Q & A: Gary Pinkel, Missouri

CFI: The fact that the Washington job was out there and you decided to sign a long-term deal…are you a Tiger for life now?

PINKEL: Yeah, as long as they want me – you know in our business they determine how long they want you – so I'm excited about being here and continuing to build. You're always trying to get better and I'm excited about doing that.

CFI: Last season was the first time Missouri advanced to the Big 12 Championship game. What does it mean to do it two years in a row?

PINKEL: I think there is a degree of consistency that was our goal from the beginning. We had a five-point loss and a three-point loss during the season. When you’re playing at the highest level like a year ago we found ways to win those games and we were 11-1, and now we're 9-3. There were some disappointments, but there always are when you look back at games. Our goal was to get the division and to have a chance to compete for the Championship.

CFI: What is the status of Chase Coffman?

PINKEL: Well hopefully he is going to play…he played last week. He was probably about 80 percent. But I'll tell you, we put him in at critical situations and he made some great plays for our football team. He's just a great player. It's very unfortunate he's got this injury to deal with. When he's at 100 percent he's one of the best players in the nation. He is working through it, he is at practice, he's been practicing this week and doing good. He'll certainly play…we'll see how much, I don't know how much he'll play. But he will definitely play in the game.

CFI: Coming off a loss to your rival…does it make any harder to prepare for this game?

PINKEL: I talked to my team the other day, the season is over. We talked about it on Sunday – there are always things you learn. We just made a lot of mistakes in that game, really overcame most of them at the end and almost had a chance to win. I'm the head football coach here and was very disappointed with the way we played. That’s not taking anything away from Kansas, they deserved to win. The game is over, the season is over and we accomplished our goal. Now, let's focus on playing one of, if not the, best teams in the country.

CFI: What can you tell us about this Oklahoma team you’re about to face?

PINKEL: They're real good. They are a very good defensive football team. They're second in the nation in turnover margin and you add that to being good athletes, and that means they're not beating themselves, which is a huge advantage. Offensively they are probably as potent a team as I have ever seen. They're playing at a very high level. Playing a game like this, it's about the kicking game, it's about turnovers, protecting the ball and getting turnovers on a team who has not done that that much. It's about our defense, but it's also about our offense. If you look at the one game that they lost to Texas, a great Texas team that is one of the top teams in the nation, what they did was every time Oklahoma scored Texas matched it the entire game. They eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter so this isn't just about the defense where the defense has to contain these guys. There hasn’t been a defense that’s been able to stop these guys…but it is about trying to limit big plays and getting in long fields. The other side of that is your offense. You're going to have to play well against them, point-wise. You have to do that if you want to stay in the game.

CFI: Have you ever seen a team so explosive and at the same time sound in protecting the football?

PINKEL: I think you model that a little bit. That is how I think of our numbers, interception-wise, turnover wise we are similar to them last year. The last couple times we have played them, last year we played them in the regular season and were leading in the fourth quarter then we made some turnovers. One of them was a coaching error, sending in the wrong play. It was 14-14 last year in the championship game, then we turned the ball over in the third quarter. They say they caused them, which they did…but my standpoint is you got to protect the football. Their offense is very explosive. Like everyone in our league, they run a version of the spread and they do a great job tempo-wise, so it's a challenge.

Photo Credit: Mizzou Media Relations

LIVE! CFI Radio: THE TAILGATE Show

THE TAILGATE SHOW - FRIDAY DECEMBER 5, 2008

***Click to Listen to THE TAILGATE Show***

5:00 - 7:00 PM EASTERN

Game of the Week:
#4 Florida vs. #1 Alabama

HC GARY PINKEL of Missouri, who is playing in Big 12 Championship Game, HC TOM O'BRIEN of NC State, who has won 4 in row to become bowl eligible, HC SKIP HOLTZ of East Carolina, who is playing in the Conference USA Championship Game, DE/OLB CLAY MATTHEWS of USC, who can clinch a Rose Bowl appearance with a win over UCLA and RB MIQUALE LEWIS of 12-0 Ball St., who has rushed for 1,570 yards and a school record 20 TDs. They play in the MAC Championship game.

Photo Credit: East Carolina University Athletic Media Relations

Chase Daniel named O'Brien Quarterback of the Week

FORT WORTH, Texas (September 22, 2008) - The Davey O'Brien Foundation has named Chase Daniel of the University of Missouri the O'Brien Quarterback of the Week for week four. Daniel was also the O'Brien Quarterback of the Week for week three and now becomes the first player to receive this honor in back-to-back weeks.

Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel gave complementary remarks about his senior quarterback in post game comments, "He made some outstanding plays. That guy brings his 'A' game every time he plays."

Daniel's command of the Mizzou offense led them to a 42-21 victory over the Buffalo Bulls last Saturday. The Tigers had to fight to claim this victory and keep their undefeated status. Daniel overcame this early season challenge with a near-perfect performance.

"You look at everything we have done to this game and there's been no adversity at all," Daniel said in post game comments. "We're not going to go through the season without adversity, and we were able to face it today."

In addition to throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions, Daniel passed for a career high of 439 yards while completing 36 of 43 passes, setting a new school completion percentage record of 83.7%. He also broke a Big 12 record during Saturday's game with 20 consecutive completions in a single game. The previous record of 18 was held by Iowa State's Seneca Wallace (2001) and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford (2007). In addition to receiving this weekly O'Brien honor, Daniel's record-setting performance earned him the title of Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.

The six-foot senior is now ranked fourth nationally in pass efficiency (193.39) and total offense (371.50 ypg). Daniel and the Tigers will utilize their upcoming bye week to turn their focus towards their match-up against Big 12 North rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, on October 4.

Prior to enrolling at Missouri, Daniel established his offensive prowess while the starting quarterback for the Southlake Carroll Dragons. He compiled more than 11,000 yards in total offense and 127 total touchdowns in his two seasons as a starter for the Dragons, achieving an overall record of 31-1.

The O'Brien Quarterback of the Week is determined by a subset of the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee. The subset of the committee is chaired by Verne Lundquist (CBS Sports) and consists of Dennis Dodd (CBS SportsLine), Ivan Maisel (espn.com), Joe Schad (ESPN/ABC), Dick Weiss (New York Daily News) and Kelly Whiteside (USA Today). This subset will select the quarterback of the week based on their performance during the prior weekend's game, taking into consideration individual statistics, contribution to team performance, strength of opponent, etc.

The O'Brien honors the nation's best college quarterback of the year. Currently all 119 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterbacks are candidates for the award until Semifinalists are announced on October 27. Finalists will be announced November 24. The 2008 Winner will be announced December 11.

About The O'Brien Fan Vote
Fans can now register and vote for The O'Brien Fan Vote online at www.VoteOBrien.org to show their support for their favorite college quarterback. Fans will be able to choose from any of the 119 FBS quarterbacks beginning on Tuesday, September 2, leaving room for the possibility of a quarterback who is not on the Watch List to win the award. The top three quarterbacks who garner the most votes will be added to The O'Brien Semifinalist List, and the Fan Vote will then count as 5% in determining the Finalists and Winner. The 2008 Winner will be announced during The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show airing December 11 on ESPN. The recipient will be honored February 16, 2009, at the 32nd Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Fans can also download an interactive "widget" at www.DaveyOBrien.org/FAN/fan_widgets.asp featuring a voting link and the ability to post and share on Web sites, social networks and blogs.

CFI RANKINGS: #7 MISSOURI TIGERS

2007 RECORD: 12-2; BIG 12: 7-1
Won Cotton Bowl vs. Arkansas 38-7
LOCATION: Columbia, Missouri
STADIUM: Memorial Stadium (68,349)
HEAD COACH: Gary Pinkel
OVERALL: 122-74-3 (17 seasons)
AT MISSOURI: 49-37 (7 seasons)

No one wanted to play the Tigers in their bowl game last season. Missouri was No. 7 in both human polls and No. 6 in the BCS Standings, but failed to make a BCS Bowl. The Tigers instead saw Kansas—a team Mizzou beat 36-28 to win the Big 12 North—somehow get an invite to one of the coveted contests. It was as if the Tigers were punished for winning their division and having to play the Oklahoma Sooners a second time (an opponent Kansas was able to avoid). Not to take anything away from KU, but Mizzou should have been in one of those games and they let the nation know in the Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, they were in the way.

WHEN THE TIGERS HAVE THE BALL

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Dave Christenson (8th Season)
OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING: 6
KEY LOSSES: Martin Rucker, Tony Temple, Will Franklin, Adam Spieker, Tyler Luellen

Chase Daniel is the triggerman of the offense that took hold of the Midwest last season to the tune of 12 wins. If you’re casting for a quarterback, Daniel may not be your first choice. However, if your objective is to win football games, then Daniel is your man—he is the best quarterback in a conference stacked with stellar signal callers. Most impressive among Daniel’s across the board, improvement last season was the 4.7 percent jump in his completion percentage from an already solid 63.5 percent. Daniel manages to accomplish that while throwing for 779 more yards—he wasn’t dinking and dunking to increase his percentage. Part of the reason for his increased numbers could have been the addition of freshman sensation WR Jeremy Maclin, an all-purpose maven. Maclin has breakaway speed with ankle-breaking moves in the open field. He’s a guy who needs to touch the football as much as possible…good things will happen. They lose Martin Rucker, but return TE Chase Coffman who could put up the best numbers of any tight end in the nation. When WR Danario Alexander returns from injury it will make them even more explosive. Replacing a left tackle and center in the spread offense is not easy, but do not expect a drop off in their line play, as three starters return and the new additions have experience and promise. The same can be said for Tony Temple’s replacements, with senior Jimmy Jackson providing experience and sophomore Derrick Washington the promise.

TOP PROSPECTS: 1) WR Jeremy Maclin (SO), 2) TE Chase Coffman (SR)

WHEN THE OTHER TEAM HAS THE BALL

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Matt Eberflus (8th Season)
DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING: 9
KEY LOSSES: Lorenzo Williams, Cornelius Brown, Darnell Terrell

The Tigers are not one-dimensional by any means. Mizzou returns three senior starters along the line in DE Stryker Sulak, DE Tommy Chavis and DT Ziggy Hood. Sulak has been the most productive, but expect Hood to have a big senior campaign as well. In addition to the seniors, there are several others expected to contribute. At linebacker, top tackler junior Sean Weatherspoon leads the front seven, with Brock Christopher another solid performer from the second level. Leading the last line of defense is free safety extraordinaire William Moore, a tremendous athlete with the size and speed to do it all. Moore was their second leading tackler—his many stops include seven in the offensive backfield—and his eight interceptions tied for the national lead. Another player to keep a close eye on is sophomore CB Carl Gettis, who made 10 starts as a true freshman. With 10 players back who started in their big Cotton Bowl win, the defense should be able to hold their own.

TOP PROSPECTS: 1) FS William Moore (SR), 2) DT Ziggy Hood (SR)

THE SCHEDULE

The first thing that pops out about the 2008 schedule for the Missouri Tigers is: no Oklahoma. Of course they would sign today for a guarantee to face the Sooners this season because in order to play OU, the Tigers would be playing in their second straight Big 12 Championship game. But before they can worry about the conference title, Mizzou starts off with “Arch” rival Illinois in what should be a nip-and-tuck battle. Once they do get into conference play, the Tigers face two key games: First, a trip to Austin with the ‘Horns replacing the Sooners on the docket and second, their regular season finale against their other border rival Kansas, in what again could be a battle for the North division.

PIVOTAL POINT

Expectations: There is very little to pick apart in terms of personnel or a weakness that could hold them back, but how will they handle the expectations? Remember, up until last season Pinkel’s Tigers have not handled success very well. In 2006, they started the season 6-0 and reached No. 19 in the polls…only to drop four of the next five and finish the season 8-5. In 2005, the Tigers were 5-2 (one of their losses was to No. 2 Texas) but lost three of their last four regular season games. The last time Missouri started a season ranked? They opened up 2004 ranked No. 18 in the country…and proceeded to lose their second game of the season to Troy 24-14. Mizzou bounced back to get to 4-1…before dropping five consecutive contests and missing a bowl altogether. The talent is there, but it is hard, if not impossible, to predict how a team handles elevated expectations for the first time.

CFI FINAL ANALYSIS

Raised expectations aside, the 2008 Missouri Tigers should be just fine. There is a reason they are a pre-season top ten team—they have the players. With Daniel triggering the offense and Moore roaming in the defensive backfield, the Tigers should turn in another strong season. Will they win 12 games or the Big 12? That’s hard to say, but they will reach double digits in wins for a second straight season, as well as take the North Division. They will probably fall short of capturing the conference title, but a BCS Bowl could be in the cards.

Photo Credit: Mizzou Media Relations