Defense leads Tigers past Buffaloes

Missouri remains unbeaten with a 5-0 record on the season.

By Zach Mink

Published Oct. 12, 2010

Through three quarters of play in Saturday’s matchup against Colorado, Missouri’s leading rusher was none other than sophomore Trey Barrow.

If that doesn’t spell out how stagnant the Tiger offense looked against the Buffaloes, maybe this will: Barrow is the reserve punter.

It's just one week removed from talk of how efficient a three-tailback system could be, and the Tigers have found themselves looking for a way to get the offense clicking. On a fourth down early in the second quarter, Barrow faked the punt and scrambled for 26 yards, getting the first down and putting the Tigers in scoring position. Two plays later, junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert would find junior wideout Jerrell Jackson wide open in the end zone to put Missouri up 12-0.

Coach Gary Pinkel said he was pleased with the spark the fake punt gave the offense.

“I thought the fake gave us momentum,” Pinkel said. “That was a great call, because it worked. And if it didn’t work, it was still a great call.”

Barrow was also pleased with the play and said the team had been working on it in practice for the last few weeks.

“I thought it was a really fun play,” Barrow said. “Coach has been working on it for a couple of weeks, so we would go over it in practice all the time. It was exciting to get an opportunity to do that.”

Barrow was one of many unlikely heroes needed to get past the scrappy Colorado team. The special teams unit set the tone with multiple punts inside the 5-yard line, a tipped punt, a blocked field goal and of course, the fake punt.

“Two punts inside the five, a fake punt, a blocked field goal and a missed field goal -- it was humongous,” senior linebacker Andrew Gachkar said. “The special teams was probably bigger than our defense tonight in my opinion. Those are huge momentum plays.”

The play from the special teams, as well as stellar defensive play, was exactly what the Tigers needed to win the game, as there was little to no production from the offense. The four Missouri tailbacks combined for 51 yards on 18 carries. Gabbert looked flustered all day and couldn’t get into a rhythm, going 17 for 29 with only 191 yards through the air.

Adding to Gabbert’s lackluster performance was an injury suffered in the third quarter on a quarterback draw. Gabbert was dealt a crushing blow by two different defenders, which left him writhing in pain on the ground. The junior stayed in the game, much to the dismay of the Missouri offense.

Gabbert completed only two passes in the third quarter, and the offense sputtered as a result. The coaching staff was apparently unaware of the injury until later in the game, since Gabbert didn't mention he was hurting in order to stay in the game. Pinkel attributed this to the quarterback’s competitive nature.

“He’s a tough, tough guy,” Pinkel said. “He was trying to make some throws, and he could hardly breathe. He had trouble turning and rotating, and he wouldn’t tell us until we finally got him out of there. That’s just him being a great competitor.”

Unfortunately for the Tigers, the "great competitor" only hurt his team by staying in the game while not at 100 percent health. Gabbert completed only three and was eventually diagnosed with a hip pointer on his right side, but said he will be ready for the upcoming game against Texas A&M.

Freshman quarterback James Franklin came in to start the fourth quarter in Gabbert’s absence, commanding the offense for the remainder of the game. Franklin was stellar in his conference debut, throwing his first collegiate touchdown while gaining 37 yards on the ground.

“He did really well,” junior tight end Michael Egnew said. “Some people are kind of nervous with having to get in there and produce, but he did a heck of a job.”

The undefeated Tigers head to College Station to face the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday.