Missouri bests Illinois in last Arch Rivalry game

A strong second half resulted in a come-from-behind win for the Tigers.

By John Montesantos

Published Sept. 5, 2010

Missouri football opened the 2010 season in Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, the site of the final border matchup with Illinois, on Saturday. After coming out flat in the first half, the Tigers took control and earned a hard-fought 23-13 victory.

Though the win makes Missouri undefeated in the six-game Arch Rivalry series, the matchup tally was never a focus for coach Gary Pinkel.

“The past is the past; you learn from it then let it go,” Pinkel said. “We never once talked about our past experiences with Illinois. You move forward and stick to the present.”

After the Tigers won the toss and chose to receive, the “present” was not very pleasant for Missouri. The first drive ended in a three-and-out and the defense allowed a 64-yard drive and field goal from the Illini.

The next two possessions ended in fumbles for both teams, with sophomore defensive end Brad Madison scooping up the Illinois turnover.

After the next Tiger drive ended on a missed field goal, senior free safety Jasper Simmons picked off a long pass from Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase. Junior place kicker Grant Ressel would then redeem himself by nailing a 33-yard field goal to tie the game at three.

The rest of the first half was all Illini, as they answered with the first touchdown of the game. Missouri was forced to punt with just 45 seconds left in the half, in which Illinois pulled together a quick drive and hit a long field goal to take a 13-3 lead.

Players admitted that the halftime situation was “not where they wanted to be”, and Pinkel gave a simple message to his players in the locker room.

“We remained focused,” Pinkel said. “My message to the team was, ‘we got a lot of playmakers here. We have to start making plays.’”

The Tigers answered the call on both sides of the ball, with the defense forcing a three-and-out to start the half. Junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert then marched the offense 77 yards for their first score, finding sophomore wide receiver T.J. Moe in the corner of the end zone.

The 7-yard touchdown pass came after a long scramble by Gabbert as his receiver worked to get open. After the game, Coach Pinkel explained the passing game process layed out when the initial routes fail.

“What our receivers do is they go look for space, they go on levels,” Pinkel said. “So when you’re running over to space, the big thing is if you see another play on your level, you want to go lower a little bit or higher. So its kind of controlled chaos with some degree of a plan involved.”

The Missouri defense continued to force punts from the Illini, putting the teams in a stalemate for the rest of the third quarter.

The offense finally came back to life to start the fourth and took the lead on a short touchdown pass from Gabbert to junior tight end Michael Egnew to cap a 69-yard drive. The connection came after another long scramble and the receivers moving around to break down the Illinois defense.

The defense kept the momentum for Missouri after the offense gave them the 17-13 lead. Senior cornerback Carl Gettis made a one-handed interception on Scheelhaase on the very next stand.

“It was a fade-right and he threw it a little low,” Gettis said. “I was able to get one hand in the air and bring the ball down. I was fortunate enough to make that play.”

Gettis made another big play on the punt team after the offense came up short, downing the bouncing ball on the 1-yard line. Senior free safety Jasper Simmons then posted the Tiger’s third interception of the day to halt yet another Illini drive.

After a fourth down, last-chance reception for Illinois was reviewed and called out-of-bounds, Missouri ran the clock down and made it a two-score game with a final field goal.

Although the past few weeks have been filled with major disciplinary issues off the field, Pinkel said he was more concerned with the lack of discipline on the field that led to some penalties.

“We get a personal foul for throwing the football,” Pinkel said. “That’s just undisciplined. There are a lot of little things we need to do to get better. But I think we have the makings of a good football team as long as we improve.”

Another area that was shaky for the Tigers in the preseason was their running game, but they ended up with 98 rushing yards as a team, with 82 of them coming from junior tailback De’Vion Moore. The backup stepped up in the absence of former senior tailback Derrick Washington and contributed.

“We ran physical, we ran tough,” Moore said. “Henry Josey came in and did a great job running the ball, Kendial Lawrence came in and did a great job. I would give us an A; we came in and we contributed.”

The passing game was even more impressive, as Gabbert threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Moe was his favorite target: the sophomore racked up 13 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Though the offense came through late, the defense was the real story in the second half. They won the turnover battle 4 to 1 with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Missouri defense also held the Illini scoreless for the entire second half.

Missouri will square off in the home opener against McNeese State next Saturday at Faurot Field.