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2008 Missouri Tigers football
Big 12 North Division co-champion Alamo Bowl champion
Big 12 Championship, L 21–62 vs. Oklahoma
Alamo Bowl, W 30–23 vs. Northwestern
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 19
Record	10–4 (5–3 Big 12)
Head coach	Gary Pinkel (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dave Christensen (8th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Matt Eberflus (8th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captain	Chase Daniel Ziggy Hood William Moore Tommy Saunders
Home stadium	Faurot Field (Capacity: 68,349)
Seasons← 20072009 →

The 2008 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel, who returned in his eighth season with Mizzou, and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback Chase Daniel returned for his final year of eligibility and led the Tigers to a second appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Recruits

Key Losses:

• SS Cornelius "Pig" Brown
• WR William Franklin
• OT Tyler Luellen
• TE Martin Rucker
• C Adam Spieker
• RB Tony Temple

Five junior Tigers will return for the 2008 season after turning down the NFL Draft, including QB Chase Daniel, TE Chase Coffman, SS William Moore, Delaware Stryker Sulak and DT Ziggy Hood. The Tigers will have 16 returning starters, 10 on defense and six on offense.

Redshirt freshman DE John Stull was removed from the team on January 11, 2008, after being arrested on drug charges.

22 Recruits list.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40	Commit date
Jimmy Burge DT	Houston, Texas	Stratford HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	5.10	Jun 19, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 71
Taylor Davis OT	Plano, Texas	Prestonwood Christian	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	261 lb (118 kg)	5.66	Aug 3, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 70
Will Ebner MLB	Friendswood, Texas	Friendswood HS	6 ft 0.5 in (1.84 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.61	Dec 17, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Kip Edwards CB	Arlington, Texas	Bowie HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.53	Oct 27, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Michael Egnew WR	Plainview, Texas	Plainview HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	N/A	Jun 10, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Blaine Gabbert QB	Ballwin, Missouri	Parkway West HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	4.60	Nov 10, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 82
Zaviar Gooden S	Pflugerville, Texas	Pflugerville HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.50	Jan 22, 2008
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Dan Hoch OT	Harlan, Iowa	Harlan Community HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	315 lb (143 kg)	5.21	Jan 8, 2008
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Kenji Jackson S	Mansfield, Texas	Mansfield HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	N/A	Dec 18, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Daniel Jackson OT	Gilmer, Texas	Gilmer HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	N/A	Sep 10, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Andrew Jones TE	Smithville, Missouri	Smithville HS	6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)	234 lb (106 kg)	4.78	Mar 5, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Wes Kemp WR	St. Louis, Missouri	DeSmet Jesuit HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	4.60	Jan 7, 2008
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Brad Madison DE	Bethany, Missouri	South Harrison HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	N/A	Mar 12, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Marcus Malbrough DE	Beaumont, Texas	West Brook Sr. HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Jan 28, 2008
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Gahn McGaffie RB	Galena Park, Texas	Galena Park HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	N/A	Jun 15, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Travis Ruth DT	Jefferson City, Missouri	Jefferson City HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	N/A	Feb 7, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Aldon Smith DE	Raytown, Missouri	Raytown HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Oct 7, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 65
Jacquies Smith DE	Dallas, Texas	South Oak Cliff HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	N/A	Jan 24, 2008
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Robert Steeples CB	St. Louis, Missouri	DeSmet Jesuit HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.53	Jun 16, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Drew Temple RB	Kansas City, Missouri	Rockhurst HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	N/A	Jul 20, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 69
George White MLB	Cincinnati, Ohio	Harmony Community School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	252 lb (114 kg)	N/A	Dec 18, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Rolandis Woodland WR	Cincinnati, Ohio	Harmony Community School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	N/A	Feb 7, 2007
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 31   Rivals: 25
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Missouri 2008 Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009. "2008 Missouri Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009. "2008 Player Commitments – Missouri". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009.

Following their Cotton Bowl Classic victory, Mizzou landed a number of previously committed recruits from the state of Missouri. QB Blaine Gabbert from Ballwin, Missouri is the No. 1 rated prep player in the state of Missouri, and No. 1 rated pro-style quarterback in his recruiting class. and the Tigers landed him after he had previously committed to Nebraska. According to Rivals rankings, the Tigers also landed WR Wes Kemp (#5), TE Andrew Jones (#3), DE Alden Smith (#6) and RB Drew Temple (#11), brother of former Tigers player Tony Temple all from in-state high schools.

From out of state, the Tigers landed OT Dan Hoch, who like Gabbert previously committed to Nebraska.

Schedule

Game summaries

Illinois

In a close contest where Missouri held a big lead for most of the game, Illinois cuts it to within 10 near the end but gets no closer.

Southeast Missouri State

Missouri takes a commanding 42–0 lead over their FCS competition in their best defensive performance of the year, the first half really showcased their offensive abilities. The second half was a mere formality as Missouri's backups played the entire second half.

Nevada

Derrick Washington, Jeremy Maclin, and Jeff Wolfert scored for Missouri, and Colin Kaepernick rushed for a 1-yard touchdown for Nevada in the first quarter.

Chase Daniel passed to Jared Perry for 27 yards for a 2nd-quarter touchdown. Brett Jaekle kicked a field goal for Nevada, followed by Washington's 2-yard touchdown for Missouri. Maclin caught a pass (14 yards) from Daniel for Missouri, followed by a Kaepernick pass (42 yards) to Marko Mitchell for a Nevada touchdown.

Third quarter was all Missouri. Daniel passed to Maclin for a 49-yard touchdown, Tommy Saunders passed to Chase Coffman for a 32-yard touchdown and then Chase Paton rushed for a 3-yard touchdown. Jeff Wolfert kicked a 24-yard field goal for Missouri.

Buffalo

Missouri looked a bit flat at times against Buffalo but still won in commanding fashion.

At Nebraska

Chase Daniel threw three touchdown passes, Derrick Washington ran for 139 yards and scored three times, as Missouri mopped up Nebraska for their first road win against the Cornhuskers in 30 years (1978). The Tigers never had to punt all game.

The 35-point defeat was the Huskers' most lopsided home loss in 53 years.

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State handed Missouri their first loss as well as forced their first three and outs all year, giving teams a blueprint on how to slow down the Tigers' "video game offense" which looked unstoppable up to that point.

At Texas

Sportscasters touted the 2005 contest with the Missouri Tigers as a showcase between two of the best dual-threat quarterbacks playing in college football, pitting Missouri quarterback Brad Smith against Vince Young of Texas. The two players combined for 582 yards total offense. Both Young and Smith led their respective team in rushing yards. Young had 108 rushing yards while Smith had 57. Young had 236 passing yards compared to Smith's 181. Texas won the game 51–20 to extend its series lead over Missouri to 15–5. The two teams did not face each other in 2006 or 2007.

Like the 2005 game, the 2008 matchup was billed as a battle between two great quarterbacks, Colt McCoy of Texas and Chase Daniel of Missouri having both been mentioned as possible Heisman trophy candidates. Texas was playing their first home game as a number-one ranked team since 1977. Missouri won their first five games of 2008 and had moved into third place in the nation before they were upset at home by the Oklahoma State Cowboys and fell to eleventh place. The Tigers came into the game with a 0–10 record against number-one ranked teams, and they had not won a football game in Austin since 1896.

To help ensure that the Longhorns did not dwell on the emotional victory over the Sooners one week earlier, the UT coaching staff called the team together and buried the TX/OU game ball in the UT practice field on the Monday before the game. The morning of the game the betting line on the morning of the game was Texas by 4+1⁄2 points; the over/under was 65. The temperature was 72 °F (22 °C) at kickoff, with clear skies. ESPN College GameDay was in Austin for the game, which set a new attendance record (UT, state of Texas, Big12 Conference) of 98,383.

Missouri won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff. They returned the ball to their 40 yard-line. On the first play from scrimmage, Missouri tried a reverse, but Texas dropped them for a loss and Missouri went three-and-out. Missouri had gone without a three-and-out for the whole season until having two during their loss the previous week against Oklahoma State. The Missouri punt rolled to the Texas 5-yard line. Colt McCoy led the Longhorns 95-yards for a touchdown.

Texas had the ball 5-times in the first half and scored a touchdown each time, taking a 35–0 lead. Missouri scored a field goal at the end of the first half to make the score 35–3. Texas was forced to punt on their first possession of the second half and Missouri scored a touchdown to narrow the lead to 35–10. Texas rebounded with a touchdown and Missouri was never able to cut the lead to less than 25 points. The final score was Texas-56, Missouri-31.

McCoy completed the game with 337 yards on 29-of-32 passing with two touchdowns, rushed for two more and at one point completed a school-record 17 passes in a row. His completion ratio of 79% coming into the game improved as he completed 91% of his passes in this game. His four touchdowns put him in first place for the most career touchdowns scored at Texas (82), passing Vince Young (81).

ESPN's recap of the game said, "And when McCoy dribbled the ball on the ground only to pick it up and throw a strike that kept the last drive of the half alive, he created the 'Did you just see that?' moment of the season so far. With one half of near-perfect football, Texas buried not only the remnants of the Sooners and the Tigers, but any doubt about who deserves to be No. 1. For now."

Colorado

The Tigers won their 600th game since their inception in 1890, in an overwhelming 58–0 shutout of the Buffaloes in the Tigers' Homecoming game at Faurot Field rolling up 491 total offensive yards. Chase Daniel passed for 302 yards, and the runners ran for another 189 yards. Daniel was 31-for-37 throwing five touchdowns, intercepted once. Jeremy Maclin had 11 pass receptions for 134 yards with two touchdowns. The defense was outstanding, holding Colorado to a mere 41 net yards rushing and 158 passing for only 199 total offensive yards.

At Baylor

Missouri looked good early but barely scraped by Baylor for another flat performance in what was quickly becoming a disappointing season for the Tigers.

Kansas State

Getting back on track, Missouri routed Kansas State coasting on a commanding 24–3 halftime lead.

At Iowa State

Iowa State put up very little resistance against the much better Missouri Tigers who played their backups for most of the second half.

Kansas (Border Showdown in Kansas City, Missouri)

On November 30, offensive coordinator Dave Christensen accepted the job as head coach for the Wyoming Cowboys in 2009.

Kansas also got their revenge for having their perfect season ruined the previous year by handing the Tigers their third loss and all but guaranteeing they wouldn't play in a BCS bowl game unless they got a win over Oklahoma.

Oklahoma (Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Missouri)

QB Chase Daniel became the Missouri career total offense yardage leader with 13,256. He entered the game with 12,988 yards and had 268 total yards (255 passing, 13 rushing) in the game. He moved ahead of Brad Smith (13,088) and had 13,256 at halftime. Senior CB Tru Vaughns made his first career start. PK Jeff Wolfert improved his career PAT mark to a perfect 182 of 182. TE Chase Coffman recorded his 30th career touchdown reception. He was already Missouri's all-time touchdown reception leader. Former walk-on WR Tommy Saunders moved into sixth place on the MU career receptions list. He finished the game with 144 to pass current Kansas City Chiefs' Will Franklin.

Jeremy Maclin leads all of major-college football in all-purpose yards per game with 203.54 (2,646 yds. in 13 G), over 20 yards more than second-place Jahvid Best (California).
He has 1,221 receiving, 987 kickoff return, 250 rushing, and 188 punt returns yardage.

On December 11, TE Chase Coffman won the prestigious John Mackey Tight End Award as the nation's top tight end.

Through 13 games in 2008, MU's offense ranks 4th in the nation in passing (340.38 ypg), 6th in total offense (497.46 ypg), 6th in scoring (43.15 ppg) and 8th in pass efficiency (162.69 rating).

On December 12, Pinkel said the new offensive coordinator will be present quarterbacks' coach and recruiting coordinator, David Yost.

Northwestern (16th Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas)

Roster

Coaching staff

Coaching staff from: "Missouri Tigers - 2008 Roster". CSTV.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2007.

Rankings

(as of January 9, 2009)

Statistics

Statistics from: "Missouri Tigers – Cumulative Season Statistics". CSTV.com. December 31, 2008. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2009.

Team

(to December 29, 2008)

Scores by quarter

(through December 29, 2008)

Offense

Rushing

(to December 29, 2008)

Passing

(to December 29, 2008)

Receiving

(to December 29, 2008)

Field Goals / PAT

(to December 29, 2008)

Special teams

(to December 29, 2008)

Interceptions

(to December 29, 2008)

Fumble Returns

(to December 29, 2008)

Defense

(to December 29, 2008)

References

1. ^ Associated Press. Five Tigers to stay next year, drop NFL Draft plan January 8, 2008
2. ^ Watson, Graham (January 3, 2008). "Good news for MU is that 2008 could be even better". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008.
3. DeArmond, Mike (January 8, 2008) Missouri's five draft-worthy juniors all returning The Kansas City Star. Archived January 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
4. Watson, Graham (January 12, 2008). "MU's Stull is kicked off team". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2008.
5. "Gabbert is Mizzou's star attraction". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008.
6. DeArmond, Mike (January 7, 2008) St. Louis receiver switches to Mizzou The Kansas City Star.
7. Missouri Commitments List 2008 Archived 2007-09-16 at the Wayback Machine Rivals.com. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
8. DeArmond, Mike (January 8, 2008) Iowa HS football star who committed to Huskers changes to Missouri The Kansas City Star. Archived January 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
9. Walters, John (September 30, 2006). "Hot Stuff". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
10. Matter, Dave (May 17, 2006). "Putting Their Feet Up". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
11. ^ "Texas vs Missouri Tigers". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. October 1, 2005. Archived from the original on July 6, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
12. "All-Time Records vs. Opponents". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
13. "All-Time Results". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2007.
14. Astleford, Andrew (October 12, 2008). "Missouri Football Moves On". Columbia Missourian. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
15. "Betting Line – NCAA football". Vegas.com. October 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
16. "Hour-by-hour forecast for Austin, Texas". The Weather Channel. October 18, 2008. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
17. ^ "(11) Missouri 31, (1) Texas 56 – McCoy, No. 1 Texas ride 35-0 lead past No. 11 Mizzou – Play-by-play". ESPN. October 18, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
18. ^ "(11) Missouri 31, (1) Texas 56 – McCoy, No. 1 Texas ride 35-0 lead past No. 11 Mizzou – Recap". ESPN. October 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
19. "(11) Missouri 31, (1) Texas 56 – McCoy, No. 1 Texas ride 35-0 lead past No. 11 Mizzou – Drive chart". ESPN. October 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
20. Missouri Tigers vs. Colorado Buffaloes, Oct. 25 Box Score
21. Christensen to Wyoming, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 30, 2008
22. "Mizzou/Oklahoma Post-Game Notes". Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
23. Maclin says jump to NFL isn't a done deal yet, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 14, 2008
24. "Missouri Football "Overall Individual Statistics" ('All Purpose')". Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
25. "Coffman Wins John Mackey Tight End Award: Senior Becomes First-Ever Tiger To Win National Position Trophy". Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
26. "Yost Tabbed To Take Over As Offensive Coordinator". Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
27. "Gary Pinkel bio". Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007.

External links

• Media related to 2008 Missouri Tigers football team at Wikimedia Commons

• 2008 Big 12 Conference football season
• Alamo Bowl champion seasons
• Missouri Tigers football seasons
• 2008 in sports in Missouri