Missouri Tiger Football Off to a Great Start

If you read this blog frequently, you know I'm a big fan of college football and specifically the Missouri Tigers. Mizzou is off to a 3-0 start, beating up on cupcakes Central Arkansas and Louisiana (the team formerly known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe).

The Tigers also had a huge win over their archrival Kansas nine days ago on September 7th. The Tigers got down 21-6 ten minutes into the game and then clawed their way back to a 21-21 tie at the half. Missouri dominated the chickenhawks in the second half, outscoring KU 21-10. In the last 50 minutes of the game, Mizzou outscored Kansas 36-10. Mizzou ran away to win the game 42-31.

Mizzou will take its undefeated record into this Saturday night's game against South Carolina (2-1) at Faurot Field in Columbia at 6 p.m. CDT. ESPN will show the game nationally.

Kansas and Mark Mangino

I have used this space in the past to poke fun at former Kansas University head coach Mark Mangino. As a Missouri alum I have little use for Kansas and their football or basketball programs. But, the University of Kansas stepped in it when they fired Mangino earlier this week.

Mangino's team lost seven in a row and blew a lead to that school's arch rival Missouri in the final game of the season. And that left the alumni unhappy. But, the truth is Mangino is the victim of"Bobby Knight Syndrome". Mangino has dealt with his players in the same manner for the past seven years. But, no one out in Chicken Hawk land seemed to care when he won 12 games and the Orange Bowl.

Kansas was fortunate to have as talented a coach as Mangino and Missouri fans knew he could recruit and coach. To a person every MU fan and alum I know and have talked to thinks that Kansas screwed up. As a Missouri fan I am glad that we won't have to face Mangino led Kansas teams anymore because he was very good at what he did.

I'm not sure who KU will hire, but they are going to have a hard time finding anyone as good as Mark Mangino. Kansas is a basketball school and good football coaches don't want to live in the shadow of the basketball team. As a Mizzou football fan I am not unhappy to see Kansas' program in turmoil. But, Kansas screwed up when they let him go. Mark Mangino will end up better off than the Kansas football program.

Tigers Whoop Jayhawks

How 'bout them Tigers! My beloved Missouri Tigers came from behind twice yesterday to defeat their arch-rival Kansas 41-39 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The Tigers defense got pushed around all afternoon long but stepped up big time at the end and sacked KU quarterback Sod Reesing for a safety to cut the chickenhawks lead from 39-38. Three plays later the Tigers were inside the KU five and a couple of plays later the game was over and the Tigers had won.

Kudos to Blaine Gabbert, Derrick Washington and Danario Alexander who moved through a lame Kansas defense pretty much at will. Gabbert passed for over 400 yards, Washington had several key runs for touchdown and Alexander had over 220 yards receiving on the day. And a tip of the hat to the Tiger coaching staff of Gary Pinkel.

The Tigers shot themselves in the foot all afternoon long with stupid penalties and even dumber personal fouls. But, in the end the cream rose to the top and Mizzou has bragging rights for at least the next year. And you know what makes the win even sweeter? Missouri handed Kansas it's seventh consecutive defeat after they had started the year 5-0. Yep, the chickenhawks were a fraud from the start and all that bull about their winning the Big 12 north was just that...a bunch of hot air. And to top it all off Mark Mangino and his band of losers are done for the season and aren't going anywhere near a bowl unless they buy a ticket!!!

MIZ - ZOU RAH!!!

Upset at Arrowhead

My beloved Missouri Tigers got beaten at Arrowhead Stadium yesterday afternoon 40-37 by their arch-rivals, the Kansas Chickenhawks in a major upset.

The Tigers offense didn't show up until the second quarter and the defensive secondary never did. As a result the Tigers found themselves in a 19-7 hole midway through the second quarter. Mizzou rallied back twice to take the lead in the fourth quarter but couldn't hold on to it either time. On a fourth and seven play the Tigers blitzed and got burnt by KU Quarterback Todd Reesing. on a 26 yard touchdown pass to Kerry Meier where Strong Safety Justin Garrett got beat by five yards. It's not the first time Garrett has been beaten badly this season. But then he's not alone, the secondary has had serious problems all year.

The Tigers finish 5-3 and are North Division champs for the second year in a row by virtue of having beaten up on Nebraska in October. Nebraska also had a 5-3 record in the division.

Next stop for the Tigers is Arrowhead again Saturday night in the Big XII Championship game. The Tigers will have their hands full to say the least.

Another win for the Tigers

My beloved Missouri Tigers picked up another win yesterday but not without a little struggle. They beat Iowa State 42-28, but a touchdown by the defense turned a close game into a Tiger victory.

Mizzou is now 7-1 with four games to go. Next week they travel up to Colorado to take on the Buffs in Boulder. Then they are at home against a down Texas A&M team. Then on the 17th they walk into that snake pit out in Manhattan, KS to play the Wildcats. And finish the season against those lowlife Kansas Chickenhawks.

Kansas is undefeated but they still have a lot to prove. They beat Texas A&M on the road last night, but A&M as I wrote above is down this year. And they have not played either Texas or Oklahoma and through the draw of their schedule and wont have to either.

It would appear as if the Tigers and ugly little birds are headed for a showdown at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City two days after Thanksgiving. I think both schools will lose at least once between now and then. And Mizzou has a real problem with the loss of Pig Brown to injury. Brown in my opinion is the team's best defensive player. Brown ruptured his Achilles Tendon late in the game and is out for the season. It is a definite blow to the defense which has had more than it's share of problems. Someone, maybe an underclassman, needs to step up for Mizzou.