When the Defense Roars: Missouri Tigers Dynasty

[Kcordloh]

I start my job tomorrow, and do not have internet at my new apartment yet, so it might just be text updates for a few games from my workplace until I get internet.

Not done yet, just giving you guys an update. Thanks for following, hope you guys had a great holiday season!

[Kcordloh]

Over-rated Badgers routed in Columbia

The #4 Wisconsin Badgers walked into Columbia with a long list of goals for their season. Big 10 championship, undefeated, national championship, and a whole bunch of other small goals.

The Badgers, featuring one of the best offensive lines in 2015, looked to use their balanced offense to nickle and dime the Missouri Tiger defense to pull out a victory.

Once the game kicked off Missouri forced a 3 and out by the Wisconsin defense, and then the Tigers marched 67 yards before settling for a 29 yard field goal by freshman Coleman.

Wisconsin marched down the field, and got themselves an amazing double bounce off the bottom bar and the left post on a 47 yard field goal from B. Williams to tie the game at 3-apiece. Then it got interested, as D. Steele and N. Bailey engineered a drive to take a 10-3 lead.

Missouri kept pouring it on, taking a 16-3 lead after one quarter.

Missouri's defense kept Wisconsin off-balanced, forcing a key fumble here

Missouri utilized Bailey's unique skill set of extremely accurate throws but not a lot of distance to nickle and dime their way down the field, relying on D. Steele and J. Ross to put together a 20-7 second quarter, making it 36-10 at the half.

The J. Ross and N. Bailey connection, hooking up for 2 touchdowns and 121 yards

Missouri had Wisconsin dead to rights, and they ended it mercifully, putting in the backups during the third quarter. The starters rotated in occasionally, but the backups did most of the work in a 28-8 second half that gave Missouri a sweet 64-18 victory over the #4 team in the nation.

B. Moore knocked down three passes from J. Harris before getting this crucial interception

Missouri Stars of the Game:
N. Bailey was 21/27 for 219 yards and 2 TD
D. Steele carried the ball 24 times for 155 yards and 2 TD
T. Leach had 8 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 FF

Wisconsin Badgers at Missouri Tigers
Sep 12, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#4 Wisconsin Badgers (1-0)	3	7	0	8	18
#1 Missouri Tigers (2-0)	16	20	14	14	64

Team Stats Comparison
	WIS	MIZZ
Total Offense	291	548
Rushing Yards	144	214
Passing Yards	147	334
First Downs	18	21
Punt Return Yards	60	14
Kick Return Yards	97	61
Total Yards	448	623
Turnovers	4	1
3rd Down Converstion	3-11	11-14
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2-1-0	8-5-2
Penalties	5 for 45 yards	10 for 92 yards
Posession Time

[Kcordloh]

Tigers enjoy bye week, but drop to #2

After solidifying their #1 spot last weekend with a tremendous 64-18 spanking of then #4 Wisconsin, Missouri took a week off.
Unfortunately, #2 Ohio State did not. Ohio State spanked #7 Virginia Tech 52-34 thanks to a 35-0 first quarter, and due to whatever reason they leaped Missouri to become the new #1.

Missouri is still a locked in #2. #2 Oregon fell to #19 Rutgers 42-39 in Overtime, and #6 Michigan State dropped to Georgia 27-13.

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview *|* September 26, 2015
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#1 Missouri Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Away)		Ohio Bobcats (3-0, 2-0 Home)
Game Notes Missouri and Ohio have only met once, a meeting in 2006 that saw the Tigers spank Ohio 31-6 enroute to an 8-5 season while the Ohio Bobcats finished 9-5. The Bobcats have become a bit of a Boise State, a mid-major that is trying to make the BCS Bowl games. Missouri is giving Ohio an opportunity to show they deserve a major bowl bid, and at the same time upping their resume. Ohio University is ready for some revenge when they host Missouri, and are also thrilled about the opportunity they have been given. However, Missouri's offense and defense are way to balanced and overwhelming to really give Ohio a chance.

[Kcordloh]

Tigers roll the Bobcats 57-10, improve to 4-0

It's never a good feeling when you get steam-rolled by an opponent, just ask the 2015 Ohio Bobcats. A year after fielding comments about a possible BCS berth they got their chance at an AQ power, the #2 Missouri Tigers (3-0) who are defending national champions.

Missouri walked into Peden Stadium as the highest ranked team to ever play there, and made the 3-0 Bobcats look like a high school junior varsity. Not that it's all bad, the Bobcats held the Missouri offense to their second lowest total of points all year. And the Bobcats won't face another team like Missouri again all year. Of course they probably won't made a major bowl game either.

Ohio got off to a promising start, taking a 3-0 lead after a 34 yard field goal from M. Jolly on a 61 yard drive that included 3 conversions on 3rd down. Unfortunately it only angered the Tigers, and after their offense started cooking it was all over.

The Tigers forced 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles, and recovered two of those fumbles.


The key turnover was when C. Graham picked off J. King midway through the first period. Graham returned the ball 25 yards and turned a 7-3 game into a 14-3 game and a momentum shift that took away the edge the Bobcats had. The next offensive drive sputtered for the Bobcats, and the Tigers easily waltzed to a 27-3 lead after one stanza.

Graham's interception was a huge momentum shift

The Bobcats issues did not go away after one period, and the Tiger defense did what they do best, made it worse. On a 3rd and long deep in their own territory the Bobcats offensive line failed, and they gave up a safety which gave the Tigers a 29-3 lead, and it was 43-3 at the half.

King got dropped for a safety, and it was pretty much over

The Tigers senior D. Washington added an interception of his own later in the second quarter, and the stadium started emptying of Bobcat faithful who threw in the towel.

Missouri POTG D Steele 31 carries for 204 yards and 3 TD
N. Bailey 20 for 32 for 200 yards and 1 TD, 1 INT
Rico Lewis went 3 for 4 for 69 yards

M. Wilson had 19 tackles, 11 solo, and 2 sacks

Missouri Tigers at Ohio Bobcats
Sep 26, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#2 Missouri Tigers (3-0)	27	16	14	0	57
Ohio Bobcats (3-0)	3	0	7	0	10

Team Stats Comparison
	MIZZ	OHIO
Total Offense	572	319
Rushing Yards	303	98
Passing Yards	269	221
First Downs	26	19
Punt Return Yards	93	27
Kick Return Yards	78	68
Total Yards	743	414
Turnovers	1	4
3rd Down Converstion	7-16	6-22
4th Down Conversion	0-0	2-3
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	8-5-0	3-0-1
Penalties	2 for 25 yards	2 for 15 yards
Posession Time	24:29	23:31

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	OHIO
10:04	(OHIO) M. Jolly 34 yard field goal	0	3
8:04	(MIZZ) A. Harrell 18 yard pass from N. Bailey (PAT)	7	3
5:32	(MIZZ) C. Graham returned an interception 25 yards (PAT)	14	3
3:46	(MIZZ) D. Steele 43 yard run (PAT)	21	3
0:28	(MIZZ) D. Steele 2 yard run (missed kick)	27	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	OHIO
10:02	(MIZZ) Safety Ohio (Team Safety)	29	3
9:09	(MIZZ) D. Steele 27 yard run (PAT)	36	3
3:44	(MIZZ) K. Hall returned a punt 69 yards (PAT)	43	3
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	OHIO
8:29	(MIZZ) N. Bailey 1 yard scramble (PAT)	50	3
4:55	(OHIO) D. Payne 54 yard run (PAT)	50	10
0:28	(MIZZ) B. Mays 0 yard run (PAT)	57	10

Ohio POTG D. Payne 34 carries for 161 yards and 1 TD

[Kcordloh]

Top 5 teams starting to show themselves
Top 25 results

The cream is starting to rise to the top. Only a month into the season and it's clear which teams are the ones to watch, even if they aren't all getting equal recognition.

#1 Ohio State (4-0), #2 Missouri (4-0), and #3 Kansas (5-0) are some of the best teams in the nation. Kansas is unlikely to stay undefeated due to their 119th ranked defense, and the fact they have yet to face the best offenses in the Big XII. Kansas only ranks ahead Arkansas (1-4) in defense by 45 yards, yet they are undefeated. Kansas is weakest against the pass, and has gotten by the two best passing teams in the Big XII so far, but Oklahoma State has the 4th best passing team in the Big XII and is the 4th best defensively; Missouri is 8th in the Big XII in passing offense and 3rd best defensively overall and against the pass.

Others to watch out for are #9 Utah (4-0) and unranked Middle Tennessee State. Utah is obvious, they are a top 10 undefeated team. They have some challenges left, but match up well against all their remaining opponents, including #5 USC. They should run the table quite well.

Middle Tennessee State is a special team, they put up 53 points on a Tigers defense that has allowed a total of 31 points in their 3 other games. If they go 11-1, which they should, their reputation from that game alone might get them into a BCS Bowl game. Maybe. They are sure fun to watch with that spread!

HM:
Texas (4-0) is unranked, and not even receiving votes, but they are looking really good so far this year. When they face Missouri on October 17th we will see how good they really are.

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 27, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Ohio State (40)	4	0	1504
2	2	Missouri (21)	4	0	1439
3	3	Boise State	3	0	1357
4	4	Kansas	5	0	1295
5	6	USC	4	0	1287
6	5	LSU	3	1	1222
7	7	Wisconsin	3	1	1148
8	8	Oklahoma State	4	0	1059
9	9	Utah	4	0	1052
10	10	Virginia Tech	3	1	912
11	12	Michigan State	3	1
12	13	Auburn	3	1
13	15	Miami	3	1
14	11	Notre Dame	4	1
15	18	Georgia	3	1
16	20	Tennessee	4	0
17	23	TCU	3	2
18	21	Rutgers	3	1
19	22	Michigan	2	2
20	16	Stanford	4	1
21	14	Oregon	1	3
22	17	California	4	1
23	--	Alabama	2	0
24	24	Maryland	3	1
25	19	Arizona	2	1

Top 25 results: Weekend of September 26th, 2015
Results
#1 Ohio State (4-0) walloped Northwestern (1-3) 35-14
#2 Missouri (4-0) thumped Ohio (3-1) 57-10
#3 Boise State (3-0) massacred San Diego State (0-2) 49-3
#4 Kansas (5-0) continued their defensive woes against Texas Tech (2-2) 63-59
#5 LSU (3-1) beat Mississippi State (1-3) 45-17
#6 USC (4-0) beat #14 Oregon (1-3) 27-20
#7 Wisconsin (3-1) outed #11 Notre Dame (4-1) 44-39
#8 Oklahoma State (4-0) shutout Navy (1-3) 70-0
#9 Utah (4-0) beat #16 Stanford (4-1) 42-24
#12 Michigan State (3-1) beat Purdue (3-1) 29-24
#15 Miami (3-1) halted North Carolina State University (2-1) 49-21
#23 TCU (3-2) outed #17 California (4-1) 23-20
#18 Georgia (3-1) beat Ole Miss (2-2) 45-10
Alabama (3-0) beat #19 Arizona (2-1) 36-34
#20 Tennessee (4-0) beat University of Lousiana Lafayette (1-3) 34-23
#22 Michigan (2-2) whipped Penn State (1-3) 42-3
#24 Maryland (3-1) owned Wake Forest (1-3) 47-3
Georgia Tech (3-0) powned #25 South Florida (1-2) 21-9

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview *|* October 3, 2015
	@
Oklahoma Sooners (2-2, 0-0 Away)		#2 Missouri Tigers (4-0, 2-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 31.2 (#62) Points Per Game 56.0 (#3) 1625 (#45) Total Offensive Yards 2347 (#10) Defensive Stats Comparison 1846 (#102) Total Yards Allowed 1333 (#41) 607 (#55) Rushing Yards Allowed 365 (#11) 1239 (#119( Passing Yards Allowed 968 (#83) Sacks 27 (#4) Injury Report WR. M Thomas (Probable) LG. S. Taylor (5 weeks) DT. K. Evans (2 weeks) WE. B Hannah (5 weeks) Game Notes Missouri continues to dominate this rivalry lately, and looks to continue. They have won the last 5 convincingly, and are 21 point favorites in this game. Oklahoma is heavy pass first team this year, under the helm of Junior Ricardo Flowers. Flowers has a 53% pass completion rate, against heavily inferior competition. He has 14 TDs and 6 INT, but has a bad habit of holding the ball too long and has been sacked 21 times, 3 more than anyone else in College Football this year. Missouri's defense has 27 sacks this year. The only teams with more are USC (31), Louisiana Tech (30), and Toledo (28). Missouri's defense will no doubtly bring heavy pressure and create plays, and their secondary will be waiting, as they are 5th in the year with interceptions (8), and 1st with fumbles (10). Missouri's Nick Bailey has only been sacked 5 times, and has a 62% completion ratio with a 12 TD to 2 INT ratio. Oklahoma's defense only has 5 sacks on the year, only ahead of Arizona (4) in the Big XII. They are tied for 110th in sacks with Colorado State, Idaho, Rice, and Vanderbilt. Bailey will get the time he needs, and this won't be close at all.

Other Games to Watch

#11 Michigan State (3-1) at #7 Wisconsin (3-1)
#8 Oklahoma State (4-0) at Kansas State (3-1)
#22 California (4-1) at #5 USC (4-0)

[Kcordloh]

#2 Tigers defense sacks Flowers 9 times in 79-28 victory

Tigers put in subs after losing the shutout to a bad call

In a rivalry there are always ebbs and flows. The Oklahoma/Missouri rivalry has always been one sided, but lately it's been all Tigers. The biggest rout was in 1956 when Oklahoma destroyed Missouri 67-14 enroute to a 10-0 record, a #1 AP ranking, and a national championship. Missouri finished that year 4-5-1.

Missouri came close, tying the second best rout was in 1985 when Oklahoma killed the Tigers 51-6. The Sooners finished 11-1 that year and won another national championship. The Tigers finished 1-10 that year.

This time, the Tigers put their name up there, with the 2nd best rout ever in the rivalry and making the record 29-66-5 all time in the rivalry with their 5th straight victory.

The game was an absolute slaughter from the start, as the Tigers defense kept hitting R. Flowers over and over again. Flowers was not sacked at all in the first period, but he only completed three passes, and was hurried and knocked down a total of 13 times in the first quarter.

Flowers couldn't escape the brutal punishment despite avoiding sacks early

Missouri took an early 21-0 lead after one quarter, and after another brutal quarter held a 48-0 lead with 0:29 left in the first half. Oklahoma got on the board at the end of the game on a very bad call by the refs. The receiver clearly never touched the endzone but the refs called it a touchdown and no challenge was allowed. The Tigers pulled their starters after the touchdown was allowed, and most of the rest of the game they rotated starters and backups.

The ref's gifted Oklahoma a touchdown to stave off the shutout

Missouri ended the game with amazing defensive stats. They held the Sooners to under 300 yards offensively, and collecting 9 sacks. D. Washington had the biggest moment of all though, as the senior defensive back collected his 20th career interception.

D. Washington collected his 20th career interception in a day highlighted by the Tigers defense

In the end the Sooners scored 28 points, but two of those were short yardage situations gained off of Missouri's backups fumbling. N. Bailey was intercepted once in the third quarter, setting up a 3 play 8 yard drive for the Sooners also.

Missouri POTG
N. Bailey finished the game 18 for 24 with 245 yards and 3 TD, and 2 INT. He was also sacked twice.
T. Leach finished with 8 tackles, 4 TFL, and 2 sacks
M. Wilson collected 10 tackles and 3 sacks
M. Smith had a sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown
D. Washington had 2 INT's and 6 tackles
D. Steele extended his Heisman lead with 43 carries for 309 yards and 3 TDS.