week, other top 25 teams in action

The Tigers are taking a week off after thumping Alabama 45-16 last week.
This week features lots of top 25 action, but only three intriguing matchups.

#7 Maryland is traveling to West Virginia (0-1)
#12 Florida (0-0) is traveling to Alabama (0-1)
Clemson (0-0) is taking on #24 Connecticut (0-0)
#17 BYU (0-0) is traveling to Texas (0-1)

In the game of the week, #16 LSU (0-0) hosts #9 TCU (0-0)

[Kcordloh]

Week 2 results, new polls

Week 2 Top 25 Scoreboard

Results

#1 Oregon defeated Iowa State 34-13

#3 Wisconsin defeated Western Michigan 42-7

#4 Kansas defeated North Dakota State 59-14

#5 Michigan State defeated Stony Brook 44-17

#6 Penn State defeated Memphis 49-14

#7 Maryland defeated West Virginia 62-20

#8 Illinois defeated South Dakota 56-0

#9 TCU defeated #16 LSU 48-41

#10 Boise State defeated Western Kentucky 42-7

#14 USF whooped UL Monroe 35-17

#13 Virginia Tech defeated ECU 38-24

#15 Iowa destroyed Ball State 41-0

#17 BYU defeated Texas 35-25

#18 Auburn defeated Chattanooga 59-14

Notre Dame defeated #11 Michigan 56-35

#20 Ohio State defeated Northern Illinois 35-17

Alabama defeated #12 Florida 42-26

#21 Houston beat Stephen F. Austin 49-0

#22 Oklahoma State beat Southeast Missouri State 44-10

#23 Ole Miss beat Georgia 35-27

Clemson beat #24 Connecticut 28-24

#25 Arkansas beat Oklahoma 45-37

Coaches Poll

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 7, 2014
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Oregon (41)	2	0	1505
2	2	Missouri (20)	1	0	1435
3	3	Wisconsin	2	0	1368
4	4	Kansas	1	0	1301
5	5	Michigan State	2	0	1237
6	6	Penn State	2	0	1173
7	7	Maryland	1	0	1130
8	8	Illinois	1	0	1051
9	9	TCU	1	0	1018
10	10	Boise State	1	0	935
11	14	USF	1	1	736
12	13	Virginia Tech	1	1	720
13	15	Iowa	1	0	671
14	17	BYU	1	0	597
15	18	Auburn	1	1	485
16	19	South Carolina	0	0	485
17	11	Michigan	0	1	447
18	20	Ohio State	2	0	443
19	12	Florida	0	1	409
20	21	Houston	1	0	402
21	16	LSU	0	1	367
22	22	Oklahoma State	1	0	362
23	--	Notre Dame	1	1	324
24	--	Alabama	1	1	324
25	25	Arkansas	2	0	289

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview *|* September 13, 2014
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#17 Michigan Wolverines (0-1, 0-0 Away)		#2 Missouri Tigers (1-0, 0-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 443 (#64) Total Offensive Yards 374 (#97) 199 (#69) Rushing Yards 225 (#53) 244 (#71) Passing Yards 149 (#112) 35.0 (#48) Points Per Game 45.0 (#18) Defensive Stats Comparison 375 (#34) Total Yards Allowed 329 (#28) 194 (#56) Rushing Yards Allowed 99 (#14) 181 (#28) Passing Yards Allowed 230 (#45) 56 (#92) Points Allowed 16 (#21) Injury Report Justice Hayes- Strained Shouler 1 week Game Notes Last year this was #1 vs #2 in a Game of the Century matchup that was supposed to send the victor to the national championship. Missouri routed Michigan by over 30 points, and ended up having to rely on late upsets to even get close to the national championship only to lose late in the season to eventual nation champion Kansas. Michigan is not as talented as they were last year, and Missouri's younger core has really come around. It should be an amazing game to talk about, but the truth is Missouri is strong and should walk away with a relatively easy victory. Maybe that's why they have the #13 Toughest Stadium ranking, it's really hard to beat Missouri at Farout Field. Tigers are 21 point favorites.

[Kcordloh]

#17 Michigan almost upsets the #2 Missouri Tigers

Football is a sport where emotions and rivalries have a way of transcending the sport, where regardless of the talent of the individuals involved any game played can have any outcome.

Last year this matchup was in Ann Arbor, and was "Game of the Century". It ended in a rout, with Missouri embarrassing Michigan. The Wolverines came to Missouri with one goal, no go to 0-2 on the season, and revenge for last year's loss that sent them from pre-season national champion contender to not even winning their division.

Michigan came out hot, marching down the field and taking a 7-0 when K. Fox finished off the 11 play 73 yard drive with a 6 yard rush.
Missouri responded quickly when E. Torres completed a 5 yard pass to M. Smith, tying the game at 7-7 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

J. Smith catches a 2 yard pass to tie the game at 7 apiece

I. Simon intercepted J. Jackson's attempt at a deep pass late in the first and returned it to the Tiger's 35. They stalled out, but C O'Connor drilled a 49 yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead as the first period ended.

Michigan tied the game at 10 all with a 46 yard field goal by M. Wile, but Missouri ended the half with a 9 play 69 yard drive capped off by E. Torres tossing an easy 2 yard TD to J. Thomas to give the Tigers a 16-10 lead with 0:16 left in the half. C O'Connor had a rare miss on the PAT attempt, and the Tigers went into the locker room ahead 17-16.

Michigan's defense held the Tigers down in the second half, and they took the lead in the game 17-16 with a 33 yard screen pass from J. Jackson to C. Williams with 2:38 left in the third quarter.

With one period left to play, Michigan barely ahead 17-16, you could sense the fourth quarter was going to be an absolute battle. Who was going to give!?

The Tigers hurried J. Jackson 11 times and sacked him 4

Missouri and Michigan traded drives and punts, with neither one gaining a significant edge in field position. Finally with 2:38 left in the game D. Steele broke free with a 65 yard rush, and Missouri kicked a 54 yard field goal to take a 19-17 lead. A fumble by Michigan on the kickoff later, and Missouri kicked an academic 40 yard field goal after being stopped by Michigan's defense one last time. The 22-17 lead held as Michigan took 4 final shots down field, and the game ended with a Missouri kneel down.

D. Steele's amazing 65 yard run from near his own endzone to set up the Tigers taking the lead for good

Missouri POTG:
E. Torres 13/19 for 175 yards and 2 TD, 0 INT; 12 carries for 36 yards
D. Steele had 23 carries for 136 yards
I. Simon had 7 tackles, 2 TFL, and 1 INT

Michigan Wolverines at Missouri Tigers
Sep 13, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#17 Michigan Wolverines (0-1)	7	3	7	0	17
#2 Missouri Tigers (1-0)	10	6	0	6	22

Team Stats Comparison
	MICH	MIZZ
Total Offense	291	394
Rushing Yards	42	217
Passing Yards	249	177
First Downs	27	19
Punt Return Yards	12	8
Kick Return Yards	24	35
Total Yards	327	437
Turnovers	3	1
3rd Down Converstion	6-15 (40%)	5-13 (38%)
4th Down Conversion	0-1 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	7-2-1 (42%)	3-2-0 (66%)
Penalties	0-0	6-40
Posession Time

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MICH	MIZZ
3:49	(MICH) K. Fox 6 yard rush (PAT)	7	0
2:33	(MIZZ) M. Smith 6 yard pass from E. Torres (PAT)	7	7
0:11	(MIZZ) C. O'Connor 49 yard FG	7	10
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MICH	MIZZ
5:01	(MICH) M. Wile 46 yard FG	10	10
0:16	(MIZZ) J. Thomas 2 yard pass from E. Torres (missed kick)	10	16
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MICH	MIZZ
2:38	(MICH) C. Williams 33 yard pass from J. Jackson (PAT)	17	16
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MICH	MIZZ
1:57	(MIZZ) C O'Connor 54 yard FG	17	19
0:53	(MIZZ) C. O'Connor 40 yard FG	17	22