Texas-Missouri: Most Efficient QB Duel in College Football History

In a dream world, or just my own, Texas-Missouri would have been a colossal battle of unstoppable forces meeting in Austin in a Top Three matchup. That would have been the case had both Missouri and Texas won last Saturday.

Oklahoma State threw a spur into those plans, shocking the Tigers to catapult themselves into the top 10, dropping Missouri to No. 11.

However, Texas has now received TWO full weeks of hype, enough to boost the egos of even the humblest of FBS scholarship athletes.

Missouri, on the other hand, now has plenty of motivation, going against the consensus No. 1 team in the nation.

The Tigers are led by a Heisman-caliber QB in Chase Daniel, who Texas spurned to go after Heisman-caliber QB Colt McCoy (turned out pretty well) and Ryan Perrilloux (went to LSU, but that decision also turned out pretty well).

The key matchup between the two top-11 teams is how the unstoppable offenses and their incredible QBs will go against two slightly underrated defenses.

Coming into the season, the main thing that separated Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri (and possibly Texas Tech) from the rest of the Big 12 was that their defenses were, at the very least, above average.

All three teams have solidified that statement by all allowing less than 22 points a game, and by all maintaining a scoring margin greater than 20 points a game.

However, Missouri and Oklahoma now have an L on their schedules after having their unstoppable offenses, well, stopped, at least long enough for their opponents to maintain a lead in the fourth quarter in upset wins.

The Sooners' loss was to Texas, when the Horns took a 38-35 lead in the last ten minutes of the game, and held the Sooners without a point their final two possessions where they needed it the most leading to a 45-35 victory.

The Tigers ran into a surprisingly solid defense in Oklahoma State, forcing Daniel and his offense to their first (and second) three-and-out drives this season.

Then, with less 1:41 remaining, the Cowboys forced Daniel into his third interception of the game (after having one the first five games) and ran out the clock.

Despite his struggles last week (where he did also throw for 390 yards), Daniel is still fifth in the nation in passing efficiency, and leads the third-best scoring offense in the nation.

McCoy, to his credit, is fourth in passing efficiency, and leads the fifth-best scoring offense in the nation.

For those just getting into the Big 12, many matchups will set up like this game, with nationally ranked top-10 scoring offenses in Oklahoma State (#2), Oklahoma (#4), Texas Tech (#6), and Kansas State (#8). Scary.

What makes this game unique outside of Daniel facing the team he grew up wanting to play for (well, besides Graham Harrell, Jerrod Johnson, Todd Reesing, etc.), is that the two QBs are No. 1 and No. 2 in the NCAA in completion percentage (McCoy 79.4 percent, Daniel 76 percent).

While this stat may seem kind of insignificant to a few mentioned above, what makes it a bit more special is that, if their efficient pace continues, then they will be No. 1 and No. 2 in the history of Division I-A/FBS football for completion percentage in a season.

It is now very likely that the record will be broken this season, for two main reasons:

1. As going into conference play usually means the dwindling of stats like completion percentage, McCoy completed 23-of-30 against Colorado (77 percent) and 28-of-35 against then No. 1 Oklahoma (80 percent), actually maintaining his percentage through the first part of the Big 12.

Daniel completed 18-of-23 (78 percent) against Nebraska and 39-of-52 (75 percent) in the loss to then No. 17 Oklahoma State, slightly improving his numbers.

2. The fact that the current record for completion percentage is 73.6%. Daniel, who is over 3.4 percent behind McCoy, is 2.4 percent ahead of the current record holder, who happens to be Daunte Culpepper from his days at Central Florida. Incredible.

That fact in itself makes one appreciate both the ability of the two quarterbacks to find the open receivers in spots where they can get it to them, as well as how much the game has changed over the years to where college QBs can master offenses like the spread.

Now for the game itself, look to see how both defenses try to adjust to handle these QBs.

Oklahoma State had some success against Daniel running twists in the defensive line to get through the Tigers' wide splits and deal with the 7-yard drop that Daniel starts from in the shotgun and still put pressure on the QB while keeping seven, or even eight, defenders in pass coverage.

McCoy is much less effective when he struggles to escape the pocket when his main reads are covered, as Oklahoma demonstrated last week as a main cause of sacking him four times.

Missouri has an advantage in the secondary with a ball-hawker like safety William Moore, while Texas has had a more successful pass-rush, second best in the country led by a probable All-American in Brian Orakpo.

Like all close, hard-fought contests in college football, special teams will have an impact. Missouri has one of the best return men in college football in Jeremy Maclin, as he has four kicks and punts returned for TDs in his 20-game career.

Texas' Jordan Shipley made his presence in special teams felt with his first KR TD since his high school days against Oklahoma. The Longhorns could influence this game by pressuring punts, having blocked or deflected three this season, and getting awfully close to two against Oklahoma.

Both kickers are excellent, though the Tigers' Jeff Woffert, who made 29-of-35 field goals his first two seasons, has already missed four this year, including two costly ones against Oklahoma State.

Texas' kicker, Hunter Lawrence, is new to placekicking duties, but has yet to miss in his college career, making all seven of his field goal attempts. 

The top receivers on both sides will get theirs, with Shipley and WR Quan Cosby getting the bulk of the passes from McCoy, and Maclin and TE Chase Coffman getting a lot of looks from Daniel.

The running game could be a factor, as both sides are capable of running the ball (both average over 170 yards per game) but neither are consistent.

Texas had no running luck against Oklahoma in the first half (negative rushing yards), but RB Chris Ogbannaya broke two long runs in the second half on his way to 127 yards in a win.

Missouri couldn't crack the 100-yard mark from the ground against Oklahoma State, and that led to a more one-dimensional offense late in the game that ultimately was unable to come up with a victory. The Tigers' leading rusher, Derrick Washington, only ran for 11 yards in the game.

All in all, the game should be an excellent one, though the hype is not quite as big as it could have been. Still, with two very good teams, and two great QBs, and College Gameday on location, and playing under the lights in 70-degree weather makes for a great night of college football.