When the Defense Roars: Missouri Tigers Dynasty

[Kcordloh]

Missouri loses two top defenders due to Academic Issues

College football is a high market, high money game. The men playing the game however are just young college students, and sometimes they make mistakes, like letting athletics mean more to them then academics. DJ Washington and Ian Simon from the starting defense and Darren Mackey the young safety who was playing most of the time have all been suspended from the team due to academic issues. Wes Leftwich also has been suspended from the team, but something non academic related apparently.
Apparently all three men should be able to earn their way back into playing with makeup exams and work the next few weeks, but they will miss the Arkansas game for sure, and possibly more.

Arkansas is now 21 point favorites.

[Kcordloh]

#2 Missouri Tigers throttle #9 Razorbacks

The #2 Missouri Tigers (4-0) and the #9 Arkansas Razorbacks (7-0) met in Missouri in what promised to be the Big XII Division North Championship game.
Missouri suspended several players before the game due to off the field behavior, primarily academic problems. This led to Missouri being 21 point underdogs despite being the #2 team in the nation.

Arkansas started off the game with a promising drive, going 69 yards until K. Walker fumbled the ball on the 7 yard line, giving Missouri the ball and preserving the 0-0 tie. Missouri went 3 and out, and Arkansas again marched deep into the red zone. Missouri's defense forced a 4th and inches situation, and Arkansas gambled, and Missouri stuffed the attempted run by K. Walker.
Missouri's next play, 1st and 10 from their own 6, resulted in D. Steele blowing past several defenders, over a DB, and stumbling 94 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

D. Steele broke a 94 yard run for a TD, breaking a 0-0 tie

Arkansas replied by once again getting into the redzone. This time they settled for a field goal and made it a 7-3 game.

Arkansas relied heavily on their running game, with their first touchdown coming at the hands of K. Walker who broke 6 tackles, including one attempted gang tackle, to rumble 43 yards for Arkansas's first TD of the day, making it a 14-10 ballgame, and keeping Arkansas close.

K. Walker shrugging off the last of 6 attempted tackles on his 43 yard touchdown run

Despite Arkansas having the #1 passing attack in the nation they came across very balanced, rushing more often then not, and gaining 233 yards on the game on the ground.

Missouri pulled ahead thanks to several Arkansas turnovers later, including a fumble on their own 16 with 10 seconds left in the 1st half. S. Ray picked it up and ran it in, giving Missouri a 28-10 lead at halftime and breaking the game open. Missouri continued to pour it on, and this top 10 matchup turning into a kicking contest with Missouri ousting Arkansas 52-24.

C. Jones pulled in two interceptions on the day, this one was huge to stop a long Arkansas drive

Missouri POTG
D. Steele had 23 carries for 212 yards and 2 TD with 4 catches for 53 yards
K. Hall had 8 tackles 7 solo, and 1 fumble recovery
C. Jones had 6 tackles and 2 INT

Arkansas POTG
K. Walker had 31 attempts for 210 yards and 1 TD, with 3 catches for 42 yards
J. Washington had 14 tackles

Arkansas Razorbacks at Missouri Tigers
Oct 18, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#9 Arkansas Razorbacks (7-0)	3	7	7	7	24
#2 Missouri Tigers (4-0)	14	14	14	10	52

Team Stats Comparison
	ARK	MIZZ
Total Offense	472	468
Rushing Yards	233	277
Passing Yards	239	191
First Downs	23	19
Punt Return Yards	19	0
Kick Return Yards	24	83
Total Yards	515	551
Turnovers	4	1
3rd Down Converstion	4-8 (50%)	6-11 (54%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-2-1 (75%)	7-5-1 (85%)
Penalties	0-0	1-15
Posession Time

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ARK	MIZZ
4:29	(MIZZ) D. Steele 94 yard run (PAT)	0	7
2:05	(ARK) J. Ramsey 31 yard FG	3	7
0:09	(MIZZ) E. Torres 1 yard scramble (PAT)	3	14
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ARK	MIZZ
6:02	(ARK) K. Walker 43 yard run (PAT)	10	14
1:04	(MIZZ) J. Ross 2 yard pass from E. Torres (PAT)	10	21
0:05	(MIZZ) S. Ray returned fumble 16 yards (PAT)	10	28
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ARK	MIZZ
5:52	(ARK) M. Wade 11 yard pass from T. Williams (PAT)	17	28
3:42	(MIZZ) J. Thomas 8 yard pass from E. Torres (PAT)	17	35
1:01	(MIZZ) B. Hannah 17 yard pass from E. Torres (PAT)	17	42
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ARK	MIZZ
4:22	(MIZZ) D. Steele 10 yard run (PAT)	17	49
3:18	(ARK) J. Dawson 21 yard pass from T. Williams (PAT)	24	49
1:05	(MIZZ) C. O'Connor 28 yard FG	24	52

[Kcordloh]

Top 25 results and potential impact, Coaches Poll

While we wait for the BCS Standings to come out tonight, we will look at what we already know and what we project to happen.

Top 25 results

Top 25 results from weekend of October 18th, 2014

Results

#15 Michigan (4-2) defeated #1 Michigan State (4-1) 31-28

#2 Missouri (5-0) beat #9 Arkansas 52-24

#3 Kansas (6-0) beat Oklahoma (4-3) 55-41

#6 Oregon (5-1) beat down BYU (1-6) 55-7

#7 Boise State (7-0) killed Tulsa (3-4) 56-0

#8 UCLA (7-0) beat Indiana (1-5) 40-24

#10 Virginia Tech (5-1) beat UCF (4-3) 31-19

#11 TCU (6-1) slipped past #22 USC (5-2) 40-34

#13 Wisconsin (5-1) beat Nebraska (2-4) 56-22

#14 LSU (5-1) beat South Carolina (2-3) 57-41

Texas A&M (4-2) beat #16 Mississippi State (4-2) 42-21

#25 Rutgers (5-1) beat #17 Illinois (3-3) 28-17

Minnesota (3-4) beat #18 Notre Dame (4-3) 45-38

Alabama (3-4) beat #19 Ole Miss (5-3) 38-21

#20 Fresno State (6-1) whooped Wyoming (2-4) 31-24

#21 Georgia Tech (5-1) beat UNC (5-2) 42-35 in OT

Army (5-2) beat #23 Florida (3-4) 56-52

#24 Auburn (3-3) beat Tennessee (4-4) 26-20

Coaches Top 25

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Oct 19, 2014
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	2	Missouri (38)	5	0	1502
2	4	Ohio State	6	0	1456
3	3	Kansas (1)	6	0	1362
4	5	USF	5	0	1320
5	8	UCLA	7	0	1248
6	7	Boise State	7	0	1117
7	6	Oregon	5	1	1113
8	1	Michigan State	4	1	1039
9	10	Virginia Tech	5	1	951
10	11	TCU	6	1	908
11	12	Penn State	6	1	862
12	15	Michigan	4	2	853
13	13	Wisconsin	5	1	821
14	14	LSU	5	1	802
15	9	Arkansas	7	1	770
16	20	Fresno State	6	1	551
17	21	Georgia Tech	5	1	511
18	25	Rutgers	5	1	448
19	24	Auburn	3	3	387
20	16	Mississippi State	4	2	306
21	--	California	6	1	298
22	17	Illinois	3	3	294
23	22	USC	5	2	284
24	--	Iowa	4	2	211
25	19	Ole Miss	5	3	117

Missouri moving to #1 is huge, but Ohio State leaped to #2 without even playing, which shows the lack of respect the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks (#3, 6-0) and the Big XII are getting right now.

If Ohio State and UCLA win out look their their more respected conferences to get them into the national championship. Although to be fair the Big 10 looks amazingly deep right now, with 8 teams ranked in the top 25. Of those ranked teams only 3of their losses (Iowa's 2, and one of Michigan's which was to #1 Missouri) have come to non-conference opponents.

The Pac-12 also is deep, with 5 ranked teams, and only one of the losses that their top 25 teams suffered being to a non-conference opponent.

Missouri and Kansas are heads and shoulders above the rest of the Big XII as last week showed when Missouri destroyed a highly respected Arkansas, but Arkansas dropped to #15, behind several 2 loss teams.

At this point it looks like the only undefeated teams Missouri and Kansas will stay ahead of are Boise State (#6, 7-0) and Navy (8-0).

Navy looks to be the best contender for the non-AQ automatic qualifying spot, although they have only played one team with a non-losing record so far (Nevada, 4-3).

Missouri should be #1 in the first BCS Polls, but don't look for them to hold that spot for long. Another thing hurting Missouri and Kansas is that they play two weeks before the conference championships, meaning the Big XII championship meeting between them cannot be two undefeated teams which could have possibly catapulted them past a highly regarded Pac-12 or Big 10 team beating a lower ranked opponent.

[Kcordloh]

Big 10 and Big XII steal bowl games from SEC

While 2014 is still halfway going on, the Big 10 and Big XII snuck around the stole several prestigious bowls from the SEC and each other. Most bowl contracts are up this year, and most people assumed they would stay largely the same but that was not the case.

The Big 10 signed a contract for the 2015/2016/2017 seasons to play in the Music City, Cotton, Liberty and Chick-fil-A bowls while keeping their Gator, Outback, Capital One, and Rose Bowl contracts.

The Big XII snuck in by grabbing the Ticket City, Outback, Little Caesars, Capital One, and Gator Bowl while keeping their Texas Bowl, Insight Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl contracts.

The SEC was left to take the openings left by the Big 10 and the Big XII, which means they now have contracts with the Holiday, Alamo, Pinstripe, Insight, Texas, Cotton, and Sugar Bowls.

The losses and gains are that the Big XII & Big 10 will now play higher profile bowl matchups, while losing the SEC/Big 10 atmosphere with their tops teams facing off. The Big XII is extremely top heavy this year, but unfortunately we will not get to see these bowl games play out until 2015.

How the mighty have fallen since the SEC won 5 national championships in a row and were about to put the Big XII under by taking Texas A&M and courting Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma.

[Kcordloh]

Missouri ranked #1 on BCS, Harris indicates trouble though

Missouri is the #1 team in the first BCS Standings of 2014. However, the Tigers and Head Coach Gary Pinkle are not happy.
The Missouri Tigers started the season ranked #3. They leapfrogged Wisconsin in the first week, and were later passed back by the Badgers.
Three weeks ago #1 Oregon lost to UCLA. The next week #1 Wisconsin fell to Rutgers. This past weekend #1 Michigan State lost to arch-rival Michigan. Missouri was always #2. Always.

The Harris poll followed standard suit, leaping Ohio State who didn't even play from #3 to #1 over Missouri, who stayed at #2. UCLA leaped Kansas by beating a 1 win Indiana team to take 3rd, and Kansas stayed pat at #4 beating a traditionally tough Oklahoma team.

Expect Missouri to be 2nd in the BCS next week, and possibly even 3rd. UCLA has a matchup with #10 TCU (6-1) this weekend, and Ohio State plays Purdue (4-2) so Missouri needs style points. But if destroying the #9 team in the nation is not enough, what is?

NCAA Football Rankings - BCS Rankings - Updated: Oct 19, 2014
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	--	Missouri	5	0	.997
2	--	Ohio State	6	0	.997
3	--	Kansas	6	0	.984
4	--	UCLA	7	0	.983
5	--	USF	5	0	.981
6	--	Oregon	5	1	.964
7	--	Boise State	7	0	.958
8	--	Michigan	4	2	.956
9	--	Michigan State	4	1	.952
10	--	TCU	6	1	.945
11	--	Virginia Tech	5	1	.936
12	--	Penn State	6	1	.934
13	--	LSU	5	1	.923
14	--	Wisconsin	5	1	.910
15	--	Arkansas	7	1	.908

BCS Bowl Projections

Despite the current rankings, the BCS Bowl's are not looking pretty for fans of the Big XII. Also, no non-AQs are currently even ranked, so look for 3 at large bids this year.

BCS National Championship: Ohio State vs UCLA
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs Boise State
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs Michigan State
Fiesta Bowl: Missouri vs USF
Sugar Bowl: LSU vs Kansas

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview *|* October 25, 2014
	@
#2 Missouri Tigers (5-0, 2-0 Away)		Texas Longhorns (2-5, 1-4 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 40.0 (#14) Points Per Game 33.5 (#54) 2207 (#106) Total Offensive Yards 2874 (#24) 1165 (#53) Rushing Yards 1185 (#46) 1042 (#109) Passing Yards 1689 (#42) Defensive Stats Comparison 1928 (#10) Total Yards Allowed 3072 (#98) 588 (#3) Rushing Yards Allowed 1117 (#83) 1340 (#43) Passing Yards Allowed 1956 (#107) Injury Report Game Notes Two of the last three years this game has been extremely close, with last years game being a 23-20 4OT game. This is the seventh straight meeting where at least one team has their eyes on the national championship, and the last few years it has been the Tigers. It is also the sixth time in the last seven meetings that one of the teams has been ranked #3 or higher. The one anomaly was in 2011 when Missouri was ranked #6. This game does not look close, either statistically or in experience. Texas keeps failing to utilize their talented roster, and they have lost to every FBS opponent they have played besides Baylor. Missouri should effectively limit the weak Texas offense who is ranked fairly low in yards/per, and their offense should take advantage of Texas's decent but not great defense. Missouri will not be taking this game lightly despite the fact Texas is two losses away from becoming bowl ineligible.

Important games

#10 TCU (6-1) travels to #5 UCLA (7-0)
#13 Wisconsin (5-1) travels to #24 Iowa (4-2)
Miami (7-1) takes on #17 Georgia Tech (5-1)

[gorillapittpray]

That Kansas game is going to be HUGE!!!

[Connor]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kcordloh

Missouri loses two top defenders due to Academic Issues College football is a high market, high money game. The men playing the game however are just young college students, and sometimes they make mistakes, like letting athletics mean more to them then academics. DJ Washington and Ian Simon from the starting defense and Darren Mackey the young safety who was playing most of the time have all been suspended from the team due to academic issues. Wes Leftwich also has been suspended from the team, but something non academic related apparently. Apparently all three men should be able to earn their way back into playing with makeup exams and work the next few weeks, but they will miss the Arkansas game for sure, and possibly more. Arkansas is now 21 point favorites.

I went to high school with Leftwich. He ran a 4.2 40 at a combine to break Percy Harvin's record