Curt McKeever: Daniel parties at NU's expense
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — What? Did you really think Nebraska was going to pull the plug on Chase Daniel’s birthday party?
OK, so technically, Missouri’s toast-of-the-town quarterback didn’t turn 21 until the stroke of midnight — seven minutes after he’d finished a complete dismantling of the Huskers’ defense. By then, he had to have felt partied out.
Missouri 41, Nebraska 6 had a lot more to do with one team needing to go back to the drawing board. It was about one team having already done so, recognizing that old-way thinking just wasn’t cutting it.
Credit Gary Pinkel (or was it somebody else on his staff?) for making the decision to put the Tigers’ offense into the blender and whip out a five-receiver, no-back, shotgun set that has defensive coordinators looking helpless.
And to think, Mizzou’s just two years into this plan. Did Pinkel just luck into bringing in the right kind of players to fit the system? Hard to say.
But nothing the Tigers did here Saturday looked like the product of a fortunate roll of the dice. From the opening drive of the game, a 12-play, 80-yard march to the end zone, Daniel looked as if he could’ve done anything he wanted.
Nebraska might have thought it was OK trailing just 20-6 at halftime, but really, that was just an illusion. Daniel was like someone playing video-game football against a first-timer.
With one touch of his “C” button, Daniel, having driven his unit to the Nebraska 3-yard line in five easy steps, stacks four receivers to the left side and snaps the ball. He scores, of course, untouched on a shotgun run up the middle.
Maybe he’s punching the numbers for the defense, too, because the Tigers are actually making stops and get Daniel the controller again.
Six plays later, he taps the “Z” button and hooks up with Danario Alexander on a 48-yard TD pass that makes it 34-6.
Seven possessions, six scores.
It’s time for the press box announcer to grab the microphone and run down the list of scores from other games around the country.
As long as Daniel’s around, I’m pretty sure in places other than Nebraska people are going to start paying attention to Missouri’s score.
Are the Tigers a top-10 team? Again, they were 6-0 last year and stumbled to an 8-5 finish.
But on offensive creativity alone, I’d give them a chance.
How much better is Daniel in his second season as a starter? Today, he ought to be mentioned in the same breath as any other Heisman Trophy contender.
It’s not just that he completed 33 of 47 throws for 401 yards and a couple of scores. Or that he added 72 rushing yards on 11 carries.
It’s how he did it — effortlessly. Remember how Eric Crouch looked behind center? Missouri’s got the same kind of cat, I mean, tiger.
Daniel’s also got a tight end, Martin Rucker, playing like he’s offended that people consider him to be only a second-round NFL draft prospect. For that matter, there’s not a club in the country that wouldn’t take Rucker’s sidekick, Chase Coffman. Those two guys combined for 15 catches and 184 yards.
And when Daniel felt like spreading the wealth, he could always count on wideouts Will Franklin or Jeremy Maclin to be too shifty for the Huskers to cover. Those two chipped in another 118 yards. Assuming he sticks around, Maclin is going to be a nightmare for another three seasons.
Yes, Mizzou’s got it going, and it’s hard to see the Tigers slowing down any time soon.
For Nebraska, it’s three straight trips to Columbia, and three can’t-figure-it-out efforts that ended up with 41 points for the home team.
Maybe Illinois, which lost to Mizzou 40-34 during a season-opening matchup in St. Louis, would welcome a rematch. Not so for the Huskers. It’s going to take more than just some intense chalkboard sessions for them to catch these Tigers by the tail.
Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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