Longhorns upend Tigers

Texas outshined the Tigers on both offense and defense.

By Lenny Goldman

Published Oct. 21, 2008

AUSTIN, Texas - Senior quarterback Chase Daniel's homecoming evening didn't go quite as planned. His date ditched him and then took off with his close friend.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy danced the night away with Daniel's date - the Heisman Trophy. Turns out, Daniel's other buddy, the BCS Championship, is hot on McCoy's heels, too.

Texas proved Saturday night why it is the No. 1 team in the nation, with a 56-31 stomping of the Tigers.

"They just outplayed us," coach Gary Pinkel said. "There's no excuses. We know who we're playing. We know the type of team they were. They're a heck of a team. They just outplayed us, out blocked us, kicked us, running, passing, coaching, everything."

From the first snap, it was clear it wasn't Missouri's night. Sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin caught a pitch on a reverse and was pounded by 295-pound defensive tackle Roy Miller for a seven-yard loss.

The Tigers went three-and-out and failed to score on their opening drive for the first time all season.

"We can't afford negative plays on first and second down," Maclin said. "As you get in third-and-long situations, we're good enough to recover. But, in a hostile environment like this, you can't do that to yourself."

And, just as it was clear from Missouri's first snap how the game would unfold, the Longhorns' start told the same story.

Texas moved the ball fluidly on its first drive. Every snap went for positive yards. The only stop Missouri had on a single play was when a McCoy pass was tipped at the line, but the Tigers were flagged for roughing the passer. McCoy capped off the 94-yard drive with a six-yard run up the middle for a touchdown.

McCoy's numbers skyrocketed from there. He finished the game 29 of 32, passing for 337 yards and two touchdowns. He added an additional 38 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

"Colt McCoy and his execution was as good maybe as I've ever seen," Pinkel said. "It starts there with their great execution to show how great of a football team they are."

While Texas' offense dissected a flimsy Missouri secondary, Daniel and his offense failed to match the Longhorns.

"Instead, we went three-and-out," Daniel said. "We got to work on that. We got to get better faster. That's just how it is. It's the truth."

The Tigers didn't crack the scoreboard until the final seconds ticked off the clock to end the first half, when senior kicker Jeff Wolfert hit a 33-yard field goal. They trailed 35-3 at the midway point.

The Missouri defense had its best performance of the day at the start of the second half. It forced Texas to go three-and-out and recorded a sack against McCoy.

Daniel and the offense also looked re-energized. They picked up a couple of key first downs after going one-for-six on third down conversions in the first half. Sophomore tailback Derrick Washington completed a methodical drive of 81 yards in three minutes and 42 seconds with a two-yard touchdown run.

"They were able to get us out of a rhythm a little bit in the first half," Daniel said. "We scored on four out of five series in the second half. But, anytime you're down 35, it's going to be hard to come back."

And they couldn't. Texas quickly started playing like the team it was in the first half and pulled away.

The only true bright spot in the game came from Missouri's senior tight end Chase Coffman, who broke the school's all-time receptions record. He caught a career-high 12 passes in the game for 140 yards. On his third catch, he passed former teammate Martin Rucker, who held the previous receptions record with 203 grabs.