Mizzou bowls them over
If you had predicted at the beginning of the 2008 Cotton Bowl that a runningback was going to break the bowl’s records, Tony Temple might not have been the first name to come to mind. If you had said that Mizzou would score 38 points with only 136 yards passing and no touchdown passes from Chase Daniel, people would have thought you were crazy.
That doesn’t make those statements any less true.
A little over a year ago, tailback Temple had an MVP-worthy day at the Sun Bowl but missed out on the honor when Mizzou lost late in the game. Today, as Mizzou beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 38-7, Temple had an even better day and earned the title of offensive player of the game.
“Everybody was talking about Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis,” says quarterback Chase Daniel, who has always called Temple the “catalyst” for the offense. “No disrespect to those guys, but I wouldn’t trade my back for anything.”
Temple broke Dicky Maegle’s Cotton Bowl all-time rushing record with 281 yards — 212 yards more than his average per game this season. He also broke the rushing touchdown record with four. He knows what’s important, though: “We got the W, and that’s what matters the most.”
The offensive line helped by opening gaping holes for Temple. Daniel, Maclin, Rucker and company helped by connecting on passes all year long and teaching defenses to expect a passing attack. Offensive coordinator Dave Christensen helped by setting a game plan that clearly worked.
Temple almost didn’t get the records. In the fourth quarter, he was sidelined with a tweaked hamstring. With the record in sight, though, Temple told Coach Gary Pinkel, “I think I can go.” He went into the game and got a 40-yard touchdown run. Teammates carried him off the field.
Even Arkansas’ Darren McFadden spoke highly of Temple: “Sitting there watching a runningback do that against you, it’s just a hard thing to watch. You’ve got to give him full credit. He came to play.”
Speaking of McFadden, though, let’s not forget the other side of the ball. The Tiger defense held an Arkansas offense that previously averaged 297 yards per game to just 164 yards. Ziggy Hood got to the quarterback twice, once with the help of Lorenzo Williams. William Moore had 13 tackles and returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown, with the help of a tipped pass by Sean Weatherspoon. Moore earned top defensive honors from the Cotton Bowl.
It was supposed to be an offensive shootout. Williams hates when people say that. “Every time somebody said that about a game, we played really well,” he says. Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus told the players today would be a challenge. They accepted, and then some.
At the end of the day, a bunch of extremely happy black-and-gold fans face an extremely pleasant drive or flight home. Coaches and players get to revel in a season in which they won 12 games, something no Mizzou team has done before. They also get to expect a solid ranking at the end of the season after a marquee bowl victory, BCS or no BCS.
Soft-spoken senior tight end Martin Rucker — who was relatively quiet today but was a force this year — offers some parting words on a season that will go down in history: “This is why I came back … I said the guys in this locker room will be a pretty special team this year, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Photos by Rob Hill
Top right, Tony Temple rolled over Arkansas defenders (and, this time, a referee) for 281 yards. Above, Arkansas’ offense got used to swarms of Mizzou defenders.
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