Missouri defeats Iowa State, 52-20
Sophomore running back Derrick Washington follows a block to power through the Iowa State defense at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. Washington ran for 128 yards on 11 carries, including two touchdowns as the Tigers defeated the Cyclones 52-20.
The Missouri Tigers have officially clinched their second straight Big 12 North title. With a 52-20 win over Iowa State and a Kansas loss, the Tigers have guaranteed their spot in the Big 12 Championship game.
The question still remains, however, who they will play. Currently, Texas Tech controls its own destiny as the sole remaining unbeaten team in the Big 12 South, but they’ll have to get past Oklahoma.
If the Sooners beat Tech next week, then the South will be jammed into a three-way tie between Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas with all the teams having one loss. In that situation, Texas would have beat Oklahoma, Texas Tech would have beat Texas and Oklahoma would have beat Texas Tech. Simply, madness.
It would come down to the BCS rankings to determine who would challenge the Tigers at Arrowhead. Glad I’m not in charge.
In Missouri’s title clinching victory over Iowa State, senior quarterback Chase Daniel was 32 of 40 passing for 328 yards and two touchdowns. The run game was also working as sophomore tailback Derrick Washington contributed 130 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin was once again the dominant wide receiver with eight catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. Daniel did do a nice job distributing the ball around by completing passes to seven different Tiger receivers.
Defensively, senior defensive back Castine Bridges led the way with 13 total tackles and two broken up passes. The biggest defensive play came from senior safety William Moore who picked off his first pass of the year after leading the nation last season with eight interceptions. Moore made this one count by running it back to the house for an easy TD.
What an odd situation this leaves Missouri in. Daniel and co. will go into arguably to most hyped game of the year against KU with basically nothing on the line. They already have their bid to the Big 12 Championship and if they win that, they should have an automatic bid to a BCS Bowl game. Losing to Kansas, doesn’t change much…other than pride.
Hopefully the campus will still get pumped for what typically is one of the greatest sporting atmospheres of the year.
Senior quarterback Chase Daniel celebrates with sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin after the pair connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass. Daniel threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns, while Maclin caught eight passes for 103 yards.
Senior safety William Moore pulls down Iowa State senior wide receiver R.J. Sumrall. Moore had four tackles for the Tigers and returned an interception, his first of the season, for a touchdown.
Senior linebacker Brock Christopher celebrates following Missouri's 52-20 victory over Iowa State. The win clinched the Tigers' second-consecutive Big 12 North title.
Saint Louis resident Ryan Robinson's sign reveals the Tigers' success––MU will play for the Big 12 Championship on Dec. 6 in Kansas City against a yet-to-be determined opponent from the Big 12 South.