Sports
Mizzou’s on the move
Alex Jahncke
Mar 18, 2008 - 12:14:24 PM

Coming off a tough loss the Missouri Tigers will try to end their season on a high note. It is a disappointing ending to a season which actually proved to be outstanding. The Tigers were one win away from clinching the bid to the BCS title game. They lost it in a much anticipated game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Going into the game as underdogs despite being ranked number one in the nation, Mizzou lost it 38-17.
“I was disappointed we did not make it further, but I am looking forward to next year and I hope we play and beat Ohio State (ha ha Mrs. Henry),” said Dan Murphy, English teacher who graduated from Mizzou in __.
Their record is 11-2 with both losses coming from the Sooners. Not only did they fail to make it to the title game, but also to any one of the other four BCS games. They will, however, be playing in the AT&T Cotton Bowl against Arkansas. This has enraged many Mizzou fans considering the circumstances. First, the BCS title game will be played between Ohio State and LSU. Many BCS fans don’t think Ohio should have made it because they played only one current top 25 team all year which was Illinois, and they lost where Mizzou beat them in the first game of the season. Next is Kansas making it to the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech, puzzling many fans because Mizzou beat Kansas when they were ranked number one.
“The Cotton bowl is not a bad bowl. It is traditionally one of the better non BCS bowls. It will actually work out for us because it is played in Dallas which is where we do a lot of our recruiting. It is more convenient so the recruits don’t have to travel far to see one of our games. Also it will be nice to see two heisman contenders played each other such as Chase Daniel and Darren Mcfadden,” said Eric Means, History teacher who graduated from Mizzou in 1995, 1998.
Something many agree on is that Mizzou would never have been so dominant had it not been for quarterback Chase Daniel. Daniel was a vital part of the offence, completing 372 of his 534 passes for 4,170 yards. His Heisman contending season was just what Mizzou needed to have their best season in school history.
“ I am impressed with how he [Daniel] did this year. I think he went above and beyond. Even though we did not make it all the way he still did a great job,” said Brandy Taylor, English teacher who graduated from Mizzou in 2005.
The only other quarterback that came close to Daniel’s hype was Tim Tebow from the Florida Gators. Tebow ended up winning the heisman.
A few familiar players were wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who attended Kirkwood High School, and running back Tony Temple. Temple’s success is kind of bittersweet for Lindbergh. In the 02-03 season the Flyers made it to the Show Me bowl against Rockhurst High School. Temple was the running back and he made a statement. He had 20 rushes for 150 yards and three touchdowns.
Thankfully for Mizzou, Daniel is only a junior. He has expressed no interest in moving into the NFL next year. Also Maclin is only a freshman; therefore he will be a force to be reckoned with, considering he has a year of college football under his belt. As for Temple, who is a senior that will be graduating, Mizzou must look to junior  Jimmy Jackson to take care of the ball. Jackson had 62 rushes for 292 yards and seven touchdowns. Three touchdowns came in his biggest game against Texas Tech.
While all of these players may have the stats, they would have never made it  this far had it not been for the Offensive-line.
The line consist of right tackle Dain Wise, right guard Kurtis Gregory, center Adam Spieker, left guard Ryan Madison and left tackle Tyler Luellen. Tightend Martin Rucker also has played a huge role this year. He is projected to be drafted in the second round  in next years NFL draft. Spieker has started every game of his career and shares the record for most career starts in Mizzou history with Rucker. Mizzou will be losing half of the o-line next year. This will be a major blow, but they are confident that the underclassmen will pull through.

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