COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -Even though at least three games remain on the schedule after this weekend, it’s the beginning of the end of Missouri’s best four-year stretch of football.
The mainstays of a group that has produced 34 victories for the 13th-ranked Tigers and is headed for a fourth straight bowl game will be honored on Saturday night before playing Kansas State and lame duck coach Ron Prince. Everybody has Senior Night, but this one has a little more meaning.
“To say they’ve made a profound difference would be an understatement,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “These are kids that had lots of opportunities and choices, and when we were building this program they decided to come here.”
Many of the biggest stars are among the 23 seniors who’ll be honored before Missouri (7-2, 3-2 Big 12) takes the field as a 27-point favorite over Kansas State (4-5, 1-4). Quarterback Chase Daniel last year became the school’s first Heisman Trophy finalist, Chase Coffman holds the NCAA record for most career catches by a tight end, Jeff Wolfert has a shot to become the most accurate kicker in NCAA history – and on and on.
“It didn’t really hit me until after the Baylor game and all the seniors were talking and even coach Pinkel brought it up that hey, this is the last (home) game,” Daniel said. “It’s going to be tough, playing here for four years and seeing Missouri go to heights we’ve never seen since the 1960s.”
The 34 wins are one more than the total amassed by the 1963 senior class, and this group will match the class of 1981 as the only one to play in four bowls.
Aaron O’Neal, the linebacker who died after a summer workout in 2005, also will be honored Saturday, with his family expected to attend. Missouri seniors have taken turns wearing O’Neal’s No. 25 this season and break team huddles with a shout of “A.O.!”
Missouri has righted itself somewhat with two victories after midseason losses to then top-ranked Texas and Oklahoma State knocked the Tigers out of national title contention. The Tigers had to overcome three costly turnovers last week, needing Wolfert’s late field goal and a clinching interception by Brock Christopher in a three-point victory at sub-.500 Baylor.
Daniel, who threw two interceptions against Baylor, said Missouri would have won comfortably if he had not tried to squeeze in passes in tight coverage. Despite constant exhortations from Pinkel to concentrate only on the game ahead, defensive end Stryker Sulak said some players may have relaxed after whipping Colorado 58-0.
“Maybe not everybody was focused or amped up to play,” Sulak said. “That’s something that’s got to change.”
Kansas State has lost four of five and committed five turnovers in a lopsided loss at Kansas last week. That sealed Prince’s feature. He was fired Wednesday, but will finish out the season. He’s 16-18 in 2 1/2 seasons in Manhattan.
The Wildcats have surrendered 110 points the last two games – 52 to Kansas last week and 58 the previous week to Oklahoma. Now comes Missouri, fourth in the nation at 46 points per game.
“It’s pretty clear this is a terrific offense, once again,” Prince said. “It’s like a broken record every week. We say the same thing every week – a terrific quarterback, very good running game.”
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The Wildcats had won 13 in a row over Missouri, but the Tigers have swung the series recently, winning the last two by 17 and 20 points.
“The thing about Missouri is you have to get to the quarterback early and often,” defensive end Ian Campbell said. “You have to try to disrupt their timing as much as possible, and that’s no easy task.”
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