Instant Analysis: Missouri-Kansas

In one of the unlikeliest late-season showdowns in college football’s 138-year history, the Missouri Tigers used a combination of athleticism and experience to overcome Kansas’ blend of technique and precision. While national championship dreams endure for Gary Pinkel’s program, the immediate significance of tonight’s triumph is that the Tigers claimed their first Big XII North Division title.

A week of hype before the upcoming Big XII Championship Game against Oklahoma is just about to commence, but pardon the crew from Columbia if it stops to savor a significant accomplishment and revel in the thrill of Saturday night’s victory over the gallant but inferior Jayhawks. Yes, Missouri knocked off the one remaining undefeated BCS conference team in college football. Sure, the Tigers earned the right to play for a spot in the BCS title game in New Orleans. Of course, Pinkel’s pupils won the biggest and baddest brawl in the history of the game known—for good reason—as the Border War. These and other realities will be talked about a lot in the next several days, before the Tigers—soon to be No. 2 in the next-to-last BCS standings of the year—attempt to gain revenge against the reigning power of the Big XII.

However, for all that still lies ahead for Missouri, Saturday night’s jolting of the Jayhawks in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium was significant simply because it validated a coach and a program in a larger historical sense.

To appreciate where the Missouri Tigers find themselves right now, one has to remember that for the past several years, UM football was a study in underachieving. With an assortment of special skill people and an abundance of talent, the Tigers—under Pinkel—consistently found ways to lose big games. Untimely turnovers in money situations led previous Missouri teams to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Even when the Big XII North was down, the Tigers—for all their riches and resources—were unable to snag a single division crown. For a team from the Show Me State, the mandate was all too clear: Gary Pinkel and his players needed to hunker down and get the job done one of these years. The natives were growing restless in the shadows of Farout Field, and many national commentators felt that Pinkel deserved a pink slip.

How sweetly and supremely satisfying it must be, then, for Missouri—in the immediate aftermath of this conquest of Kansas—to look down on the rest of its division, a champion at last and a major player on the national scene. Gary Pinkel experienced more than his fair share of wilderness moments, but the persistent coach finally has his team in the middle of the public spotlight. The long and difficult journey undertaken by Missouri football still has to wind its way through San Antonio next week for that revenge game against the Sooners, a longtime nemesis; however, one should allow the Tigers the satisfaction of basking in the glow of a division championship. Even if the Tigers were to fall short in the Big XII title tilt, this season will always remain a resounding success. The 2007 campaign would represent Missouri’s finest year of football since Dan Devine led the Tigers to a 9-2 record and an Orange Bowl appearance in 1969.

Just how did Missouri rise to match the moment in this border battle with Kansas? The answer was surprisingly simple: Pinkel and offensive coordinator Dave Christensen took what the Jayhawks’ defense gave them all night long.

The Tigers used a few fancy plays during the evening at Arrowhead, but for the most part, Missouri’s offense—led by quarterback Chase Daniel, who surely secured a plane ticket to New York after a masterful performance—didn’t need to overthink. Pinkel and Christensen made sure that Daniel didn’t get too cute, as the Tigers repeatedly threw eight-yard passes that Kansas—employing soft coverage on the corners—could never fully defend. Missouri continued to play pitch and catch throughout the night, while mixing in a few change-of-pace runs with tailback Tony Temple. The Jayhawks—with good schooling but inadequate athletes—could never match up with Missouri’s dominant receivers. Danario Alexander was a man among boys for Missouri, while Tiger teammate Jeremy Maclin and several other pass catchers proved to be similarly unstoppable for the entire duration of the game. With superior speed and size on the edges, the Tigers patiently imposed their will on the proceedings, and while the final score says that Missouri won by eight points, the larger reality is that Kansas never truly threatened its more experienced big-game opponent.

Pinkel and his staff deserve an enormous amount of credit not just for engineering a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of Missouri football, but for their performance in this game from a play-calling standpoint. Many offensive coordinators will use elaborate plans of attack instead of doing what works, over and over again. Saturday night in Kansas City, Pinkel and his assistants went back to the well with the same small package of plays, and the Jayhawks never had an answer. With smart yet simple decision making from their coaching staff, the Tigers triumphed in a titanic tussle that has them on the doorstep of even bigger breakthroughs.

Noble in defeat, Kansas played hard until the final second, scratching and clawing to turn a three-touchdown deficit into a six-point game with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. Mark Mangino’s team deserves considerable admiration not just for the 11-1 season that will live forever in Lawrence, but for contesting this game to its bitter end. With that said, however, a fighting spirit can only gain so much in a championship football game. Winning teams need the best players in addition to self-belief, and on Saturday night, the superior players wore white shirts and gold pants. The men in blue jerseys encountered a team that was simply superior across the board. That’s why a first-ever division title has finally come to Columbia.

Missouri certainly has bigger battles ahead, but for one night, all that mattered to a victorious ballclub and a thoroughly vindicated coach was the fact that a long and difficult pursuit of a division flag finally ended in glory for the Tigers. A long-suffering program put its demons to rest, as an elite quarterback managed to Chase down a championship. Oklahoma offers a huge challenge to Missouri, but frankly, the Sooners can wait. Gary Pinkel and everyone in the Missouri family will want to celebrate for the next 24 hours. After this impressive performance against Kansas, one would like to think the Tigers have earned the right. The party’s just starting for the 2007 Big XII North Division Champions.