Tigers close regular season against arch rival Kansas
It’s
the game that many Mizzou fans circle on their calendar before the
season starts, and it’s finally here – Mizzou vs. Kansas, the nation’s
2nd-most played rivalry and one of the most hotly-contested rivalries
in all of sport. This year’s edition will take place Saturday
afternoon in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, with kickoff set for 2:30
p.m. FOX Sports Net will televise the game. Mizzou
is riding high, coming off of a 31-27 comeback win last Saturday at
Texas Tech that gave the Tigers consecutive wins for the first time in
2011. The Red Raiders took control early on, as they forged a
14-0 lead after one quarter, and they still held a 27-17 edge heading
into the 4th quarter. The
Tigers dug in, however, and posted the 3rd-largest 4th-quarter comeback
win in school history, as QB James Franklin threw for one score in the
final period,and ran for the game-winner on a 9-yard keeper with 2:22
left. Franklin’s run stood up as the winning points, when the
Tiger defense made a goalline stand in the closing seconds,
intercepting Tech QB Seth Doege at the MU 4-yardline with just :32
seconds left in the game. The
win made Mizzou bowl eligible for the 7th-straight season, extending
its school-record streak. Of course, a 7-5 bowl record is much
more attractive to prospective bowl committees, so the Tigers certainly
have extra incentive to come out on top Saturday, in addition to the
natural rivalry with KU. Kansas
comes into Saturday’s Border Showdown looking to break a nine-game
losing skid. Since starting the season 2-0 under 2nd-year Head
Coach Turner Gill, the Jayhawks have dropped their last nine games by
an average margin of 29.3 points a contest. Kansas
is coming off a 61-7 loss last Saturday at Texas A&M, but they had
a pair of wins barely get away the previous two weeks, as they dropped
a 13-10 heartbreaker at Iowa State three weeks ago, followed by a 31-30
overtime home loss to Baylor two weeks ago.
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