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No. 9 Mizzou Outlasts No. 13 OSU 41-31 in Cotton Bowl
Missouri got the big plays it needed at the end of the Cotton Bowl to beat an old rival.
Henry
Josey ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 16-yarder with
3:08 left, and Shane Ray returned a fumbled 73 yards for a touchdown
after that, and the No. 9 Tigers beat No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-31 to
win the 78th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday night.
The
former Big 12 and Big Eight rivals traded points on six consecutive
possessions in the fourth quarter, until Oklahoma State quarterback
Clint Chelf was sacked and fumbled with a minute left. Ray picked up
the ball and rumbled 73 yards down the sideline in front of the stunned
Cowboys bench to score.
"All the drama you don't want as a coach
in the fourth quarter," Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said. "We had a lot of
adversity, and our team handled the adversity well and made the plays
we needed to win. I wanted that trophy really bad, wanted it bad for
them."
SEC East champion Missouri (12-2) matched its school
record for victories, giving the SEC its 10th win in the last 11 Cotton
Bowls, all against the Big 12.
Josey's go-ahead TD came a play after James Franklin's 27-yard pass to Dorial Green-Beckham to convert third-and-9.
Ray
had been dragged into the end zone by Desmond Roland when the Oklahoma
State running back bulled through the line for a 2-yard TD run with 5
minutes left to give the Cowboys their only lead of the night. Ray hit
him immediately at the line, but couldn't keep Roland from scoring.
Chelf
threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions,
completing 33 of 57 passes. He also ran 10 times for 48 yards,
including a 23-yard run to convert third-and-10 only a few plays before
he was sacked by All-SEC defensive end Michael Sam sacked Chelf and
knocked the ball loose.
That gave Sam 11 1/2 sacks, the most in the SEC and matching a school record set by Aldon Smith in 2009.
Missouri
wrapped up its second SEC season since leaving the Big 12. The Tigers
debuted in their new league with a losing season, but made it to the
SEC championship game in year two before losing to No. 2 Auburn.
"What
a great way to finish the season," said Pinkel, whose 102nd victory in
his 13th season snapped a tie with Don Faurot for the most in school
history.
With the game tied, Franklin appeared to throw his
second interception with 9 minutes left. But with Tyler Patmon running
40 yards to the end zone for an apparent go-ahead touchdown, a flag was
thrown for pass interference and Mizzou kept the ball. The Tigers
settled for Andrew Baggett's 46-yard field goal.
"I felt as if
both guys were competing for the ball," Cowboys linebacker Shaun Lewis
said. "It's unfortunate. That play would have turned the game."
Oklahoma
State coach Mike Gundy said he was told only that Patmon interfered and
didn't really get an explanation about the penalty from the referees.
"I didn't see it. I just saw two guys competing for the ball," Gundy said.
Oklahoma
State (10-3) then went 75 yards for its only lead, the longest play on
the drive being when Tracy Moore was fully extended and lunging forward
when he caught a 41-yard pass to the Tigers 28.
"It's hard on our team," Gundy said. "That's a very, very disappointed locker room right now."
The
Cowboys were trying to win 11 games for the third time in four seasons.
Before Mike Gundy became the coach in 2005, the Cowboys had never won
11 games.
Missouri trailed 17-7 at halftime before getting even after the two fumbles by Franklin.
That
sequence actually began when Cowboys quarterback Clint Chelf was picked
off by Braylon Webb. But Mizzou gave the ball back on the next play
when Franklin fumbled on a botched handoff, with James Castleman
recovered at the Tigers 33.
Chelf threw a 21-yard TD pass to Jhajuan Seales with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
Early
in the fourth quarter, Franklin's pitch was well behind Josey, and
recovered by Daytawion Lowe at the Tigers 11. Oklahoma State had to
settle for a tying 32-yard field goal by Ben Grogan, making up for an
earlier miss.
Grogan had a 34-yard field goal attempt ricochet off the top of the right upright early in the second quarter.
Missouri
backup quarterback Maty Mauk, who filled in for Franklin when he was
hurt, then trotted on the field with the Tigers offense for the first
time. The freshman accounted for 105 yards on the drive, including runs
of 35 and 34 yards before a 24-yard TD pass to Marcus Lucas.
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