It was a ball Wes Kemp would probably tell you he catches nine times out of 10. But, for the Missouri sophomore receiver, it was not meant to be.

Not for the Tigers. Not on this night.

Deadlocked in a back-and-forth battle, Missouri was in a position to take the lead heading into the locker room on the road at No. 16 Oklahoma State. After an Oklahoma State field goal tied the score at 17, Missouri, seeking momentum, had possession in the waning moments of the first half.

Instead, what the Tigers got was the beginning of the end.

Faced with a seemingly unmanageable third-and-21 from his own 25, Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert avoided a sack, found Kemp streaking behind the Oklahoma State secondary, and winged a perfect pass off his ailing right ankle. But the ball descended through Kemp's outstretched arms and collided painfully with the turf.

A completion would have given Missouri the ball inside the Oklahoma State 20-yard line and an excellent chance to not only put up seven points, but to run out the clock on the Cowboys.

For all intents and purposes, after Gabbert, Kemp, and the MU offense made their way to the sideline, the game was decided. What ensued after Kemp's drop was a miserable 29-yard punt to set up OSU near midfield, and the Cowboys' offense needed only go 53 yards to seal the Tigers' fate.

A likely seven-point halftime lead transformed into a seven-point deficit, and eventually swelled to a two-touchdown defeat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on Kemp. Earlier, fellow receiver Jerrell Jackson had a pass deflect off his hands and land in the gut of an Oklahoma State defender, leading to an interception return and score that effectively began turning the tide of a game on which Missouri (4-2, 0-2) seemed to have a grasp.

When evaluating the comedy of errors that was Missouri's 33-17 loss to Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-0), it seems only responsible to dissect each problem area with equal fervor, especially considering the unexpectedly golden opportunity that awaited the Tigers at Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday night.

With Missouri players planted comfortably in front of their hotel room television sets earlier in the afternoon, fellow division contenders Kansas and Nebraska each stumbled to leave the door wide open in the Big 12 North. Once thought to have been nothing more than a minor threat for the division title following its loss to Nebraska nine days prior, all Missouri had to do to pull even in the three-horse race was something it has had no problem doing in Stillwater, Okla., since 1992: win.

Alas, bloodied and battered from a number of torturous blows—some of the self-inflicted nature, some more the work of the officials—the Tigers limped off the field in front of a Homecoming crowd of 55,752, lamenting a failed attempt to capture the most crucial game of what has become a season with potential to go south in a hurry.

A win would have given Missouri a 1-1 record in the Big 12, as well as injected new life into a team arguably still reeling from the Nebraska collapse. As fate would have it, the Tigers are now chasing surprising division leader Kansas State (4-3, 2-1) and occupy the division cellar as they prepare for next weekend's nationally televised contest with the No. 3 Texas Longhorns .

Missouri's ineptitude against Oklahoma State was widespread. But, above all, it was the schizophrenic and sloppy nature of the offense that cost MU the chance to re-establish an identity as a Big 12 contender.

Making his first conference road start, Gabbert was equal parts bionic sensation and true sophomore. Noticeably still hobbled by a gimpy ankle, which only seemed to worsen as the game wore on, he threw for nearly 260 yards in the first half, including three completions of 30 yards or more.

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