Missouri game report
FIRST QUARTER
Key play: On second and goal, Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson ran 6 yards up the middle with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left. It was the first time since the season-opener against Illinois that Missouri trailed.
Key stat: For the first time this season, Missouri didn’t score a touchdown on its first possession. The Tigers took an 18-yard field goal instead of gambling on fourth and less than a yard from inside the Oklahoma State 1.
SECOND QUARTER
Key play: On fourth and 17 from the Oklahoma State 24, the Cowboys failed on a fake punt. Missouri got the ball at the Oklahoma State 36 and five plays later Derrick Washington scored on a 5-yard run that put Missouri up 10-7.
Key stat: 17. The combined points scored in the first half by two teams that had combined for 290 in the first half coming into the game.
THIRD QUARTER
Key play: Fifty-seven seconds into the second half, Oklahoma State tailback Kendall Hunter took a pitch right, ran past MU’s Justin Garrett and Hardy Ricks and roared 68 yards for a touchdown that put the Cowboys up 14-10.
Key stat: 160. MU quarterback Chase Daniel had thrown 160 consecutive passes without an interception when Oklahoma State’s Ricky Price picked a pass that bounced out of Danario Alexander’s hands with 7:37 left in the period.
FOURTH QUARTER
Key play: Patrick Lavine intercepted Chase Daniel’s pass with 1:41 left at the Oklahoma State 31, ending Missouri’s last chance at rallying for victory.
Key stat: 3. The number of times MU’s Chase Daniel was intercepted.
Player of the game: Damien Davis, Oklahoma State wide receiver, who caught second half TD passes of 40 and 31 yards.
Reason to hope: Missouri’s offense is better than this. It just wasn’t on Saturday night.
Reason to mope: The Tigers had a golden opportunity and never heard it knocking.
Looking ahead: Missouri hasn’t won a football game in Austin, Texas, in more than a century. The last time was in 1896 when the Tigers beat the Longhorns 10-0. The teams have played only 20 times, but Missouri heads to Texas next Saturday 2-8 all-time. The last meeting ended in a 38-20 Texas victory in 2004. Game time has been set for 7 p.m. on ABC.
REPORT CARD
| D | Offense | Daniel seemed a bit off early on, completing just 12 of 21 passes in the first half. And Daniel was intercepted three times, four if you count a 2-point conversion pass that also wound up in the hands of the Cowboys. |
| D | Defense | Not nearly good enough. Oklahoma State gained only 77 yards rushing and 93 passing the first half with one touchdown. In the third quarter the Tigers gave up a 68-yard TD run and a 40-yard TD pass in which somehow linebacker Sean Weatherspoon was in coverage of a deep receiver. |
| D | Special teams | One blocked field goal, another missed. At the half Jeff Wolfert was one for four on his last four field goal attempts, although one was from 59 yards at the end of the half against Nebraska and another from 51 yards at the end of the half against Oklahoma State. |
| B | Coaching | On fourth and less than a yard on Missouri first possession of the game, Coach Gary Pinkel took a field goal instead of going for the touchdown. The longer the first half went, the better the move looked. But at first it sure looked like an over-cautious decision. |
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