CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, November 2, 2006 6:00 pm
The way he talks about Nebraskans’ love for football, Missouri senior strong safety David Overstreet would fit right in with all the political candidates who will be shaking hands and kissing babies outside Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning.
“They have great fans there,” said Overstreet, a Dallas native referred to by some teammates as “The Mouth of the South” for his gift of gab. “Before the game, the fans will tell you good luck. After the game, they’ll say ‘You guys played good.’ They’ll talk to you, ask you for autographs. They have good people up there.”
Overstreet should know better now than to try to butter up Big Red followers. In Missouri’s 41-24 win against Nebraska last year, he had 10 tackles, broke up a first-quarter pass in the end zone, recovered a third-quarter fumble at the Tiger 3-yard line and also intercepted a pass near midfield.
No doubt, he’ll be out to sacrifice popularity votes and leave NU fans in a sour mood again.
“I just want to go up there and play,” Overstreet acknowledged. “That’s all that matters.”
HE LIKES HOT WATER: That must be why sophomore Jeff Wolfert gave up a diving scholarship to join the football team as a walk-on kicker last year. A standout freshman diver for the Tigers in 2004-05 — when he finished fourth and fifth, respectively, on the 1- and 3-meter boards and sixth on the platform at the Big 12 Championships — Wolfert missed his senior high school football season with a hip injury. An accomplished soccer player, he got the itch to kick for the Tigers, was given a tryout last fall and, after seeing no action, came back this fall to be consistent enough in scrimmages to earn the job. For the season, he’s 11-for-13 on field goals and perfect on PATs. He’s nailed his last eight field goals.
QUICK ROAD STARTS KEY: Missouri is 2-1 on the road this season. In wins against New Mexico and Texas Tech, the Tigers jumped to respective leads of 10-0 and 24-0. Their loss at Texas A&M was a back-and-forth affair that consisted of seven lead changes.
KEY STAT: In its two losses, Missouri has been outrushed by an average of 205.5 yards to 75 and has allowed 38:56 of possession time. In its seven wins, the average rushing total favored the Tigers 177.9-99.7, while the time of possession was much more manageable at 30:10 for the opponents.