Missouri FootballPinkel: “They (Colorado) are a great football team. They just had a great win against Kansas. They have a new quarterback. He’s a guy who can run and is very athletic. We’re trying to get better as a football team. I I think they (both QBs) will play. We have to prepare for that. We have to be ready for any situation.”
MISSOURI favored by 4
MU vs COLORADO RAW STATS - NATIONAL CATEGORY RANKINGS
| Category | Missouri | Colorado | ||
| Rush Y/G | 115.0 | 100 | 89.1 | 110 |
| Pass Y/G | 256.9 | 31 | 212.7 | 67 |
| Pass EFF. | 129.2 | 61 | 99.3 | 114 |
| Total Off. | 371.9 | 62 | 301.9 | 107 |
| Score Off. | 26.1 | 69 | 22.4 | 96 |
| Rush Def. | 127.9 | 55 | 149.7 | 74 |
| Pass Def. | 218.0 | 65 | 229.6 | 76 |
| Total Def. | 345.9 | 52 | 379.3 | 80 |
| Score Def. | 23.3 | 57 | 28.6 | 91 |
| Turnover Margin | -0.43 | 83 | -0.71 | 96 |
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SERIES: MU leads, 40-31-3 overall, while CU holds a 7-6 edge since the Big 12 formed. MU has won 3 straight – its longest in the series since a 6-game string from 1979-84, and the combined score of the last 2 MU wins is 113-10.
2008: #16 Missouri 58, Colorado 0
REWIND
It’s been rough sledding the past three weeks for the Missouri Tigers (4-3 overall, 0-3 in Big 12 Conference play), as they’ve dropped their first three league games of the season. They’ll look to get on track this Saturday in the Flatirons as they head to Boulder, Colo. to take on the Colorado Buffaloes (2-5, 1-2) in a rare day game.
The Tigers are coming off a 41-7 home defeat to 3rd-ranked Texas while Colorado is coming off a 20-6 road loss at current Big 12 North leading Kansas State last Saturday.
The Buffaloes have been tough at Folsom Field (2-1 at home in 2009), with their last game there a 34-30 upset win over 16th-ranked and undefeated Kansas on Oct. 17th. They also shutout Wyoming and former MU coach Dave Christensen by a 24-0 count on Sept. 19th in Boulder. Their only home loss was a season-opening 23-17 defeat to rival Colorado State.
Mizzou will serve as Colorado’s Homecoming opponent on Saturday, marking the 14th time the Tigers have been CU’s guest for Homecoming. Mizzou is 4-9 in those encounters, with the last one coming in 1995 (21-0 CU win).
MIZZOU-COLORADO SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou and Colorado will face off for the 75th time when they meet Saturday in Boulder. The Tigers hold a 40-31-3 advantage in the series, and have won three straight, and four of the last five meetings, after the Buffaloes won five straight from 1999-2003.
The Tigers are hoping to rekindle some of the magic that’s seen them post dominant wins over Colorado each of the last two seasons. Mizzou has downed CU by a combined margin of 113-to-10 in the last two years, including a 58-0 shutout in Columbia last year that was its largest victory margin ever over Colorado (and it was MU’s first shutout of Colorado since a 57-0 win in 1962). In 2007, the Tigers got their first win in Boulder since 1997, with a 55-10 win that was the biggest margin of victory ever for MU in Boulder.
A win Saturday would give Mizzou four straight wins over Colorado for the first time since it won six straight from 1979-1984. That same stretch also marked the last time MU has won consecutive games in Boulder, as the Tigers claimed wins at Folsom Field in 1979 (13-7), 1981 (30-14) and 1983 (59-20).
EXTRA-POINT STREAK UP TO 217
The last time Mizzou missed an extra point (not including 2-point attempts), was back in 2005 – and it just so happens that the miss was in the same location as this week’s game, Colorado’s Folsom Field. Mizzou missed a PAT on its only kick attempt in a 41-12 loss that year to Colorado, and hasn’t missed since. After that, the streak has included:
• – 2005: the last 13 PATs of the season (by Adam Crossett)...
• – 2006: a perfect 45-of-45 (by Jeff Wolfert)...
• – 2007: a perfect 67-of-67 (by Jeff Wolfert)...
• – 2008: a perfect 73-of-73 (by Jeff Wolfert)...
• – 2009: a perfect 19-of-19 (by Grant Ressel)...
Missouri is quite a ways still from the NCAA record for consecutive PATs made by a school. The record is 262 by Syracuse, from 1978 to 1989 by 7 different kickers.
SHORT-YARDAGE SUCCESS (Offense)
When the Tiger offense has faced 3rd down or 4th down and 2 yards or less, they’ve had a good deal of success so far in 2009. Coming into Saturday’s game with Colorado, Mizzou is a combined 22-of-28 (78.6%) on 3rd and 4th down tries of 2 yards or fewer. Here’s a quick breakdown...
• – 3rd-&-1: 11-of-14 (78.6%)...
• – 3rd-&-2: 6-of-8 (75.0%)...
• – 4th-&-1: 3-of-4 (75.0%)...
• – 4th-&-2: 2-of-2 (100.0%)...
GRANT RESSEL
Replacing the NCAA record holder for career accuracy could be seen as a daunting task for sophomore PK Grant Ressel, but the successor to former star Jeff Wolfert has shown that he’s been more than up to the task, as he’s a stellar 12-of-13 on field goals and 19-of-19 on extra points through 7 games. He’s 4-of-5 from 40 yards or longer, including a career-best 46-yarder against Bowling Green. His only miss came on a 43-yard attempt on Oct. 8th against Nebraska, in monsoon-like conditions, when the snap appeared to be a little high, which threw off the timing of the kick. The miss broke his string of 10 consecutive FGs.