When the Defense Roars: Missouri Tigers Dynasty

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview *|* September 9, 2015
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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (0-0, 0-0 Away)		#1 Missouri Tigers (1-0, 0-0 Home)
Game Notes Missouri and Middle Tennessee State have only met once before, a 41-40 overtime battle in 2003. Missouri finished 8-5 that year with a loss in the Independence Bowl, while Middle Tennessee State finished 4-8. Missouri has become a national power since then, while Middle Tennessee State has recently become the banner bearer for non-AQ's. Missouri hosting Middle Tennessee State is a bold move, they have nothing to gain but everything to lose. Middle Tennessee State has the perfect schedule this year to win the national championship if they can go undefeated. They play at #1 Missouri this week, and then after an easy OOC game against Western Michigan they play at #4 Michigan. If they can win those two games they have an easy schedule from there besides perennial 7-9 win teams Troy and Arkansas State. That's a big if. Mid Tenn State lives and dies by the passing game, and they have a very young and suspect defense. It should be a higher scoring one, unless the Tigers lock down the Blue Raiders offense, and then it should be a very one sided game for the Tigers.

Top 25 action: 9/03-9/05.
Game	Favorite
#12 Auburn (0-0) at #3 Ohio State (0-0)	Auburn
Middle Tennessee State at #1 Missouri (1-0)	Missouri
California (1-0) at #10 Miami (0-0)	Miami
UNLV (0-0) at #25 Penn State (0-0)	Penn State
Northern Colorado (0-0) at #14 USC (0-0)	USC
James Madison (0-0) at #11 Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech
Houston (0-0) at #21 Stanford (1-0)	Houston
#18 UCLA (0-0) at Nebraska (0-1)	Nebraska
Eastern Washington (1-0) at #2 Oregon (0-0)	Oregon
#13 Arkansas (0-1) at Texas (0-0)	Arkansas
Eastern Michigan (0-0) at #7 Michigan State (0-0)	Michigan State
UC Davis (0-1) at #23 Maryland (0-0)	Maryland
#4 Michigan (0-0) at Notre Dame (1-0)	Notre Dame
#17 Oklahoma State (0-0) at Oregon State (0-0)	Oregon State
Illinois (0-0) at #22 Oklahoma (0-0)	Oklahoma
UTSA (0-0) at #5 Wisconsin (0-0)	Wisconsin
Sam Houston State (1-0) at #20 Rutgers (0-0)	Rutgers
Lamar (0-0) at #19 TCU (0-1)	TCU
Central Arkansas (0-0) at #24 Arizona (1-0)	Arizona
#8 Kansas (1-0) at Indiana (1-0)	Kansas
UTEP (0-0) at #16 Utah	Utah
Eastern Washington (0-0) at #6 Boise State (0-0)	Boise State
Holy Cross (0-0) at #15 USF (0-0)	USF
Georgia (0-0) at #9 LSU (0-1)	LSU

[Kcordloh]

Tigers lean on Steele, surge late to beat MTSU 67-53

After the Missouri Tigers shut down the talented LSU offense last week, in Death Valley, most people thought that Middle Tennessee State and their band of 2 and 3 star players that most major universities did not recruit would not muster any offense.

For a quarter they were right, as the Tigers got out to a quick start, taking a 6-0 lead after a fade route to the endzone left M. Smith all alone.

M. Smith got open and Missouri got a 6-0 lead

Coleman missed the PAT, but it hardly mattered, as Missouri went on a 27 point run, taking a 27-0 lead with 4:35 left in the second quarter.

J. Johnson was a huge reason why, as the MTSU quarterback was highly ineffective in the first quarter, going 4 for 16 with an interception.

Who!?- J. Johnson was highly rattled in the first quarter and half at Faurot Field

Missouri was comfortable ahead 27-0 and made a few substitutions to get their second string some valuable practice. J. Johnson and company made a comeback, rattled off 20 straight points to make it 27-20 at halftime.

Halftime score
#1 Missouri (1-0) 27
Middle Tennessee State (0-0) 20

Missouri and Middle Tennessee State traded runs in the fourth quarter, with Missouri gaining a slight edge, heading into the fourth quarter ahead by 11.

[center]After 3 quarters
#1 Missouri (1-0) 41
Middle Tennessee State (0-0) 30


In the fourth quarter things got hairy. J. Johnson started off going a perfect 9 for 9 after fumbling the ball on his first drive on an option run. Middle Tennessee kept pounding, and Missouri blew an 18 point lead late in the quarter.
A. Hicks ran in two straight touchdowns and their 2-pt conversions to take a 48-37 game and make it 53-48 in favor of the Blue Raiders with 1:55 left in the game.

Missouri rallied under the leadership of N. Bailey, who marched them 93 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown on a 33 yard pass to J. Thomas, and Missouri snuck ahead 58-53.

J. Johnson made a bad pass shortly after that while backed up against his own goal line, and Missouri got the safety, making it a 60-53 game with 1:31 left.

J. Johnson's bad decision to throw it short cost MTSU the ball

Missouri got the ball back, and marched down field and scored, taking a 14 point, 67-53 lead with 19 seconds left.

Of course MTSU aired it out, and the legendary D. Washington added to his career interception total with a dandy to seal the game.

Tiger fans everywhere are glad Washington is back playing D this year

Missouri POTG
N. Bailey 27 for 41 for 356 yards, 5 TD, 0 int, and sacked twice
D. Steele had 46 carries for 334 yards and 3 TD. He also had 4 catches for 35 yards and a touchdown.
M. Smith had 10 catches for 159 yards and a trifecta of touchdowns
M. Wilson had 9 tackles and 2 sacks and 1 FF

MTSU POTG
J. Johnson 31 for 57 for 471 yards, 4 TD, 1 Int, and sacked 4 times
D. Newby had 16 catches for 256 yards and 2 TD
D. Bailey had 7 catches for 106 yards and 1 TD

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Missouri Tigers
Sep 5, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (0-0)	0	20	10	23	53
#1 Missouri Tigers (1-0)	13	14	14	26	67

Team Stats Comparison
	MTU	MIZZ
Total Offense	564	729
Rushing Yards	93	373
Passing Yards	471	356
First Downs	21	30
Punt Return Yards	18	3
Kick Return Yards	102	70
Total Yards	684	802
Turnovers	3	0
3rd Down Converstion	6-10	11-19
4th Down Conversion	1-1	2-2
2-Point Conversion	2-3	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-2-1	7-5-1
Penalties	4 for 27 yards	5 for 55 yards
Posession Time	12:44	19:16

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MTU	MIZZ
5:56	(MIZZ) M. Smith 9 yard pass from N. Bailey (missed PAT)	0	6
1:47	(MIZZ) M. Smith 35 yard pass from N. Bailey (PAT)	0	13
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MTU	MIZZ
6:51	(MIZZ) M. Smith 7 yard pass from N. Bailey (PAT)	0	20
4:35	(MIZZ) S. Ray returned a fumble 15 yards (PAT)	0	27
3:31	(MTU) D, Newby 30 yard pass from J. Johnson (PAT)	7	27
1:31	(MTU) C. Hart 10 yard run (2 pt failed)	13	27
0:03	(MTU) C. Alexander 25 yard pass from J. Johnson (PAT)	20	27
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MTU	MIZZ
7:01	(MTU) M. Watkins 27 yard FG	23	27
5:44	(MIZZ) D. Steele 40 yard run (PAT)	23	34
5:00	(MTU) D. Newby 80 yard pass from J. Johnson (PAT)	30	34
2:44	(MIZZ) D. Steele 10 yard pass from N. Bailey (PAT)	30	41
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MTU	MIZZ
7:44	(MIZZ) D. Steele 4 yard run (PAT)	30	48
6:23	(MTU) D. Bailey 57 yard pass from J. Johnson (PAT)	37	48
4:57	(MIZZ) M. Coleman 22 yard FG	37	51
3:54	(MTU) A. Hicks 4 yard run (2pt conversion good)	45	51
2:34	(MTU) A. Hicks 52 yard run (2pt conversion good)	53	51
1:55	(MIZZ) J. Thomas 33 yard pass from N. Bailey (PAT)	53	58
1:31	(MIZZ) Safety (MTSU team safety)	53	60
0:19	(MIZZ) D. Steele 1 yard run (PAT)	53	67

[Kcordloh]

Results of a great weekend

Besides the Big XII improving to 7-1 in OOC play, there were no major stories from the second weekend of college football.
The Big 10 is 8-2 in non-conference play, the SEC is 0-6, the Pac-12 is 8-3, the ACC is 3-1, the Big East is 2-1, and the MWC is 1-2.


Michigan State looks to be over-rated this year, and Arkansas has went 0-2 to start the season. Considering they have yet to play Missouri and Kansas, Arkansas will be lucky to go 9-3 this year.

Top 25 results: 9/03-9/05

Results

#1 Missouri (2-0) beat Middle Tennessee State (0-1) 67-53

#2 Oregon (1-0) beat Eastern Washington (0-1) 41-0

#3 Ohio State (1-0) beat #12 Auburn (0-1) 47-44

Notre Dame (2-0) upset #4 Michigan (0-1) 23-14

#5 Wisconsin (1-0) killed UTSA (0-1) 48-20

#6 Boise State (1-0) beat North Dakota State (0-1) 35-7

#7 Michigan State (1-0) beat Eastern Michigan (0-1) 24-6

#8 Kansas (2-0) beat Indiana (1-1) 58-35

#9 LSU (1-1) beat Georgia (0-1) 38-35

California (2-0) routed #10 Miami (0-1) 34-0

#11 Virginia Tech (1-0) beat James Madison (0-1) 52-43

Texas (1-0) upset #13 Arkansas (0-2) 52-35

#14 USC (1-0) routed Northern Colorado (0-1) 58-17

#15 USF (1-0) beat Holy Cross (0-1) 55-6

#16 Utah (1-0) beat UTEP (0-1) 52-14

#17 Oklahoma State (1-0) beat Oregon State (0-1) 35-33

Nebraska (1-1) upset #18 UCLA (0-1) 47-43

#19 TCU (1-1) destroyed Lamar (0-1) 76-0

#20 Rutgers (1-0) beat Sam Houston State (1-1) 22-17

#21 Stanford (2-0) beat Houston (0-1) 31-14

Illinois (1-0) embarrassed #22 Oklahoma (0-1) 52-18

#23 Maryland (1-0) ousted UC Davis (0-2) 59-7

#24 Arizona (2-0) outgunned Central Arkansas (0-1) 49-42

#25 Penn State (1-0) routed UNLV (0-1) 55-7

[Kcordloh]

Arkansas drops to #25, Missouri losing lead but still #1

Can't the defending national champions get any credit? After losing a shootout that they only won thanks to a little luck and MTSU getting careless after blowing a 27-0 lead, the Tigers sizeable lead over Oregon shrunk to less than 70 points in this weekends USA Today Coaches Poll.


Meanwhile 2 loss Arkansas is still ranked, coming in at #25. Tennessee, Iowa, Arizona State, Texas, Alabama, UCLA, NC State, Florida State, and Ohio all received votes.

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 6, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Missouri (37)	2	0	1501
2	2	Oregon (22)	1	0	1436
3	3	Ohio State (1)	1	0	1412
4	5	Wisconsin (1)	1	0	1215
5	6	Boise State	1	0	1192
6	7	Michigan State	1	0	1134
7	8	Kansas	1	0	1094
8	9	LSU	1	1	966
9	11	Virginia Tech	1	0	912
10	14	USC	1	0	759
11	4	Michigan	0	1
12	15	USF	1	0
13	16	Utah	1	0
14	17	Oklahoma State	1	0
15	12	Auburn	0	1
16	--	Notre Dame	2	0
17	10	Miami	0	1
18	19	TCU	1	1
19	20	Rutgers	1	0
20	21	Stanford	2	0
21	23	Maryland	1	0
22	--	California	2	0
23	24	Arizona	2	0
24	25	Penn State	1	0
25	13	Arkansas	0	2

[Kcordloh]

#1 Missouri takes on their 2nd #4 team this year

Matchup Preview *|* September 12, 2015
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#4 Wisconsin Badgers (1-0, 0-0 Away)		#1 Missouri Tigers (2-0, 1-0 Home)
Injury Report LG. S. Taylor WR. B. Hannah Game Notes Wisconsin and Missouri have unfinished business. Their last two games, both Wisconsin victories in 1983/84, came down to single digits. Look for Missouri to take this one. They are battle tested, a little banged up, but they are going to take it to Wisconsin who still hasn't been tested. I'll take a slightly banged up Missouri with vengeance on their minds for their 1-4 overall record against Wisconsin any day

[hoopla32]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kcordloh

This might be the last season of this dynasty. I just got a high school teaching job and am moving close to Kansas City. Which is about 1.5hrs from most of my friends, and 2.5 from my gf. Which means weekends will be spent driving, and week days spent teaching, grading and working out.

Gonna miss the dynasty, but congrats on the job. I'm currently in school working towards my Secondary Education degree. I'm ready to "grow-up" but I'm also a little weary of it because I know my time for video games will be cut way down.

[Kcordloh]

Quote: Originally Posted by hoopla32

Gonna miss the dynasty, but congrats on the job. I'm currently in school working towards my Secondary Education degree. I'm ready to "grow-up" but I'm also a little weary of it because I know my time for video games will be cut way down.

Yeah secondary education is a rewarding career path, I loved student teaching and my new job is going to be awesome. I just know trying to keep my life the way it is right now plus teaching means something has to drop. Aka: video games, haha.

Thanks for the congrats, I will hopefully keep this dynasty alive but you know how it is.

[Kcordloh]

Johnny Rock to leave Ohio State at the end of the year

Johnny Rock has made quite a name for himself the past few years. The native Missourian went from unknown teacher to highschool football coaching fame. He then went to Missouri as their defensive coordinator for three years before leaping to Ohio State, where he took the unranked Buckeyes from a 6-6 season before to a 10-2 regular season and at one point was ranked #1 in all major polls.

This year he once again has the Buckeyes positioned for a run at the national championship, but he has already told players and the athletic department he just doesn't enjoy life in Ohio, and after the Buckeyes season is completely finished he will be departing. Sources say he wants a job closer to home, preferably back at Missouri. Whether it is his old defensive coordinator job, head coach, or possibly even running a D-II or D-III program. Hamilton High school is also apparently trying to get him to come back and coach there.

Missouri Western State University, Missouri State, and Northwest Missouri State are all three reported to be seeking Rock's services.

Where will Rock end up!? Will he retire, move to a non FBS program, or stick it out and keep up his mantle of success?