Instant Analysis: Illinois-Missouri

Before he got dinged up in the fourth quarter, Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin was able to provide the key turning point for his team in a scintillating St. Louis showdown.

The sixth-ranked Tigers proved to be superior to the 20th-ranked Illini over the course of 60 minutes, but in order for Gary Pinkel’s team to prevail in this contest, the boys from the Big 12 needed a jolt in a moment of uncertainty.

Just over 20 minutes into the proceedings, Chase Daniel—Missouri’s Heisman-caliber quarterback—threw a shocking interception that turned into a pick-six and a 13-10 Illinois lead. After 20 minutes of controlling the line of scrimmage, the Tigers stood on the wrong side of the scoreboard because of two titanic turnovers: this pick-six from Daniel’s arm, and a fumble on a play that had gained a first down inside the Illini 15. Instead of leading 17-6, Missouri trailed by a field goal.

When a group of young collegiate athletes plays well but has nothing to show for it, heads can drop. Shoulders can sag. Confidence—under such circumstances—has been known to evaporate. Effort level (like pad level) has been known to deteriorate for a football family. Missouri wound up scoring over 50 points against Illinois on Saturday night, but after that paralyzing pick-six early in the second quarter, there was no way to know how well the Tigers would respond. They were in a position of difficulty, and whenever a game isn’t flowing in the right direction, a ballclub needs a pick-me-up to regain the momentum that produces superior performance. No sport on earth requires confidence more than big-time college football, and when Missouri fell behind the boys from Champaign, the Big 12 North favorites had to get a thunderbolt to erase the bad mojo from their sideline.

It was at this very point that Mr. Maclin—pre-injury—rose to meet the moment.

With a few slight jukes and shimmies, and a lot of explosively straightforward speed, Maclin took the ensuing Illinois kickoff 99 yards to paydirt. The bitter taste of trailing a game despite winning the battle of the trenches was immediately expunged from the Missouri mindset, and unsurprisingly, the Tigers—newly liberated by their ability to answer the Illinois touchdown—loosened up as the second quarter continued. Playing with increased fearlessness and improved precision, the Tiger offense—no longer pressing or feeling burdened by the occasion—reeled off four touchdowns in the game’s next 21 minutes, and by that time, Missouri had accumulated a 45-20 bulge. The Illini and quarterback Juice Williams responded valiantly, cutting the lead to 45-35 and driving deep into Missouri territory, but the Tigers’ defense came up with a crucial sack to blunt the last Illinois charge, and the outcome was settled.

College football fans were able to see Missouri’s offense shift into high gear in the middle third of this consequential collision, but in order for the Tigers to unleash their arsenal on the Illini’s overmatched defense, someone had to bring confidence back to the Missouri huddle. Jeremy Maclin initiated that process, and that’s why his kick return represented, by far, the biggest single play of Saturday night’s game.

In a sport where emotions are as central to a game’s outcome as they are volatile, Maclin did more than anyone else to ensure that Missouri had the better of the emotional battle. If the Tigers find themselves in the thick of the national title race at the end of the 2008 season, they’ll look back on “Maclin’s March” as a milestone moment in the life and history of Missouri football.