ST. LOUIS | Move over, Nebraska and Kansas. Missouri — blowing past Illinois 37-9 on Saturday — seems to have skipped over rebuild and gone straight to reloaded as a contender for a third straight Big 12 North Division title.Sure, the Tigers lost six players to the NFL off last season’s senior-dominated team, including All-America returner Jeremy Maclin, All-America tight end Chase Coffman and quarterback Chase Daniel.But with sophomore Blaine Gabbert throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for another TD in his debut, it was easy to forget Daniel.With Danario Alexander catching 10 passes for 132 yards and Jared Perry four for 93 and a 46-yard TD, it was easy to forget Maclin.And with Wes Kemp and Andrew Jones catching the kind of big passes that used to go to Coffman, it was even easy to forget that guy was no longer on the field as well.After fielding nothing but feel-good questions after the game, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said: “You guys are making me nervous.”Hey, Pinkel started it, saying that Gabbert — at 6 feet 5, 242 pounds and a threat to run as well as pass — “can put pressure on a defense that Chase Daniel couldn’t.”Too late, Pinkel added: “Don’t tell Chase I said that.”Gabbert’s game revived echoes of Brad Smith’s debut as a redshirt freshman quarterback against Illinois here in 2002. Smith hit 15 of 26 passes that day, scored on a 24-yard TD romp, and finished with 290 yards total offense in a 33-20 Missouri victory.But this wasn’t just an impressive offensive performance.Missouri’s defense — ripped for 451 yards passing by Illini quarterback Juice Williams last year — gave up only 179 to Williams this time. Hardy Ricks picked off an early Williams pass. The Tigers — often playing three defensive ends in a three-headed monster formation with Aldon Smith inserted as a tackle — also sacked Williams three times.Kicker Grant Ressel — making his debut as a replacement for Jeff Wolfert, merely the best kicker in MU history — booted field goals of 32, 44 and 41 yards in as many attempts and was perfect on extra points.So frankly, Pinkel was asked, what could have gone better for Missouri?“That’s what scares me,” Pinkel said. “And I’m paid to be scared.”Illinois coach Ron Zook — 0-3 against Missouri with the Illini’s fifth straight loss to the Tigers — seemed almost in denial.“We didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing,” Zook said. “Everyone who follows us knows that, and more importantly, the guys in the locker room know that.”Pinkel said his team used just that kind of thinking in building to the crescendo of opening-game success.Generally picked to finish third — and in some quarters as low as fifth — in the Big 12 North, the Tigers wanted to make a statement that could be read all the way from Nebraska to Kansas to Colorado and way down in the dominant Big 12 South.“You all tell me,” Perry postulated after the game. “You tell me how we looked out there.”The insult of reduced expectations, Pinkel said, was a driving force on the way to dominance of the Illini.“There’s a little bit of an edge,” Pinkel said of speculation that Missouri would take a step back as a program this season.“They’ve been hearing that stuff all summer. I think they understand that we have developed a little bit of tradition, we’ve established a tradition at Mizzou.

Posted on Sat, Sep. 05, 2009 10:15 PM

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Missouri rolls over Illinois 37-9

By MIKE DeARMOND

The Kansas City Star

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Sure, the Tigers lost six players to the NFL off last season’s senior-dominated team, including All-America returner Jeremy Maclin, All-America tight end Chase Coffman and quarterback Chase Daniel.

But with sophomore Blaine Gabbert throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for another TD in his debut, it was easy to forget Daniel.

With Danario Alexander catching 10 passes for 132 yards and Jared Perry four for 93 and a 46-yard TD, it was easy to forget Maclin.

And with Wes Kemp and Andrew Jones catching the kind of big passes that used to go to Coffman, it was even easy to forget that guy was no longer on the field as well.

After fielding nothing but feel-good questions after the game, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said: “You guys are making me nervous.”

Hey, Pinkel started it, saying that Gabbert — at 6 feet 5, 242 pounds and a threat to run as well as pass — “can put pressure on a defense that Chase Daniel couldn’t.”

Too late, Pinkel added: “Don’t tell Chase I said that.”

Gabbert’s game revived echoes of Brad Smith’s debut as a redshirt freshman quarterback against Illinois here in 2002. Smith hit 15 of 26 passes that day, scored on a 24-yard TD romp, and finished with 290 yards total offense in a 33-20 Missouri victory.

But this wasn’t just an impressive offensive performance.

Missouri’s defense — ripped for 451 yards passing by Illini quarterback Juice Williams last year — gave up only 179 to Williams this time. Hardy Ricks picked off an early Williams pass. The Tigers — often playing three defensive ends in a three-headed monster formation with Aldon Smith inserted as a tackle — also sacked Williams three times.

Kicker Grant Ressel — making his debut as a replacement for Jeff Wolfert, merely the best kicker in MU history — booted field goals of 32, 44 and 41 yards in as many attempts and was perfect on extra points.

So frankly, Pinkel was asked, what could have gone better for Missouri?

“That’s what scares me,” Pinkel said. “And I’m paid to be scared.”

Illinois coach Ron Zook — 0-3 against Missouri with the Illini’s fifth straight loss to the Tigers — seemed almost in denial.

“We didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing,” Zook said. “Everyone who follows us knows that, and more importantly, the guys in the locker room know that.”

Pinkel said his team used just that kind of thinking in building to the crescendo of opening-game success.

Generally picked to finish third — and in some quarters as low as fifth — in the Big 12 North, the Tigers wanted to make a statement that could be read all the way from Nebraska to Kansas to Colorado and way down in the dominant Big 12 South.

“You all tell me,” Perry postulated after the game. “You tell me how we looked out there.”

The insult of reduced expectations, Pinkel said, was a driving force on the way to dominance of the Illini.

“There’s a little bit of an edge,” Pinkel said of speculation that Missouri would take a step back as a program this season.

“They’ve been hearing that stuff all summer. I think they understand that we have developed a little bit of tradition, we’ve established a tradition at Mizzou.

To reach Mike DeArmond, call 816-234-4353 or send e-mail to mdearmond@kcstar.com

Posted on Sat, Sep. 05, 2009 10:15 PM

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