Missouri offense leads team to victory

By Lenny Goldman

Published Aug. 31, 2008

In a 52-42 victory over No. 20 Illinois, Missouri proved two things — their offense is still explosive, but the secondary needs plenty of work.

Illinois' junior quarterback Juice Williams, who is better known for his feet than his arm, torched the MU defense for 451 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

But at the same time, the interior defensive couldn’t have played much better. They eliminated any threat of an Illinois running game by limiting them to 81 total rushing yards and 2.3 yards per carry.

Defensive end Stryker Sulak led the attack by racking up eight total tackles including three sacks that resulted in 27 lost yards for Illinois.

“Obviously we could do a lot better,” Sulak said. “If our DB’s are looking bad then it’s the d-line’s fault, we’re not getting enough pressure on the quarterback.”

The MU offense got off to a quick start as senior quarterback Chase Daniel was a perfect five of five for 50 yards including a 29 yard connection with junior receiver Jared Perry on the opening drive.

Sophomore tailback Derrick Washington capped of the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead.

In his first start for the Tigers, Washington ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s a pick your poison thing,” Washington said. “If you want to stop the pass we can run the ball. If you want to stop the run we can pass. It goes both ways.”

Missouri only trailed at one point in the game, and that was after Illinois' junior defensive end Derek Walker intercepted a short pass by Daniel and took it back for six. The 270 lb. lineman had an easy sprint to the end zone and gave the Illini a 13-10 advantage.

But sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin put the lead back into MU's hands on the ensuing kickoff return. Maclin went 99 yards through the Illinois coverage team to the end zone.

“It was definitely a momentum booster,” junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “I knew he was going to take it, they had just taken an interception back and we needed an answer. That was probably the biggest play of the game.”

Missouri continued to widen the margin in the second quarter and eventually opened up a 31-17 lead at half time.

In a déjà vu-like scene, the Illini began a comeback late in the third quarter and cut Missouri’s lead to 10.

Weatherspoon ended Illinois’ final legitimate chance to win when he collected his second interception of the game and returned it back for a touchdown. The linebacker ripped the ball out of a Illinois receiver's hands before going 35 yards to the end zone.

The biggest scare of the night came when sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin twisted his ankle on a passing route.

Maclin was immediately taken into the locker room for an X-ray, but the results were negative. His recovery time remains unknown, but should be clear after an MRI tomorrow or Monday, Pinkel said.

Despite coming out of the game with a victory, coach Gary Pinkel said that the players were a bit down in the locker room after the game.

“You enjoy winning,” Pinkel said. “You kidding me? I got them all smiling and laughing and then I’ll kick their butts tomorrow.”