Tigers overcome untimely turnovers, come out on top

The Tiger offense scored a last-minute touchdown to earn the 27-24 victory.

By John Montesantos

Published Sept. 21, 2010

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

The Tigers handed San Diego State their first loss of the season and also held their No. 6 offense in the nation to nearly half of their previous scoring average.

The game was filled with big touchdown plays for both sides, but 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 then used a block put on by junior wide receiver Jerrell Jackson to break 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. I just tried to outsmart them a little bit. The other guy was coming up to make the tackle but Jerrell sealed him.”

Moe credited the big score 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 10 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.”

Prior to the Moe’s touchdown, San Diego State had just taken a 24-20 lead late in the fourth quarter before junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert threw his second interception of the 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 feelings about their overall performance.

“We played good, but two plays resulted in 14 points,” senior cornerback Carl Gettis said. “You look at the scoreboard and it looks like they were 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 half and a 93-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“The defense had several great stops to give us opportunities,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “I really felt bad because of those two plays. You take away 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 when the Aztecs had an opportunity to take the lead.

The offense was a different story. After missing a few touchdown chances early and 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 who caught 13 passes for 145 yards. Moe had seven catches for 119 yards and a touchdown on the night.

Gabbert had a sub-par performance, throwing 28-for-51 with two interceptions. On the bright side, he managed to score once on the ground and 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.”

The undefeated and now No. 24-ranked Tigers will take on Miami of Ohio at 1 p.m. Saturday. It will be their last non-conference matchup before Big 12 play.