Cowboys rein in Tigers' winning streak
Published Oct. 12, 2008
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Senior quarterback Chase Daniel passes in the first half of Saturday's game against Oklahoma State at Faurot Field. Daniel threw three second half interceptions as the Tigers fell to the Cowboys 28-23.
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Oklahoma State junior quarterback Zac Robinson fends off MU freshman defender Jacquies Smith in the second half of Saturday's game at Faurot Field. Robinson passed for 215 yards.
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Senior receiver Tommy Saunders attempts to catch a pass near the end zone late in the first half of Saturday's game.
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Sophomore tailback Derrick Washington finds a gap for the Tigers' first touchdown during Saturday's game.
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The MU defense watches the clock wind down as Oklahoma State calls a timeout with 10 seconds remaining during Saturday's game at Faurot Field.
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Senior Keira Story slouches in the stands as the final seconds tick off. The loss was MU's first at Faurot field since October 2006 against Oklahoma.
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Junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon takes out Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant, allowing senior defensive back Castine Bridges to snag an interception.
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Senior quarterback Chase Daniel leaps over Oklahoma State junior linebacker Orie Lemon on Saturday at Faurot Field. Daniel completed 39 of 52 attempts for 390 yards but threw three interceptions and was sacked twice.
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Senior kicker Jeff Wolfert watches the end of Saturday's game against Oklahoma State from the MU bench. Wolfert missed two field goals in the Tigers' 28-23 loss to the Cowboys.
This was the clip they were going to play right before senior quarterback Chase Daniel accepted the Heisman Trophy. Sixty-five yards ahead of him and two minutes and 35 seconds to craft the game-winning drive. The only question was if they would leave too much time for Oklahoma State to score.
This is the Chase Daniel who had led an offense that never went three-and-out, who completed a Big 12 record 20 consecutive passes and who had legitimate chances to play a game when the ball never touched the ground.
But Saturday night he was shaky — he was human. He had made bad throws and poor reads, something most quarterbacks do, but not him.
The only people more shocked than the 68,349 fans packed into Faurot Field when he threw his third interception of the game instead of the game-winning touchdown were his teammates.
"I had no doubt," senior cornerback Castine Bridges said. "I knew he was going to score there. It just didn't work out that way. Everybody on the sidelines, we know when our offense gets the ball what they're capable of. I mean, they're lethal against any team."
The Tigers lost their first game of the season 28-23 and now will have no room for error while continuing with Big 12 play.
After the game's opening drive, it was clear that Oklahoma State was going to challenge Missouri. The Tigers had to settle for three points on their first drive after not being able to convert a third and one on the Cowboys' 1-yard line. Tailback Derrick Washington took a direct snap back up the middle but couldn't gain a yard. The nation's top scorer coming into Saturday rushed for negative six yards on the first drive.
"We haven't made a fourth and one this year and I wanted to come out with points, so that's what we did," coach Gary Pinkel said. "It's hard to figure out what's going to happen at the end of the game two minutes into it."
Washington's struggles continued through the entire game. He rushed for 11 yards on eight carries. Prior to this game, he averaged 7.5 yards on a single carry.
"They were doing a bunch of stunts up front," Washington said. "They were twisting and blitzing at the line. We couldn't figure out what was going on."
Despite the lack of a rushing attack, Daniel was willing to put the weight of the loss on his shoulders.
"We were moving the ball, we were on our side of the 50 and I just can't make that throw," Daniel said. "It's as simple as that. There's no rocket science to it. There's no looking to what we should have done. I just should have made the throw."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers held an Oklahoma State offense that had averaged 52.6 points per game just 23, but several big plays for touchdowns was all they needed.
The Tigers went into halftime with a 10-7 advantage, but on the second play of the half, Cowboys sophomore running back Kendall Hunter took an option pitch 64 yards down the sideline for a quick score.
"I thought we did a lot of good things defensively against a really potent offense, there's no questions about it," Pinkel said. "But right at the beginning of the third quarter they hit that speed option down the sideline and that was a big play. That's something that you should play good enough defense that that shouldn't happen."
The upset loss will put even more pressure for the Tigers to steal a victory over Texas next week in Austin.
"What we'll do tomorrow is like we always do, except your guts feel like they were torn out if you are a competitor which those guys are and like I am," Pinkel said. "We'll evaluate everything, the lessons that we learned and then we wake up Monday morning and focus on the task at hand, obviously we're playing a great Texas team."
