Tigers get stuck in neutral
Offense pulls disappearing act in second half.
FADE OUT Oklahoma State wide receiver Hubert Anyiam avoids MU’s Sean Weatherspoon as he heads up field after a pass reception during the first quarter Saturday night in Stillwater, Okla. Anyiam caught 10 passes for 119 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown as the first half ended.
Published October 18, 2009 at 12:42 a.m.
Updated October 18, 2009 at 7:33 a.m.
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STILLWATER, Okla. — On a day that shattered most preconceived notions about the Big 12 North Division, the Missouri Tigers had a chance here to capitalize on the carnage.
Fresh off stunning the Tigers 10 days ago in Columbia, No. 15 Nebraska imploded at home, suffering a 31-10 loss to Texas Tech. A few hours later, No. 17 Kansas fell for the first time, failing to rally at Colorado where the Jayhawks were dealt a 34-30 defeat.
But given a chance to nudge their way back among the contenders, the Tigers instead fell a lap behind.
A 33-17 loss to No. 16 Oklahoma State at Boone Pickens Stadium saddled the two-time defending North champions with an 0-2 start in conference play for the first time since 2002. After quarterback Blaine Gabbert turned in his second consecutive three-turnover outing, the Tigers (4-2, 0-2 Big 12) find themselves all alone in last place of the division, the only North team without a conference win.
And the Tigers’ path only gets more treacherous from here. Next up, No. 3 Texas (6-0, 3-0) visits MU for Saturday’s 7 p.m. homecoming game.
But before the Tigers could ponder the Longhorns, they faced touchdown-favored Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-0), a team’s that tackled its share of recent adversity, including the loss of its best running back and wide receiver. With Kendall Hunter (ankle injury) and Dez Bryant (ineligible) watching from the sideline, all the Tigers could do was tease with their big-play offense. Ultimately, they fizzled against the more experienced, more resilient Cowboys.
Trailing by 16 as rally time trickled away in the fourth quarter, the Tigers failed to convert a pair of fourth-down conversions in OSU territory, the first a fourth-and-1 pass from Blaine Gabbert to Danario Alexander knocked away by linebacker Andre Sexton with 7:34 left. Three minutes later, Derrick Washington couldn’t pick up a fourth-and-2 on the Cowboys’ 10, giving the ball back to the home team to clinch the victory.
To wrap up his second straight ugly performance, Gabbert unloaded one last desperation heave in the final minute — only to see Oklahoma State cornerback Andrew McGee snatch it away, Gabbert’s third interception of the night and fifth in two games.
Playing with a sprained right ankle suffered against Nebraska on Oct. 8, Gabbert completed 22 of 44 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown. But after a first half that saw five lead changes, Oklahoma State maintained control after the intermission, holding MU’s punchless offense to just 80 yards.
A promising start for MU’s maligned running game faded as its deficit grew. Their top two tailbacks averaged more than 5 yards a carry in the first half, but the Tigers collected only 14 yards on eight carries after the break.
Mixing both the run and the pass on the game-opening possession, Missouri drove 78 yards but couldn’t convert a golden opportunity inside the 5-yard line. Walking at times with a slight limp, Gabbert couldn’t punch in a touchdown from the 3 on a zone-read keeper as MU settled for a 3-0 lead on Grant Ressel’s 21-yard field goal. On the drive, Gabbert completed 3 of 8 passes, all three going to Danario Alexander for 55 yards.
Unlike Missouri, Oklahoma State capitalized on its first red-zone visit with a touchdown. After Hubert Anyiam turned a short pass into a 24-yard gain down to MU’s 11-yard line — he ripped out of cornerback Trey Hobson’s arm tackle along the sideline — Keith Toston blasted untouched off the right side for OSU’s first score, finishing off a 10-play, 78-yard scoring drive for a 7-3 lead.
Pulling out some conventional plays that Tiger fans have begged to see for years, MU regained the lead with a crowd-silencing 97-yard drive to open the second quarter, getting a 50-yard catch-and-run by Alexander, then a series of tailback runs between the tackles, set up by — gasp! — under-center snaps to the quarterback. With left tackle Elvis Fisher shifted over to the right side at tight end, Washington punched in a 1-yard toss sweep for the Tigers’ first touchdown, good for a 10-7 lead with Ressel’s PAT.
Missouri’s offense delivered the next score, too — but for Oklahoma State. Taking over on his 12 after an OSU punt, Gabbert’s first-down pass bounced off the hands of slot receiver Jerrell Jackson and into Lucien Antoine’s. The Cowboys safety returned the takeaway 26 yards, retaking the lead for OSU.
But the Tigers didn’t flinch. Gabbert answered with a 72-yard touchdown drive as Alexander snared a pass over the middle, bounced out of Sexton’s tackle and scooted 48 yards to the end zone, scoring despite cornerback Perrish Cox hanging onto his facemask around the 5-yard line. Missouri wouldn’t score again.
Getting an extra 15 yards on the kickoff with the penalty, Missouri inexplicably managed to surrender a 53-yard return by Cox, setting up a 39-yard field goal after OSU’s offense fizzled in MU territory.
The Tigers nearly erupted for another explosive play in the passing game, but on third-and-21, Wes Kemp let a 60-yard strike from Gabbert slip through his hands, spoiling MU’s final possession of the first half. The Tigers’ offense never seemed to recover.
Oklahoma State answered with a quick score before half, revisiting the end zone on Zac Robinson’s 8-yard slant to Anyiam with 2 seconds left before halftime, good for a 24-17 lead going into the intermission.
The Tigers struck out on their first two drives of the second half, the first ending with Gabbert’s second interception, an underthrown heave along the sideline for Alexander that Cox grabbed near midfield. After trading punts, OSU added a 26-yard field goal to take a 27-7 lead.
Bailey booted a 51-yard field goal a minute into the fourth quarter. Things unraveled quickly for the Tigers. Jasper Simmons fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting OSU up on Missouri’s 21-yard line. Another Bailey field goal, a 36-yarder, his fourth, gave the Cowboys a 33-17 lead with 12:02 left.
Reach Dave Matter at 573-815-1781 or e-mail dmatter@columbiatribune.com.
19 reader comments
The opinions expressed below are those of the readers who submitted them and not those of the Tribune's reporters or editors. Readers are solely responsible for the content of their comments.
rcruter says...
Yost needs to rediscover what has worked remarkably well for tigers for years, that the TE is actually eligible to catch a pass! His fixation with deep sideline passes when his QB was obviously throwing way too high and off target was bad enough but then he just doesn't understand that when he options to the short side, stupidly, his notmobile qb's option should be to throw the ball not run it. on the first drive if blaine had not tucked the ball immediately he could have dumped it easily to wide open wr in end zone. Dave's schemes are just not good and he was exposed in this and last weeks games. On the other side you had a professional bigtime OC who made better use of his resources and called better plays. dave so far is just not big 12 calibre.
The only plus was he did take shots downfield, where blaine being able to let it fly was more accurate than on the shorter routes. Except for those times when it was 3rd or 4th and very short when he still passed rather than run. Very inconsistant. For a pennance he needs to shave his soul patch off.
October 18, 2009 at 7:01 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
lawerance says...
Crap!! Nebraska...now this! Is the north really that inferior to the south??? Huskers get smoked, kansas gets trashed ( by CU?) I think Blaine is still hurting from last week. Okie State aint that great Tiger fans and it's only going to get worse. We need a star or two to carry the team cause our coaches are blundering left and right. I'm pretty sure there are some teams that will thier butts kicked in practice this week. I'm fearing the worst....yes...I've seen it before and when it rains....it pours!!
October 18, 2009 at 7:52 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
muddyHanes says...
Yost and NU coordinator Shawn Watson should go join NU's old D coordinator (Cosgrove) in Minnesota. They all belong in the big ten (11)
At least Iowa State beat a south team.
Crap.
I thought you guys were good and NU was better.
Now we know NU sucks and you guys are worse.
CRAP!!!
October 18, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
joethetiger says...
Dave: Expalin what adjustments Bill Young made on defense to hold the Tigers to only 80 yards the second half? I felt after the first half that we moved the ball so well that we would be in the 30's scoring by the end of the night. I figured we were good for 2-3 more touchdowns the second half. I did like the running between the tackles. We need to do MORE of it;except add a bruising fullback to it. Your thoughts on our half-time adjustments and play in the second half? I'm just glad OSU's 2 best offensive players were out. Otherwise.... It is amazing what OU can do with a second string QB and commit 5 turnovers and only lose by 3. Great defense and running game;thats how they do it. I am afriad that MU's offense is such;that as Gabbert goes;so goes the Tigers;that is a shame. Your thoughts on all the above. go tigers!!!
October 18, 2009 at 3:11 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
dmatter (Dave Matter) says...
Joe, I'm assuming you didn't watch the Oklahoma-Texas game. Otherwise you would have noticed that OU ran the ball 22 times for minus-16 yards.
October 18, 2009 at 6:35 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
securityman says...
Thank God we have Baylor and Iowa State on the schedule to get our 2 wins this year. Think about it. Texas NO! CU not if they play like yesterday, K State again not if they play like yesterday, Kansas nuetral field I'd bet not. Come to think about it, if Iowa State plays like they did yesterday it may be "a pickem game! Please Bears don't you improve any or we could go winless. Where's Furman when we really need them?
October 18, 2009 at 10:11 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
tigertiger says...
Not sure why everybody is freaking out so much, we opened with two ranked teams (yes, Neb. probably didn't deserve to be ranked, but the crappy conditions put a big asterisk by that one), one on the road, and lost both. Big deal, still 4-2, and I think we have a very good shot at Texas.
This team has a higher upside than any other North team- it is there if you look closer. We are being killed by what happens to young teams- too much inconsistency.
If we lose to a bad team, or get crushed by a similar middling team, I will start being concerned. Gary will get things going, and I bet by the end of the season this is a solid middle top 25 team.
Also, the officials were not helping yesterday. If they get two plays right (and considering they had two chances at each, somebody in stripes should be getting chewed by the league office over it), we lose a giveaway and get a takeaway. And I think the holding call on the return was also very iffy. Three big momentum plays that we got screwed out of- not saying they're why we lost, but wonder what happens if those go our way.
October 19, 2009 at 8:12 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
CharlesReese says...
Well Texas is going to have a field day with the Tigers come this Saturday. It's a shame that we have a stubborn bunch of coaches trying to win with very little running. However Texas really smoked OU's running game. Great game by the way.
I agree with rcruter that Coach Yost is not Big XII material. We probably go 5-6 on the season unless the coaches pull their heads out of their ____ an actually game plan. Pinkel as we all know has yet to beat Mac Brown and his Longhorns. Coach Pinkel doesn't do well against elite teams and doesn't even play competitive at all.
What a disappointing year this is going to turn out to be. This could be Missouri's first losing season since 05.
Not bad, but not good either since the coaches of Missouri aren't listening to the fans or former coaches and suggesting simple adjustments that could benefit the team as a whole.
Well at least the defense has been playing better. I think if Coach Steckel recruits a few 4 star or even lands a couple blue chippers, this defense will rock.
Of course winning games is what attracts recruits, especially big time recruits.
How is it that a team like Texas Tech, Stanford, Washington, or Oregon State can beat teams that are much better than they are and win. Hmmm...must be their head coaches that are actually able to motivate their players enough to play well for 60 minutes.
By the way I didn't want to say anything, but Nebraska is overrated and Missouri is not Missouri with out some leaders and decent play calling.
October 19, 2009 at 8:21 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
CharlesReese says...
tigertiger keep on dreaming!!!
October 19, 2009 at 9:34 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
oldtiger says...
Am I the only person watching that thought Gabbert should have come out of that game?
He looked really hurt. I know with an ankle sprain you can't do worse damage but he wasn't able to make throws, and toward the end on the game he was barely even able to make a handoff. I liked to see him play and am impressed with his drive to stay on the field but I really think a coach should have stepped in and gotten him off the field.
The team played hard and I thought with a healthy Gabbert they probably had a chance to win that game. I don't know what the backup would have brought to the field but for Gabberts long term health (the rest of the season) and for the performance in that game I thought Costello should have gotten a chance.
To me it looked really bad that our coaches left him in there. With all the QB injuries in college football I think we are lucky he didn't get hurt worse since he wasn't even able to walk off the field. You can beat up coaches for play calling and game planning but there is nothing worse than putting kids in a bad position.
Dave, I would like to hear what you thought since you saw the game in person. On TV it looked like the injury was bad and keeping him from being effective.
October 19, 2009 at 9:39 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
SwampeastTiger says...
Yost is just a boy with a...... young team? How about Boy Wonder is just a young OC! Yost play calling reminded me of Jerry Burndt, the miserable play caller from the Larry Smith era.
Yost might be a hell of a recruiter and Quarterback coach but somebody else has to call the plays.
We beat ourselves in the last two games, mainly because we don't run the ball.
We have to improvise to the situation. Not stick to a script that was drawn up on Thursday. pinkel, wake up, you have the tools and talent now go win ballgames.
So Boy Wonder what answers for Texas will you have for us this week?
Let me guess a complete meltdown,... make no mistake these problems with execution are top-down and if there is any team out there that can expose this it will be Mack Brown and Texas.
Darkow, feel free to dress Yost up in a Boy Wonder outfit, and have him proclaim to the football world that "this young team is a passing team & there is no need to change things now!"
I just figured it out... its the Hair! Yost get a hair cut so you can see whats happening on the field!
October 19, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
KennM says...
This team looks like it's out of "mental gas". Lack of concentration and attention to the basics are killing them (and me). Where is the "mental gas" station? When you find it get the "premium".
October 19, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
OrlandoKeith says...
Charles, you have the right to your opinion. After all it is yours. But take emotion and presumption out of your post and look at facts. You seem like a diehard MU fan as most of us are. But give the team a chance to play the perceived lower eschelon of B12 teams first before predicting gloom and doom. tigertiger is 100% correct. Also T-Tech has beaten New Mexico (0-6), Rice (0-7), North Dakota (FBS), K-State (B-12 doormat), and NU (which you say is overated) They aren't beating teams better than them. At least not yet. Your Pac 10 examples are weak. They are middle of the pack teams in that conference. One significant win, Washington over USC, nothing else I see yet.
October 19, 2009 at 10:44 a.m. ( link | suggest removal )
CharlesReese says...
OrlandoKeith you are entitled to your opinion!!! Because that's what it is. The examples aren't weak. Did those teams win? Yes. End of story.
And no Tiger isn't right. Coach Pinkel has yet to show simple and disciplined changes on offense. A stubborn attitude and not getting his players to focus on the task at hand has cost them two wins. How about making some more excuses for the Tigers. I'm sure you have plenty up your sleeve.
They have the talent, but no brains when it comes to play calling.
Nebraska is overrated when they got whipped on their own field. Did you even watch the Tech and NU game? I think not. Nebraska is overrated as is KU. A Colorado team that has played horrible this entire season beat a team that was predicted to win the North. Can they still do it? Possibly. We'll just have to wait and see.
October 19, 2009 at 12:38 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
tigertail says...
At this point, I don't think play calling has a lot to do with it. It's all about the horses you got. Missouri just doesn't seem to have the horses to compete against the big south teams. That doesn't mean you can't win some of the games, you can get lucky or some trickery sometimes works, and sometimes outright heart wins games, but college football is laregly all about the talent. USC doesn't win on play calling, they win with the sick recruits they bring in every year.
The Texas offense looked good against an awesome OU defense, and OU's defense played well for the better part of the game. Let's hope for some luck and trickery Saturday, or whatever we can muster together to play well.
October 19, 2009 at 1:28 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
OrlandoKeith says...
Charles, I'm not making excuses. If the tigers lose to cu, isu, ksu, bu, and ku because of play calling and dumb mistakes. I will come back and eat my words and offer you a, "you were right, I was wrong" olive branch. I too am disappointed in abandoning the run in the 4th quarter of NU game and second half of OSU game. To me there are two types of disappointments / frustrations. One is the "we aren't even close to the opposition's talent level" kind where MU has been before. (Which takes longer by the way) And the other is "we could have beaten team X if it weren't for some dumb things we did". Which can be corrected quicker. Dumb things, incorrect decisions, or play calling mistakes has a lot to do with inexperience both as players and offensive coordinator (Yost). I think what tigertiger was saying is he has faith these things will get corrected plus our last 5 opponents (after Texas) will be less of a challenge than NU and OSU.
Have to disagree with you on the other thing. Your post specifically questions why T-Tech can beat teams that are MUCH better than they are. They can't. They beat 4 poor quality teams and an overated NU team (I agree they are overated). The two teams they lost to were Houston and Texas. The pac 10 teams you listed have won a few and lost a few (mainly to each other) but only one win against a team that is deemed much better, Washington over USC. Maybe Washington over Arizona is another one I will give you but their losses are to Notre Dame and LSU. Oregon St lost to Cincy. Stanford lost to Wake Forest.
So T-Tech hasn't beaten anybody significantly better than them nor has those Pac 10 teams except the USC win by Wash and neither has Mizzou for that matter. We are beating the teams we should and lost the one we probably should. The NU game was a coin flip at the start of the season. We dominated for 3 quarters but lost the 4th quarter and the game.
So I will agree with tigertiger, until we lose a game that we are suppose to win....I am not in panic mode yet.
October 19, 2009 at 1:39 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
Redrage says...
Couldn't have happened to a nicer team and a more deserving fan base 0-2 hahahahaha!!!
October 19, 2009 at 3:44 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
CharlesReese says...
Keith,
You will be...Oh you will be.
October 19, 2009 at 4:05 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
moagogo says...
The most interesting item is Zac Lee getting benched. The guy stunk on ice for all but 5 minutes of the Nebraska game. I'd like a do over of both games with a healthy QB. Jimmy Costello must be a real stiff if the coaches believe an extremely hobbled up Gabbert still gives MU the best chance to win.
October 20, 2009 at 1:16 p.m. ( link | suggest removal )
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