14 BIG 12
Words from the Big 12 Writers from around the conference weigh in on their teams
Tigers silence critics in opening game
By Sean Leahy The Maneater
COLUMBIA, Mo. — After an offseason of hearing critics doubt its ability to come back from losing stars on offense and defense, the Missouri football team found a way to keep them quiet.
Solid performances on both sides of the ball enabled the Tigers to claw the Fighting Illini 37-9 in the Arch Rivalry Game.
"I think there was a little bit of an edge," Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said of his team. "When we've lost as many players as we've lost the last couple years, and you keep reading about how we are going to replace them, I think that drove our focus a little bit."
The victory is Missouri's fifth in a row over Illinois and, perhaps more importantly, a confidence booster for a team tired of hearing the doubters.
"We came out and worked hard," Missouri senior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. "A lot of guys were tired of the naysayers. We were excited for the opportunity to show people what we could do."
One of the biggest question marks was how sophomore Blaine Gabbert would fill
the shoes of the graduating Chase Daniel. It didn't take long for Gabbert to chip away at the doubts.
The Tigers scored on their first two possessions, the first coming on sophomore placekicker Grant Ressel's field goal and the second coming on Gabbert's first touchdown pass as a starter.
In his debut, Gabbert proved why he was picked to fill Daniel's shoes.
The sophomore threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, connecting on 25 of 33 attempts.
He added an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that capped the scoring for both teams.
In the first quarter, Gabbert hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Wes Kemp for a 49-yard score that gave Missouri a 10-0 advantage, and the Tigers did not look back.
"It was a good ball by Blaine,good protection by the line,"Kemp said of the touchdown.
Gabbert connected with senior wide receiver Jared Perry and sophomore wide receiver Jerrell Jackson for his other two touchdowns.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missouri wide receiver Jared Perry runs with the ball after catching a pass for a 46-yard touchdown during the third quarter of the Tigers' game against Illinois last Saturday in St. Louis. Missouri won 37-9.
KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
Wildcats optimistic about defense
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder watches his team during the first half of their game against Massachusetts in Manhattan Saturday The Wildcats defeated the Minutemen 21-17 in Snyder's first game since returning to coach at Kansas State.
By Justin Nutter Kansas State Collegian
MANHATTAN — To say K-State's 2008 defensive line had room for improvement would be a massive understatement.
A year ago, the Wildcats' front four was less than impressive, allowing 217.7 rushing yards per game — the 11th worst total in the Big 12 Conference. That number escalated to 223.2 yards per game in conference play, which left K-State alone in the conference cellar.
A week ago in K-State's 21-17 win against Massachusetts, improvement was evident across the line as the Wildcats held the Minutemen rushing attack to just 110 yards on 26 carries.
Despite allowing Massachusetts to eclipse the century mark on the ground, K-State did not allow a rushing touchdown for the first time since a home
matchup against Montana State on Sept. 6, 2008.
"We took a lot of steps forward between last year and this year,"said redshirt-senior defensive end Eric Childs. "Our tackling got a lot better as you can see. We don't really know what everybody else is saying, but as a defense, we feel like we took steps forward."
The 17 points scored by the Minute men in the season opener might be a little misleading, as seven points were a product of a blocked punt and Massachusetts' other two scoring drives started deep in K-State territory.
Head coach Bill Snyder, who returned to the K-State sideline for the first time since he retired in 2005, said he was pleased with the defense's efforts in last week's victory.
"I think we had five three-and-outs during the course of the ball game,"
Snyder said. "We held in a number of situations when [Massachusetts] got the ball down [into scoring position]. The blocked field goal, that's your defensive unit, and I thought that was a positive thing."
The Wildcat defensive line will be tested this weekend in Lafayette, La., by a Ragin' Cajun offensive line that returns all five starters from the 2008 campaign. Last season, Louisiana-Lafayette's ground attack touched K-State for 335 rushing yards and four scores.
Childs said though the Cajuns' experience up front could cause trouble for the Wildcats, it also helps K-State prepare in the days leading up to the game.
"We're able to get better keys because we know who's going to be on the field," he said. "We can see how they play from every game they played last year. It gives us a challenge up front."
THE WAVE SEPTEMBER 11,2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN