"In all my 38 years of coaching, I've never had a football team that's played as hard and fought so hard to win a game," said Mizzou coach Larry Smith, who was in tears as he jogged off the field. It wasn't so much MU's 42-24 loss to Nebraska but rather the dizzying circumstances that surrounded it that rubbed the team's feelings raw:
The Tigers piled up 492 yards, outgaining Nebraska by 8, and generally held their own against the high-flying 'Huskers. Ultimately, Mizzou's frustration was fueled by the bitter knowledge that two major breakdowns scuttled the Tigers' chances: a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown by Nebraska's Bobby Newcombe late in the first half and a fumble by MU tailback Zack Abron that Nebraska linebacker Jamie Burrow scooped up and took 28 yards for a third- quarter TD.
"Those two plays were the difference in the game," Smith said.
So, Missouri's rugged three-game string of top 25 opponents concluded the way most observers figured it would before it started: with back-to-back-to-back losses.
But the Cornhuskers, favored by 33 1/2 points and playing before their 236th consecutive full house (77,744) over 38 seasons at Memorial Stadium, knew they were in for a tussle when Mizzou went up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Farmer scored from the 1, completing a six-play, 40-yard drive.
Nebraska led 28-14 at the half after outscoring MU 14-7 in the last 3 minutes 34 seconds before the break. But Mizzou had a significant statistical edge at that point and was building confidence as it scuffled with the 'Huskers on relatively equal terms.
"We just kept fighting and fighting," said multi-threat wideout Justin Gage, who had 125 receiving yards, completed a trick-play pass to Farmer for 35 yards and pounced on an MU fumble that kept a scoring drive going. "Everybody was making big plays. We just played together as a team."
Missouri closed to 28-21 on a stunningly efficient five- play, 75-yard march early in the second half. Abron scored around right end from 13 yards. But he gave back those points when he fumbled on MU's next series and Burrow scored to make it 35-21.
Farmer was hurt when he was tackled from behind after scrambling up the middle for 33 yards, giving the Tigers a first down at the Nebraska 13-yard line. Brad Hammerich booted a 27-yard field goal that trimmed the Cornhuskers' lead to 35-24, but Mizzou now was in the hands of a redshirt freshman quarterback, Darius Outlaw, who had experienced only a handful of snaps this season.
"I was a little nervous when I first got in there," Outlaw acknowledged. But his play reflected little of his trepidation: Outlaw hit on five of 11 passes for 34 yards, with one interception, and ran twice for 28 yards.
"He's got loads of talent," said Farmer, who threw for 214 yards and a 48-yard touchdown to Gage, and ran nine times for 83 yards and a TD. "He's going to come through for us, I know he will."
Outlaw will have to mature quickly if the Tigers are to salvage a winning season. Although the most difficult part of the schedule is completed, Mizzou still faces ranked outfits Texas and Kansas State in its last seven weeks.
Smith, though, said he was certain that after the Tigers' stout effort Saturday night under daunting conditions, his outfit is better prepared for the challenge that lies ahead.
"We're beat up and we're hurt. We lost two of our key players," a red-eyed Smith said. "But we learned to fight tonight. We learned to play hard. As I told them after the game, if we take that into every game we have this year and play that way, we're going to win a heck of a lot of football games. I really believe that."
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