Missouri falls to Baylor

The loss was Missouri’s first to Baylor in Big 12 history.

By Sean Leahy

Published Nov. 7, 2009

What started as a game to remember for Missouri’s offense quickly turned into one to forget for the entire team.

After scoring 27 points by halftime, Missouri managed five points the rest of the game as Baylor took charge in the second half for a 40-32 come-from-behind win in front of 65,298 people at Faurot Field.

“We’re all pretty ticked off,” sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert said. “That’s a game we should have won. We just kind of threw it out the door.”

With the loss, the Tigers fall to 1-4 in the Big 12 and 5-4 overall. It is their third straight loss at Faurot Field and first ever defeat at the hands of Baylor since the formation of the Big 12.

As for the Bears, the win was their first in Big 12 play this season and snapped a four-game losing streak.

“Your guts are torn out,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “The beauty of this business, you generally get what you deserve. And we didn’t deserve to win the football game.”

With the Missouri offense stuck in neutral, the Bears clawed from a 27-16 halftime deficit to end the third quarter behind 29-26. Two fourth quarter touchdowns gave the Bears the lead for good.

“Obviously what we’re doing isn’t working,” Pinkel said. “I’ve taken a lot of great pride in fixing problems. And if you don’t fix them, you’re sitting right where we’re at.”

The Tigers’ offensive output in the first half made the second half doldrums look even more dramatic.

Gabbert and senior wide receiver Danario Alexander lit up the stat sheet with their first half performances. Gabbert threw for 322 yards, and Alexander had 11 catches for 171 yards. That number of catches was already a career best for Alexander, but the Missouri single-game record of 16 catches didn’t seem far out of reach.

Along with the performance of the offense as a whole, the two saw their production curtail in the second half. Alexander still finished with a career high in receiving yards (214) and catches (13), but thought his performance took a backseat to the game’s outcome.

“It was a career day, but we’ve got to get the win,” Alexander said.

Gabbert finished with 468 yards passing and 30 completions — both career highs.

Both teams scored on their first possessions, with Tiger junior tailback Derrick Washington getting a 1-yard touchdown run on a direct snap, and Baylor notching a field goal to bring the score to 7-3.

Baylor then took the lead on an 8-yard touchdown run from freshman quarterback Nick Florence. Two field goals from sophomore kicker Grant Ressel put Missouri back in the lead.

Gabbert then found Alexander for an 84-yard touchdown pass to increase Missouri’s lead to 20-9. The play was Alexander's longest reception ever and the longest-ever completion for Gabbert.

After a Baylor touchdown made the score 20-16, Gabbert connected with sophomore wide receiver Wes Kemp for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 0:01 left in the half.

It was the last touchdown Missouri scored in the game. The points Missouri scored in the second half came from a safety and another Ressel field goal.

“We came out in the first half and everything was going pretty good,” Alexander said. “We came out in the second half and we just didn’t get it together.”