Here's Some “T.I.P.S.” for Colorado Taking on Missouri

News - Colorado hasn’t played on Halloween since 1992, and hasn’t played at home on Halloween since 1970.

Not News – Colorado has stunk it up against Missouri the last two seasons.

Colorado is hosting Missouri this Saturday morning, with kickoff at 11:30 MT. The Homecoming game represents the first time that Colorado has played on Halloween since 1992.  

[The last game Colorado played on October 31st was a true nightmare. No.8 Colorado played in Lincoln against No. 8 Nebraska (no, that's not a typo - the teams were tied in the polls). Both teams had aspirations of a Big Eight title and national recognition. The Buffs were mauled that night, 52-7, the first conference loss for Colorado since 1988 (a run of 23-0-2). Nebraska went to win its first Big Eight title in four years. The Buffs finished the 1992 season with a 9-2-1 record after falling to Syracuse, 26-22, in the Fiesta Bowl]

Colorado’s play against Missouri the past two seasons has been ghoulish, falling to Missouri by scores of 55-10 and 58-0 in the last two meetings. The latter loss snapped the Buffs’ 242-game scoring streak, the 9th-longest in NCAA history. This week, the Buffs have been talking about focusing on playing their best game of the season against the Tigers, and held a players’ only meeting on Monday to clear the air after the Buffs’ poor play against Kansas State.

Will revenge be a factor? Will the Buffs play better now that they are back home? Will Missouri play like a team with a three-game losing streak, or a team which was ranked 24th in the nation earlier this season?

We will find out Saturday … Here are this week’s “T.I.P.S.” …

T – Talent

You know the story. Gone to the NFL are Missouri’s quarterback Chase Daniel, tight end Chase Coffman, and all-everything wide receiver/running back/kick returner Jeremy Maclin. While it is true that sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert is no Chase Daniel, and while it is also true that Gabbert has been slowed recently by a sprained ankle, his statistics show why he was the No. 1 rated quarterback recruit in the country in 2008. Gabbert has already passed for 1,704 yards, and has 13 touchdown passes with only five interceptions. Gabbert did practice this week without a boot around his ankle, which will give new optimism to Tiger fans that his play will return to the level seen earlier this season, when Missouri opened 4-0.

Gabbert’s favorite target is senior wide receiver Danario Alexander, who has 50 catches for 701 yards – 14 yards/catch – and five touchdowns (the Buffs’ leading receiver, Scotty McKnight, has 41 catches for 431 yards – ten yards/catch- and three scores). Alexander has already had three 100-yard receiving games this season, including 180 yards against Oklahoma State.

The Missouri rushing game, ranked 52nd in the nation last season, has fallen off to 100th this year. Junior Derrick Washington leads the team with 441 yards (Rodney Stewart has 467 for the Buffs). Washington had success earlier in the season, but was held to 35 yards by both Oklahoma State and Texas in Missouri’s last two games.

Missouri’s defense, as the second half of the season gets underway, is settling in around the mid-point nationally in most defensive rankings. In the important categories – rushing defense; passing defense; total defense; and scoring defense – the Tigers come in between 52nd and 65th nationally. In three Big 12 games, all losses, Missouri is giving up an average of 33 points per game, while scoring only 12 (the Tigers have been held under 20 points in each game).

The Tigers are not as explosive as the team which routed the Buffs the last two seasons, but they are indeed capable of scoring points in bunches.

I – Intangibles

Pick your poison here. Both teams have been talking a good game this week. Missouri is 0-3 in Big 12 play; Colorado is 1-2. Still, both team’s players talk about winning the Big 12 North – and it’s hard to fault the logic. Missouri can point to its difficult opening Big 12 games (Nebraska, at Oklahoma State, Texas), which will be followed by relatively easier games (at Colorado, Baylor, at Kansas State, Iowa State), while the Buffs, at 1-2, are a Halloween win away (assuming a Kansas State loss to Oklahoma in Norman Saturday) from being tied in the loss column with every other contender in the North.

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