Record: 2-1
Sept. 3: Miami (Ohio), 17-6 (W)
Sept. 9: at Arizona State, 37-30 (L)
Sept. 17: Western Illinois, 69-0 (W)
Previous outing: Missouri led Western Illinois 42-0 at the half and finished off the Leathernecks 69-0 Saturday. The Tigers set a school record with 744 yards of offense and tied a school record for most points scored. Henry Josey led Missouri with 263 rushing yards — his previous career high was 112 — and scored three touchdowns. Quarterback James Franklin threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
OU’s record against Missouri: 65-25-5
Last meeting: OU debuted at No. 1 in the first BCS Standings last year. But that lasted only a few days, as Missouri toppled the Sooners 36-27 in Columbia. Sooners quarterback Landry Jones had his worst game of the season, failing to complete a pass in the fourth quarter. Behind QB Blaine Gabbert, who completed 30 of 42 passes, Missouri scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Key player: Gabbert is gone, and Franklin beat out Blaine's brother, Tyler Gabbert, in the spring for the starting job. Franklin has played well so far, completing 66 percent of his passes with 694 passing yards, six touchdowns and only one interception. The dual-threat Franklin also has rushed for 157 yards and two scores.
Mark J. Rebilas/US PresswireMissouri quarterback James Franklin has passed for 694 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception this season.
"He's a guy that's got excellent size and can run but also does an excellent job throwing the football," OU coach Bob Stoops said this morning. "He's another one of those guys. I said the same thing a week ago about (Florida State quarterback) E.J. Manuel. A big strong guy [that] can run and throw the football. I'm going to say all the same things about him this week. And it's true. He's a really good player."
Why Missouri could win: OU has struggled with Missouri dual-threat QBs before (Brad Smith), and Franklin has more weapons at his disposal than Smith did with slot receiver T.J. Moe and tight end Michael Egnew. The defense got torched by Arizona State but still has the ability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks with ends Jacquies Smith and Brad Madison.
Why Missouri could lose: Because the Sooners don’t lose in Norman. OU owns the nation’s longest home winning streak at 37 games, and has revenge on its mind after getting thumped the by the Tigers last season.
What Missouri coach Gary Pinkel is saying about the Sooners: "You've got to play well against those guys. You've got to play very, very physical. Obviously our players have great respect for them. In our team meeting yesterday there has been no discussion of last year. This is a different year. Last year was lat year. Now we've got a great opportunity to play a great team. We'll see where it goes."
"They're a great team. But they've had a bunch of great teams since I've been here. They've had not too many average teams. They've had no average teams. We're talking about the excellent of the excellent. I see them being pretty much flawless. I don’t see a weakness on this football team. But rarely do they have any. Bob's done a great job with this program."
