Posted: Friday, October 21, 2005 7:00 pm
With senior quarterback Brad Smith pulling the strings, Missouri has one of the nation’s most-dangerous offenses. Texas and Iowa State are the only teams this season to have held the Tigers below 35 points.
Gary Pinkel sees Nebraska’s defense — which ranks No. 7 nationally by allowing just 14 points per game — as having similar capabilities.
“When you look at the numbers and you watch the video, it’s pretty staggering at how good they are in rush defense,” Pinkel said of a unit that has yielded a nation-best average of just 65 yards a contest. “We’ll just try to game-plan and do the best we can, understanding that it’s very difficult to run the ball against that defense.”
Pinkel also has noticed the Huskers making strides operating Bill Callahan’s West Coast offense. NU has produced 13 of its 21 scoring drives in the last three games.
“They’ve got a great scheme. They formation you to death, they do a million things,” Pinkel said. “(It’s) very calculated, very well-designed.”
OVERTIME KINGS: Since the NCAA introduced overtime in 1996, Missouri has played in 11 such games, more than any other school. The Tigers are 8-3 in those contests.
COMEBACK ATTITUDE: Before last week’s win against Iowa State, the only other time since 1958 that Missouri overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit was in 2003 against Nebraska. According to Pinkel, the Tigers’ attitude was as important as anything else.
“That is what gets you over the hump, no question about it,” he said. “We have had some come-from-behind wins, but not this significant in terms of how many points and how late in the game. I think you gain a lot of confidence from it.”
— Curt McKeever