BCS championship isn't in the cards for the Tigers — this year
by Emily Schmidt, posted Dec. 4, 2007
In Columbia, Mo., this past Saturday morning started out dark and dreary. But game day had finally arrived. Fourteen hours away, in San Antonio, anxious fans awaited the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma.
No. 1 Missouri was up against No. 9 Oklahoma for a second showdown. The first time Missouri played Oklahoma seven weeks ago, the game resulted in a Sooner victory. But the second time around, the Tigers thought it would be different.
“[In the first game against Oklahoma], we made mistakes,” said Chase Daniel, MU’s quarterback. “There is no sugar coating what happened in that game. Those guys play full quarters and did what we didn’t do, which is win.”
The first quarter of the second Oklahoma match-up started with an early Missouri lead. Kicker Jeff Wolfert scored a field goal in the first three minutes, leaving the score to 3-0. The first quarter was the only time Missouri held the lead in the game.
In the second quarter, it was clear Missouri’s lead was short-lived when Oklahoma running back Chris Brown scored a touchdown only seconds after the second quarter began. Seeing Oklahoma take the lead, Wolfert scored another field goal falling only a point behind Oklahoma. Toward the end of the second quarter, Oklahoma’s Brown scored yet another touchdown, bringing fear to the hopeful Tiger fans. Finally, with the half nearing, Daniel scored a touchdown and tight end Martin Rucker was waiting in the end zone for the two-point conversion, tying the game at 14.
The third quarter was all Oklahoma. Oklahoma running back Allen Patrick scored another Sooner touchdown in the final minutes of the third. Only a minute later, Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham scored another touchdown off of quarterback Sam Bradford’s pass. At the end of the third, Oklahoma had doubled its score to 28, and held Missouri at 14.
Hopes for the national championship faded quickly for Missouri.
In the fourth, Wolfert scored another field goal, bringing Missouri some much needed points to the scoreboard; 28-17 was the score. Those were Missouri’s last points in the game. Shortly after the Tiger field goal, Oklahoma tight end Jon Joe Finley scored a touchdown and Garrett Hartley scored a final field goal, and the score was 38-17.
“They are a great team,” Daniel said. “They are going to make plays; you got to give them credit. They are D-1 athletes too for a reason. They have a great program down there. They have a storied program down there.”
The game brought in several field goals but only one touchdown for Missouri. For the first time this season, Missouri scored less than 30 points.
Daniel, who is a competitor for the Heisman award, is proud of the season the Tigers have had. The recognition he has received has had a positive impact on his career at Missouri.
“It means a lot,” Daniel said. “But it means a lot more that I was able to lead my team to a Big 12 championship.”
The No. 1 Missouri loss and No. 2 West Virginia loss both contribute to a confusing BCS series. This resulted in Missouri’s bid to play in the Cotton Bowl against Arkansas.
Results for the BCS were announced Sunday night. Ohio State will play Louisiana State University in the national championship game on Jan. 7.
Other bowl game announcements include Virginia Tech versus Kansas in the Orange Bowl, Southern California versus Illinois in the Rose Bowl, Georgia versus Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and Oklahoma versus West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.
