Missouri defeats San Diego State 27-24

Sophomore wide receiver T.J. Moe scored the winning touchdown with 51 seconds left in the game.

By John Montesantos

Published Sept. 19, 2010

Missouri moved to 3-0 tonight as the team edged out visiting San Diego State in the final minutes. The Aztecs took the lead late, but the Tiger offense scored a last-second touchdown to earn the 27-24 victory.

The game was filled with big touchdown plays, but fortunately the last one was in Missouri’s favor. Sophomore wide receiver T.J. Moe broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown reception down the sideline with 51 seconds left in the game.

Moe made a defender miss and also used a block put on by junior wide receiver Jerrell Jackson to brake loose for the score.

“I just cut it inside,” Moe said. “It was a two-minute drill so they thought we’re going out-of-bounds. So I just tried to outsmart them a little bit there. The other guy was coming up to make the tackle but Jerrell sealed him.”

Moe credited the big play to the awareness of Jackson in making the downfield block.

“He had two hands on him and blocked him straight up,” Moe said. “There are about ten guys in the country that have the presence of mind to do what Jerrell Jackson did. He’s one of the smartest players you’ll be around.”

Coach Gary Pinkel knows how important the touchdown was and is gaining more and more confidence in Moe. The sophomore had seven catches for 119 yards and the touchdown.

Prior to the Moe’s touchdown, San Diego State had just taken a 24-20 lead when junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert threw his second interception of the fourth quarter. The defense had little time to get the ball back and give the offense one more chance.

Although they were able to force that final three-and-out, the defensive players had mixed feeling about their overall performance.

“We played good but two plays resulted in 14 points,” Gettis said. “You look at the scoreboard and it looks like they’re driving the ball, but it was really a matter of wrapping up and making tackles.”

Those two plays were both made by San Diego State’s freshman tailback Ronnie Hillman who broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run to end the first have and a 93-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“The defense had several great stops to give us opportunities,” Pinkel said. “I really felt bad because of those two plays. You take those two plays, not that we played flawless defense, but we played pretty good defense against a great offensive football team.”

Junior linebacker Will Ebner led the defense with nine tackles in his return from suspension. Senior cornerback Kevin Rutland also made a big interception in the end zone.

The offense was a different story. After missing a few early touchdown chances then failing to get going in the second half, the Tiger offense died. One lone bright spot was the performance by junior tight end Michael Egnew. He caught 13 passes for 145 yards.

Gabbert had a sub par performance, throwing 28-for-51 with two interceptions, but he managed to score on the ground once and then once through the air.

Pinkel credits the win to his players never giving up at any point. No matter how dire the situation seemed, the Tigers never quit.

“There was a lot of adversity out there,” Pinkel said. “Those guys in that locker room there never bent. They always think they have a chance to win regardless. That says a lot about their character.”

That character handed San Diego State their first loss of the season and also held them to 24 points, nearly half of their season average.

The undefeated and No. 25-ranked Tigers will take on Miami of Ohio at 1 p.m. next Saturday.