2008 Missouri Tigers football team

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

2008 Big 12 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Northern Division
#19 Missouri xy		5	–	3					10	–	4
Nebraska x		5	–	3					9	–	4
Kansas		4	–	4					8	–	5
Colorado		2	–	6					5	–	7
Kansas State		2	–	6					5	–	7
Iowa State		0	–	8					2	–	10
Southern Division
#5 Oklahoma xy$		7	–	1					12	–	2
#4 Texas x%		7	–	1					12	–	1
#12 Texas Tech x		7	–	1					11	–	2
#16 Oklahoma State		5	–	3					9	–	4
Baylor		2	–	6					4	–	8
Texas A&M		2	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Oklahoma 62, Missouri 21
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

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.^[1]

Recruits

Key Losses:

• SS Cornelius "Pig" Brown
• WR William Franklin^[2]
• OT Tyler Luellen^[2]
• TE Martin Rucker^[2]
• C Adam Spieker^[2]
• RB Tony Temple^[2]

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, DE Stryker Sulak and DT Ziggy Hood.^[1] The Tigers will have 16 returning starters, 10 on defense and six on offense.^[3]

Redshirt freshman DE John Stull was removed from the team on January 11, 2008, after being arrested on drug charges.^[4]

22 Recruits list.

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Jimmy Burge DT	Houston, TX	Stratford HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	5.10	Jun 19, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 71
Taylor Davis OT	Plano, TX	Prestonwood Christian	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	261 lb (118 kg)	5.66	Aug 3, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 70
Will Ebner MLB	Friendswood, TX	Friendswood HS	6 ft 0.5 in (1.84 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.61	Dec 17, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Kip Edwards CB	Arlington, TX	Bowie HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.53	Oct 27, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Michael Egnew WR	Plainview, TX	Plainview HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	N/A	Jun 10, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Blaine Gabbert QB	Ballwin, MO	Parkway West HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	4.60	Nov 10, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 82
Zaviar Gooden S	Pflugerville, TX	Pflugerville HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.50	Jan 22, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Dan Hoch OT	Harlan, IA	Harlan Community HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	315 lb (143 kg)	5.21	Jan 8, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Kenji Jackson S	Mansfield, TX	Mansfield HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	N/A	Dec 18, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Daniel Jackson OT	Gilmer, TX	Gilmer HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	N/A	Sep 10, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Andrew Jones TE	Smithville, MO	Smithville HS	6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)	234 lb (106 kg)	4.78	Mar 5, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Wes Kemp WR	St. Louis, MO	DeSmet Jesuit HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	4.60	Jan 7, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Brad Madison DE	Bethany, MO	South Harrison HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	N/A	Mar 12, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Marcus Malbrough DE	Beaumont, TX	West Brook Sr. HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Jan 28, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Gahn McGaffie RB	Galena Park, TX	Galena Park HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	N/A	Jun 15, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Travis Ruth DT	Jefferson City, MO	Jefferson City HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	N/A	Feb 7, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Aldon Smith DE	Raytown, MO	Raytown HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Oct 7, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 65
Jacquies Smith DE	Dallas, TX	South Oak Cliff HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	N/A	Jan 24, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Robert Steeples CB	St. Louis, MO	DeSmet Jesuit HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.53	Jun 16, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Drew Temple RB	Kansas City, MO	Rockhurst HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	N/A	Jul 20, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 69
George White MLB	Cincinnati, OH	Harmony Community School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	252 lb (114 kg)	N/A	Dec 18, 2007
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Rolandis Woodland WR	Cincinnati, OH	Harmony Community School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	N/A	Feb 7, 2007
	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, MO is the No. 1 rated prep player in the state of Missouri, and No. 1 rated pro-style quarterback in his recruiting class.^[5] and the Tigers landed him after he had previously committed to Nebraska.^[6] 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.^[7]

From out of state, the Tigers landed OT Dan Hoch, who like Gabbert previously committed to Nebraska.^[8]

Schedule

Missouri Tigers schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:30 PM	vs. No. 20 Illinois*	No. 6	Edward Jones Dome • St. Louis, MO (Arch Rivalry)	ESPN	W 52–42	66,441
September 6	6:00 PM	Southeast Missouri State (FCS)*	No. 6	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	FSN PPV	W 52–3	62,305
September 13	11:30 AM	Nevada*	No. 6	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	FSN	W 69–17	54,202
September 20	1:00 PM	Buffalo*	No. 5	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO		W 42–21	65,556
October 4	8:00 PM	at Nebraska	No. 4	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Rivalry)	ESPN	W 52–17	85,372
October 11	7:00 PM	No. 17 Oklahoma State	No. 3	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	ESPN2	L 23–28	68,349
October 18	7:00 PM	at No. 1 Texas	No. 11	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX	ABC	L 31–56	98,383
October 25	5:30 PM	Colorado	No. 16	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	FSN	W 58–0	68,349
November 1	2:00 PM	at Baylor	No. 14	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX		W 31–28	35,142
November 8	6:00 PM	Kansas State	No. 13	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO (Senior Night)	FSN	W 41–24	68,349
November 15	5:30 PM	at Iowa State	No. 12	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA (Battle for the Telephone Trophy)	FSN	W 52–20	46,013
November 29	11:30 AM	vs. Kansas	No. 12	Arrowhead Stadium • Kansas City, MO (Border War)	FSN	L 37–40	79,123
December 6	7:00 PM	vs. No. 4 Oklahoma	No. 19	Arrowhead Stadium • Kansas City, MO (Big 12 Championship Game)	ABC	L 21–62	71,004
December 29	7:00 PM	vs. No. 22 Northwestern*	No. 25	Alamodome • San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	W 30–23 ^OT	55,986
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Game Summaries

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20/19 Illinois	6	7	15	14	42
#6/7 Missouri	7	24	14	7	52

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Southeast Missouri State	0	0	0	3	3
#6/7 Missouri	21	21	3	7	52

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nevada	7	10	0	0	17
#6/6 Missouri	17	21	21	10	69

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffalo	7	7	7	0	21
#5/5 Missouri	10	10	13	9	42

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

at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4/3 Missouri	14	17	21	0	52
Nebraska	7	3	0	7	17

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17/17 Oklahoma State	7	0	14	7	28
#3/2 Missouri	3	7	7	6	23

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11/12 Missouri	0	3	14	14	31
#1/1 Texas	14	21	7	14	56

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.^[9][10] 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.^[11] Texas won the game 51–20^[11] to extend its series lead over Missouri to 15–5.^[12] The two teams did not face each other in 2006 or 2007.^[13]

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.^[14]

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 4½ points; the over/under was 65.^[15] The temperature was 72 °F (22 °C) at kickoff, with clear skies.^[16] ESPN College GameDay was in Austin for the game, which set a new attendance record (UT, state of Texas, Big12 Conference) of 98,383.^[17]

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.^[17]

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.^[17] The final score was Texas-56, Missouri-31.^[17][18][19]

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 alone in first place for the most career touchdowns scored at Texas (82), passing Vince Young (81).^[18]

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."^[18]

Colorado

Colorado at #16/16 Missouri

1 2 3 4 Total Colorado 0 0 0 0 0 • Missouri 21 13 14 10 58 Date: Saturday, October 25 Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri Game start: 6:40 p.m. EST Source: ESPN

Scoring summary 1 13:51 MIZZ Derrick Washington 3-yard run (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 7-0 1 10:48 MIZZ Chase Coffman 1-yard pass from Chase Daniel (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 14-0 1 3:20 MIZZ Jeremy Maclin 3-yard pass from Chase Daniel (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 21-0 2 8:10 MIZZ Tommy Saunders 10-yard pass from Chase Daniel (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 28-0 2 1:42 MIZZ Jeff Wolfert 23-yard field goal MIZZ 31-0 2 0:00 MIZZ Jeff Wolfert 44-yard field goal MIZZ 34-0 3 6:01 MIZZ Danario Alexander 4-yard pass from Chase Daniel (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 41-0 3 1:08 MIZZ Jeremy Maclin 30-yard pass from Chase Daniel (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 48-0 4 10:10 MIZZ Jeff Wolfert 46-yard field goal MIZZ 51-0 4 4:45 MIZZ De'Vion Moore 55-yard run (Jeff Wolfert kick) MIZZ 58-0

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.^[20]

at Baylor

	1	2	3	4	Total
#14/14 Missouri	14	7	0	10	31
Baylor	0	7	14	7	28

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	0	3	7	14	24
#13/13 Missouri	7	17	3	14	41

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

at Iowa State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12/11 Missouri	7	24	7	14	52
Iowa State	0	7	6	7	20

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, MO)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	3	16	7	14	40
#12/11 Missouri	0	10	13	14	37

On November 30, offensive coordinator Dave Christensen accepted the job as head coach for the Wyoming Cowboys in 2009.^[21]

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, MO)

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19/17 Missouri	0	7	7	7	21
#2/4 Oklahoma	10	28	3	21	62

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.^[22]

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).^[23]
He has 1,221 receiving, 987 kickoff return, 250 rushing, and 188 punt returns yardage.^[24]

On December 11, TE Chase Coffman won the prestigious John Mackey Tight End Award as the nation's top Tight End.^[25]

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.^[26]

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

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#25/23 Missouri	0	10	10	3	7	30
#22/20 Northwestern	7	3	13	0	0	23

Roster

(as of 9/3/08 MUTIGERS.com, and Rivals.com)
(Template Edit)
Wide Receivers  2 LaRoderick Thomas - Sophomore  3 Gahn McGaffie - Freshman  4 Jared Perry - Junior  5 Rolandis Woodland - Freshman  7 Earl Goldsmith - Senior  8 Wes Kemp - Freshman  9 Jeremy Maclin - Sophomore 16 Brandon Gerau - Freshman 28 Adam Casey - Senior 29 Jerrell Jackson - Freshman 36 Tyron Reece - Junior 80 Terry Dennis - Freshman 81 Danario Alexander - Junior 84 Tommy Saunders - Senior 88 Forrest Shock - Sophomore 89 Blake May - Senior Offensive Line 53 Travis Ruth - Freshman 55 Daniel Jenkins - Freshman 57 Brad Madison - Freshman 58 Brendan Donaldson - Freshman 61 Colin Brown - Senior 62 Tim Barnes - Sophomore 63 Ryan Schleusner - Junior 65 Mike Prince - Sophomore 66 Austin Wuebbels - Freshman 67 J.T. Beasley - Freshman 68 Dain Wise - Junior 69 Kevin Mansco - Sophomore 70 Lance Honeycutt - Freshman 71 Jayson Palmgren - Freshman 72 Elvis Fisher - Freshman 73 Thomas Hellm - Sophomore 75 John Gourley - Freshman 76 Ryan Madison - Senior 77 Dan Hoch - Freshman 78 Kurtis Gregory - Junior 79 Taylor Davis - Freshman Tight Ends 17 Marvin Norman - Freshman 43 Jon Gissinger - Junior 45 Chase Coffman - Senior 48 Caleb Medley - Freshman 82 Michael Egnew - Freshman 86 Beau Brinkley - Freshman 87 Andrew Jones - Freshman 93 Andy Loyd - Sophomore		Quarterbacks 10 Chase Daniel - Senior 11 Jimmy Costello - Freshman 11 Blaine Gabbert - Freshman 14 Chase Patton - Senior Running (Tail) Backs  1 Jimmy Jackson - Senior 17 Drew Temple - Freshman 24 Derrick Washington - Sophomore 26 Ryan Evans - Freshman 26 De'Vion Moore - Freshman 46 Shawn Scott - Junior Defensive Line  2 Brian Coulter - Junior 38 Stryker Sulak - Senior 39 Tyler Crane - Sophomore 48 Tommy Chavis - Senior 59 Zach Milligan - Junior 64 Joe Schumacher - Senior 85 Aldon Smith - Freshman 90 Dominique Hamilton - Freshman 91 Jimmy Burge - Freshman 92 Andy Maples - Junior 93 Terrell Resonno - Freshman 94 Ziggy Hood - Senior 95 Chris Earnhardt - Freshman 96 Jaron Baston - Junior 97 Marcus Malbrough - Freshman 98 Bart Coslet - Junior 99 Jacquies Smith - Freshman Linebackers  5 Van Alexander - Senior  6 Andrew Gachkar - Sophomore 12 Sean Weatherspoon - Junior 18 Steve Redmond - Senior 25 Aaron O'Neal - Senior † 30 Caleb Freeman - Freshman 32 Will Ebner - Freshman 33 Luke Lambert - Sophomore 34 Brock Christopher - Senior 35 Jeff Gettys - Junior 45 Marlon Galbreath - Junior 52 George White - Freshman 54 Jared Culver - Freshman		Safety  1 William Moore Senior  8 Justin Garrett - Senior 10 Gilbert Moye - Freshman 14 Fred Trotman - Freshman 24 Mack Breed - Senior Strong Safety  7 Munir Prince - Junior Free Safety 15 Del Howard - Junior Defensive Backs  4 Hardy Ricks - Junior  9 Kip Edwards - Freshman 11 Tremane Vaughns - Senior 13 Kenji Jackson - Freshman 19 Carl Gettis - Sophomore 20 Kevin Rutland - Sophomore 21 Castine Bridges - Senior 22 Robert Steeples - Freshman 28 Evan Scott - Freshman 31 Trey Hobson - Sophomore 35 Matt Davis - Junior 40 Zaviar Gooden - Freshman Punters 36 Jake Harry - Junior Kickers 91 Tanner Mills - Junior 95 Grant Ressel - Freshman 97 Trey Barrow - Freshman 99 Jeff Wolfert - Senior
† Starter at position     † LB Aaron O'Neal died on July 12, 2005 at 19, yet remains on the Tigers' roster for the remainder of his eligibility Player Bio: Aaron O'Neal - MISSOURI OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE MISSOURI OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - Football

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Years at MU	Alma mater (Year)
Gary Pinkel[27]	Head Coach	8	Kent State (1975)
Dave Christensen	Assistant Head Coach Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks Offensive Line	8	Western Washington (1985)
Matt Eberflus	Associate Head Coach Defensive Coordinator Safeties	8	Toledo (1993)
Cornell Ford	Cornerbacks	8	Toledo (1991)
Andy Hill	Wide Receivers	13	University of Missouri (1985)
Brian Jones	Running Backs	8	Connecticut (1981)
Craig Kuligowski	Defensive Line	8	Toledo (1991)
Dave Steckel	Linebackers	8	Kutztown (1982)
Bruce Walker	Tight Ends Assistant Offensive Line	8	Central Washington (1983)
David Yost	Quarterbacks Recruiting Coordinator	8	Kent State (1992)
Barry Odom	Assistant AD for Football Operations	6	University of Missouri (1999)
Nick Otterbacher	Director of Football Recruiting	5	Toledo (2002)

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)

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	6	6 (1)	6 (1)	5	6	4 (1)	3 (1)	11	16	14	14	12	12	12	19	25	19
Coaches'	7	7	6	5	5	3	2	12	16	14	13	11	11	11	17	23	16
Harris	Not released					4 (1)f	4	11	16	14	13	11	11	11	18	24	Not released
BCS	Not released								15	14	14	12	13	13	20	21	Not released

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)

MU Opp SCORING     591     381   Points per Game     42.2     27.2 FIRST DOWNS     358     327   Rushing     100     110   Passing     235     199   Penalty       23       18 RUSHING YARDAGE   2,153   1,748   Gained   2,407   2,219   Lost     -254     -471   Attempts     417     510   Avg per Rush       5.2       3.4   Avg per Game     153.8     124.9   TDs Rushing       28       19 PASSING YARDAGE   4,625   4,013   Comp-Att-Int   404-565-18   374-583-14   Avg per Pass       8.2       6.9   Avg per Catch     11.4     10.7   Avg per Game     330.4     286.6   TDs Passing       41       29

MU Opp TOTAL OFFENSE   6,778   5,761   Total Plays      982   1,093   Avg per Play      6.9     5.3   Avg per Game   484.1   411.5 Fumbles-Lost   13-8   19-8 Penalties-Yards   58-524   98-827   Avg per Game   37.4   59.1 Punts-Yards   34-1,397   72-2,788   Avg per Punt   41.1    38.7   Net punt avg   37.7   32.9 Time of Possession/Game   26:08   33:31 3rd Down Conversions   87/163 (53%)   106/230 (46%) 4th Down Conversions   6/14 (43%)   14/27 (52%) Sacks By-Yards     33-254     16-94 Misc. Yards     14     0 Touchdowns Scored    76    50 Field Goals-Attempts-Long   20-27 (74%)   10-14 (71%) On-Side Kicks     0-0     1-1 Red-Zone Scores     58-65 (89%)     36-50 (72%) Red-Zone TDs     46-65 (71%)     29-50 (58%) PAT-Attempts   73-73 (100%)   47-49 (96%) ATTENDANCE   387,120 264,910   Games / Avg per Game     6 / 64,520   4 / 66,228   Neutral Site   4 / 68,138

Scores by quarter

(through December 29, 2008)

1 2 3 4 OT Total Missouri 121 191 147 125 7 591 Opponents 68 112 93 108 0 381

Offense

Rushing

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Derrick Washington	14	177	1,078	42	1,036	5.9	17	59	74.0
Jeremy Maclin	14	40	306	13	293	7.3	2	56	20.9
Chase Daniel	14	69	384	103	281	4.1	1	48	20.1
Jimmy Jackson	14	59	275	28	247	4.2	6	37	17.6
De'Vion Moore	13	41	251	20	231	5.6	1	55	17.8
Blaine Gabbert	5	6	37	15	22	3.7	0	30	4.4
Shawn Scott	3	4	23	1	22	5.5	0	8	7.3
Tommy Saunders	14	3	14	0	14	4.7	0	8	1.0
Jerrell Jackson	13	2	11	1	10	5.0	0	11	0.8
Chase Patton	8	5	19	10	9	1.8	1	11	1.1
Danario Alexander	12	2	6	0	6	3.0	0	3	0.5
Tyrone Reece	2	3	3	5	-2	-0.7	0	3	-1.0
TEAM	11	4	0	8	-8	-2.0	0	0	-0.7
Jared Perry	14	2	0	8	-8	-4.0	0	0	-0.6
TOTAL	14	417	2,407	254	2,153	5.2	28	59	153.8
Opponents	14	510	2,219	471	1,748	3.4	19	93	124.9

Passing

(to December 29, 2008)

Name (G)	Effic	Cmp-Att-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Chase Daniel (14)	159.44	385-528-18	72.9	4,335	39	80	309.6
Chase Patton (8)	176.47	12-18-0	66.7	196	1	48	24.5
Blaine Gabbert (5)	66.25	5-13-0	38.5	43	0	14	8.6
Tommy Saunders (14)	479.20	2-2-0	100.0	51	1	32	5.1
Chase Coffman (12)	0.00	0-1-0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0
Danario Alexander (12)	0.00	0-1-0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0
TEAM (11)	0.00	0-2-0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0
TOTAL (14)	157.84	404-565-18	71.5	4,625	41	80	330.4
Opponents (14)	133.58	374-583-14	64.2	4,013	29	65	286.6

Receiving

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	GP	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Jeremy Maclin	14	102	1,260	12.4	13	80	90.0
Chase Coffman	12	90	987	11.0	10	48	82.2
Tommy Saunders	14	72	833	11.6	7	69	59.5
Jared Perry	14	41	567	13.8	4	38	40.5
Derrick Washington	14	29	277	9.6	2	28	19.8
Danario Alexander	12	26	329	12.7	5	39	27.4
Andrew Jones	13	20	146	7.3	0	15	11.2
Jerrell Jackson	13	9	98	10.9	0	15	7.5
Earl Goldsmith	13	5	58	11.6	0	17	4.5
Michael Egnew	13	4	22	5.5	0	7	1.7
Jimmy Jackson	14	3	26	8.7	0	13	1.9
Wes Kemp	7	1	15	15.0	0	15	2.1
Jon Gissinger	14	1	10	10.0	0	10	0.7
Colin Brown	14	1	-3	-3.0	0	0	-0.2
TOTAL	14	404	4,625	11.4	41	80	330.4
Opponents	14	374	4,013	10.7	29	65	286.6

Field Goals / PAT

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	FG-FGA	Pct	01-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-99	Lng	Blkd	PAT	Pts.
Jeff Wolfert	20-27	74.1	1-1	5-5	6-7	7-9	1-5	51	2	73-73	133

Special teams

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Jeff Wolfert	7	297	42.4	54	1	0	3	0	103	6,550	63.6	15	1
Jake Harry	26	1,057	40.7	55	3	5	10	0
Grant Ressel	1	43	43.0	43	0	1	0	0
Tanner Mills									3	203	67.7	0	0
TOTAL	34	1,397	41.1	55	4	6	13	0	106	6,753	63.7	15	1
Opponents	72	2,788	38.7	69	6	20	23	1	70	3,903	55.8	4	1

Name	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Jeremy Maclin	23	270	11.7	1	75	42	1,010	24.0	1	99
Tommy Saunders	2	24	12.0	0	15
Will Ebner	2	6	3.0	0	0
Jimmy Jackson						10	119	11.9	0	22
Tru Vaughns						3	67	22.3	0	24
Jon Gissinger						3	26	8.7	0	12
Earl Goldsmith						2	22	11.0	0	15
Jeff Gettys						1	1	1.0	0	1
TOTAL	27	300	11.1	1	75	61	1,245	20.4	1	99
Opponents	11	35	3.2	0	11	88	2,018	22.9	1	97

Interceptions

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Sean Weatherspoon	3	100	33.3	2	65
Brock Christopher	3	39	13.0	1	22
Kenji Jackson	2	34	17.0	0	25
Jaron Baston	1	5	5.0	0	5
Castine Bridges	1	7	7.0	0	7
Kevin Rutland	1	12	12.0	0	12
Jeff Gettys	1	27	27.0	1	27
William Moore	1	17	17.0	1	17
Carl Gettis	1	27	27.0	0	27
TOTAL	14	268	19.1	5	65
Opponents	18	158	8.8	1	39

Fumble Returns

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Jaron Baston	1	18	18.0	0	18
TOTAL	1	18	18.0	0	18
Opponents	1	23	23.0	0	23

Defense

(to December 29, 2008)

Name	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense			Fumbles		Blkd Kick	Saf
		Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No.-Yds	Int-Yds.	BrUp	QBH	Rcv-Yds	FF
Sean Weatherspoon	14	76	79	155	18.5-75	5.0-46	3-100	7	6	-	2	-	-
Brock Christopher	14	51	54	105	7.5-20	1.0-6	3-39	6	3	1-0	-	-	-
Justin Garrett	14	51	38	89	1.5-3	-	-	6	3	-	-	-	-
William Moore	12	55	31	86	6.5-19	1.0-10	1-17	6	1	-	3	-	-
Carl Gettis	14	52	26	78	4.0-8	-	1-27	4	-	1-0	-	-	-
Castine Bridges	12	49	20	69	4.5-8	0.5-2	1-7	7	-	-	-	-	-
Kenji Jackson	13	40	22	62	-	-	2-34	1	-	-	1	-	-
Ziggy Hood	14	31	31	62	7.0-42	5.0-37	-	2	12	2-0	-	1	-
Luke Lambert	14	30	28	58	3.5-7	1.0-2	-	1	-	1-0	1	-	-
Stryker Sulak	14	29	26	55	15.5-106	10.5-94	-	6	6	-	6	1	-
Tru Vaughns	14	26	23	49	2.5-5	1.0-4	-	3	-	-	-	-	-
Jaron Baston	14	17	32	49	8.0-22	1.0-8	1-5	1	1	2-18	-	-	-
Jacquies Smith	14	22	24	46	3.0-6	1.0-3	-	2	2	-	-	-	-
Tommy Chavis	13	21	23	44	6.0-31	3.0-20	-	2	6	-	2	-	-
Del Howard	13	22	19	41	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Hardy Ricks	14	26	13	39	1.5-6	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Brian Coulter	12	13	16	29	6.5-44	3.0-22	-	2	1	-	2	-	-
Andrew Gachkar	14	13	15	28	1.0-2	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Kevin Rutland	14	16	9	25	-	-	1-12	5	-	1-0	-	-	-
Will Ebner	14	15	6	21	3.0-20	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	-
Dominique Hamilton	13	8	10	18	0.5-0	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-
Chris Earnhardt	7	7	10	17	1.0-4	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-
Trey Hobson	12	10	6	16	1.0-1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Terrell Resonno	14	7	6	13	1.0-2	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
TEAM	11	4	7	11	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Van Alexander	8	2	5	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jeff Gettys	14	5	1	6	-	-	1-27	-	-	-	-	-	-
Others (17)	14	11	13	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	14	709	593	1,302	103-431	33- 254	14-268	66	46	8-18	18	3	1
Opponents	14	510	526	1,036	77-250	16- 94	18-158	38	16	8-23	9	2	1

References

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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.
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7. Missouri Commitments List 2008 Rivals.com. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
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26. Yost Tabbed To Take Over As Offensive Coordinator
27. Gary Pinkel bio