8B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2006
GUEST COLUMNS
Columnists discuss Tigers' victory, Aggies' loss
Missouri starts out strong, shows promise for Big 12 championship
The Missouri Tigers defeated Coloado 28-13 on Saturday and moved to the top of the Big 12 North. In Tuesday's edition of The Maneater, columnist Shawn Garrison wrote that Missouri had made big strides under head coach Gary Pinkel.
The Missouri football team has officially passed its first test of theason. For the
It might seem a little disheartening that it has taken more than three years for the Tigers to win the games that they're supposed to, but there's no denying that this team is showing a level of maturity that was nowhere to be found during the past four seasons.
first under coach Gary Pinkel, the Tigers have not dropped a game in the opening five games of the season.
That maturity was never more evident than on Saturday as Missouri pulled out a 28-13 victory against Colorado. The Buffaloes were hanging with the Tigers at the start of the second half when Colorado quarterback Bernard Jackson completed a 63-yard pass to Dusty Sprague and two plays later punched the ball into the end zone to make the score 21-13.
The Tigers followed with a horrendous drive that stalled after a series of questionable play calls, including a trick pass play to Chase Daniel; a kneel-down after it appeared that Daniel mistakenly thought there was an offside penalty, but the play was never blown dead and a fake field goal on consecutive plays.
A series of eerily similar events occurred three weeks ago at the start of the second half of the Tigers' game against Ole Miss that produced the same results.
Colorado had the ball with good field position, putting Missouri against the ropes.
In years past, this was the cue for the Tigers to lose their composure, fall apart and suffer a devastating loss. But not this team. The Tiger defense forced a quick three-and-out, and the offense followed that with a touchdown drive to make the score 28-13 and regain control.
And that, Tiger fans, is why there is reason to believe this team is legitimate. The ability to take a punch, to have things not go their way and still keep their composition leads me to believe that we could be seeing the Tigers playing for a Big 12 championship come December.
That's not to say that everything is perfect on Faurot Field. The past three victories have all been ugly. Missouri's top-ranked defense gave up 373 yards to the worst team in the Big 12 on Saturday. As good as Daniel has been, he still tends to stare down his receivers from time to time and needs to learn when to cut his losses and take a sack. And the best team the Tigers defeated a total of three games last season.
Now the Tigers travel to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech The game will be nationally televised Saturday night on TBS, and the real test will begin.
But the Tigers are 5-0 for the first time since 1981. That Pinkel was able to lead his team through the first five games without stumbling has to rank the victory against Colorado on Saturday as one of the biggest during his tenure at Missouri.
Two new rules that cut down game time also cut down on possessions for both Texas Tech and Texas A&M, changing the game dramatically
Edited by Natalie Johnson
Texas A&M lost to Texas Tech after a last-minute drive gave the Red Raiders the game-winning touchdown. In Tuesday's issue of The Battalion, Ryan Mulligan wrote that new NCAA rules governing the clock may have been a factor in the game. Texas A&M heads to Lawrence this weekend to face Kansas in the Jayhawks' Homecoming game.
It was only a matter of time before the new clock rules became a disadvantage for the Aggies.
In June, the NCAA Football Rules Committee came out with its annual list of rule changes. Among those were rule 3-2-5 and rule 3-2-5e. The former says that the clock will start on the kick-off when the ball is kicked and the latter says that when a
In June, the
change of possession takes place the clock will start on the ready-for-play signal.
"I think this is a tremendously important change in our game," Adams said. "This was placed in the rule book to cut down on the length of the games."
released in August.
Many prominent NCAA Division I coaches, including Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione, have come out against the committee's decisions.
Before the 2006 season, the clock did not run until a free-kick hit the ground. In addition, after a change of possession the clock did not start until the start of the next play.
Texas A&M's Chad Schroeder sits on the ground after being tackled on the last play of the game, as Texas Tech's Brandon Carter celebrates with teammates at the end of a football game Saturday in College Station. Texas Tech beat Texas A&M 31-27.
David J. Phillin/ASSOCATED PRESS
John Adams.
"I don't care whether we get done quicker or shorter or what TV does," Franchione said. "Right now I don't have a very good taste for this rule."
Adams said the new rules were intended to cut approximately 30 plays from last year's average of 166 plays per game. This intention is exactly what most coaches disagree with, because a shorter game limits the amount of possessions and eliminates scoring opportunities.
"I hate the new clock rule and that is one of the stupidest pieces
"I hate the new clock rule and that is one of the stupidest pieces of legislation ever."
MIKE LEACH
Texas Tech football coach
John Adams,
secretary-rules editor for the
Football Rules Committee, defended
the changes when they were
of legislation," said Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach. "This season really kind of needs an asterisk beside it because it changes the entire dynamics of the game. Quite frankly, I don't even respect the people who disagree with me on it."
Saturday, there were 26 seconds left on the clock before Texas Tech kicked off to A&M with a four-
If this time loss is considered throughout the game, each team could have had two more possessions, which could have drastically affected the outcome, considering
point lead. But the time lost due to the ball's flight in the air and the time between the ready for play signal and the snap could have amounted to an extra play or two for the Aggies, possibly resulting in a go-ahead score.
"It probably cost us two touchdowns," Leach said. "It probably cost them some points too."
A&M had momentum going into the final minute.
The new rules are certainly not the only factor worth blaming for A&M's loss, but there is no doubt their effects were felt and they need to be reconsidered.
Edited by Travis Robinett