The second half started with an apparent bang. Mizzou caught the Beavers off guard with an onside kick and recovered. But the officials gathered together and ruled that the kick did not travel the necessary 10 yards.
Oregon State started the possession with a 28-yard run from Bernard. A few plays later the Beavers had the ball third-and-eight on the Tigers 11. Like clockwork, Moore threw his second touchdown pass of the game. This time it was to Newton, who used his body to shield David Overstreet from the ball. Just like that, OSU took the lead 21-17. DRIVE SUMMARY: 4 plays, 41 yards, 1:34.
The Tigers returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 28. The drive started well with Coffman catching a 16-yard pass from Daniel for a first down. The completion put Daniel over the 200-yard mark for the game. A penalty on Rucker forced the Tigers into a second-and-21. Daniel rushed for a yard on the next play, and was able to find Ekwerekwu on the next play for a 37-yard completion and first down. The Tigers returned to the trickery it’d been employing all game, although unsuccessfully. Daniel dropped back out of the shotgun and hit Coffman on a bubble screen, Coffman then looked downfield and hit Saunders for a 29-yard touchdown pass. DRIVE SUMMARY: 5 plays, 71 yards, 2:12.
Mizzou almost had another turnover on OSU’s next possession. Moore threw an interception to Brandon Massey, but he fumbled it and Oregon State recovered. Fortunately for Mizzuo, the defense forced three straight incomplete passes and Oregon State was forced to punt.
Facing the worst starting field position of the game, Mizzou took over on their own 11. They were unable to move the ball very far and punted from the 37.
Mizzou’s offense seemed to be stuck in neutral. That was until Temple took a delayed handoff and raced 65 yards pass the Beavers defense for a score and extending its lead to 31-21. DRIVE SUMMARY: 2 plays, 65 yards, :31.
Oregon State seemed to lose itself offensively on its next possession. Yvenson Bernard was dropped for a loss of 12 on second-and-nine. He almost made it a moot point with pickup of 18 on the next play, but the Beavers were still short of the first down. Missouri definitely appears to have all the momentum at this point. Mizzou’s defense has done a decent job of containing Bernard so far.
The third quarter ends with Mizzou leading 31-21.
