Tigers Dominate Texas Tech
Published Oct. 23, 2007
Before Saturday's game against the No. 22 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Faurot Field, nearly every media pundit predicted an aerial shootout with both teams easily breaking 40 points.
Missouri reached that plateau, but Texas Tech didn't come close. Instead, the Red Raiders were held in check by Missouri's defense. Junior quarterback Graham Harrell threw four interceptions, one more than he had total in the prior seven games.
And instead of having to run all over the field, the Tigers made a loud statement in the form of a 41-10 win that they are for real this season.
"This win says a lot about our program," junior quarterback Chase Daniel said. "It says a lot about where we've come from and what we've worked for."
The top-ranked Texas Tech offense still put on an air show, with Harrell going an astonishing 44-for-69 for 397 yards. But that was 50 yards below his average, and his four interceptions doomed the Red Raiders, especially because two of them happened in Missouri territory.
Missouri (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) set the tone early in the first quarter when Harrell threw over the middle, looking for senior wide receiver Danny Amendola. The ball hit off senior safety Pig Brown's helmet and into the waiting arms of junior defensive end Stryker Sulak, who ran it back 38 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead in front of 63,396 spectators in attendance.
"I looked at that ball like a punt return," Sulak said. "I knew where I was on the field, but I wasn't thinking about running it back. I thought I was about to get nailed."
But he didn't, and the Tigers never trailed from that point. The Red Raiders also failed to convert on multiple fourth down and short plays, which MU sophomore linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said was crucial.
"I thought it was kind of disrespectful that they kept going for it on fourth down," he said. "But that's what they do, and what we did is stop it and that's a big reason why we won."
Daniel was just 14-for-19 for 210 yards and a touchdown, by far his lowest output of the season. But the running game stepped up and gained 212 yards and three touchdowns, even without injured senior Tony Temple.
"Tony is a leader on our offense," coach Gary Pinkel said. "But we were able to get by without him, and that says a lot about the depth of our team."
Defensively, Brown led the Tigers with 14 tackles, including 10 solo and 4.5 for a loss.
"It seemed like there were four or five Pig Browns out there today," Weatherspoon said.
Brown also had an interception but gave the ball back to Texas Tech (6-2, 2-2) when Amendola stripped him during the return back.
"When I got the pick, all I saw was green," Brown said. "A big guy then came up and clubbed me from the back, and I lost it. It was a great play by him and thankfully it didn't cost us."
The Missouri defense held Texas Tech's freshman wide receiver Michael Crabtree to just 76 yards receiving, well below his average of nearly 200.
He also had multiple drops, something junior safety William Moore said was a product of the secondary's hard hitting.
"We let our pads tell it all," he said. "We were physical all day, and they started to look for us and wonder where we were at."
And aside from Brown's fumble, the Tigers made very few mistakes. Daniel had just one interception.
"Basically this game shows what we can do if we're smart," freshman wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said.
