It’s not how you start but how you finish that matters most. Mizzou found out the hard way as it let a late 14 point lead slip away against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

With 6:02 left in the game, Mizzou had the ball on its own 20 and immediately tried to run out the clock. Oregon State still had all three of its timeouts, but only used one of them as it put the weight of the game on the shoulders of its defense. Mizzou was unable to drain out the clock and was forced to punt with 1:41 left in regulation.

Sammie Stroughter (8 rec, 88 yds, 1 td) picked up some excellent blocking and was able to return the punt 40 yards to the Beavers 46. Oregon State picked up a first down on its first play from scrimmage, a dump off pass from Matt Moore (31-of-54, 357 yds, 4 td, 1 int) to Yvenson Bernard (23 car, 96 yds,) that picked up 13 yards. Dedrick Harrington had a chance to ice the game for the Tigers but dropped an interception that hit him right between the numbers. OSU made him pay. The Beavers were forced into a crucial fourth-and-three, but was able to convert as Moore found Stroughter for a first down pick up and the Beavers had new life. Just a couple plays later, Moore found tight end Joe Newton in the end zone from 14-yards out and pulling the Beavers within one point. Beavers head coach Mike Riley must’ve been ready to go home because he opted to attempt the 2-point conversion. Bernard got the call out of the backfield and converted right up the middle giving OSU a 39-38 victory.

Mizzou tried to reenact “The Play” from Cal vs. Stanford in 1982, but an illegal forward pass call ended the Tigers hopes.

The Tigers stormed out of the gates early scoring on its opening possession. Tony Temple (20 car, 195 yds, 2 td) gave Mizzou a 7-0 lead racing right, then cutting back to his left and scampering into the end zone from seven yards out. Temple’s run capped an 80-yard drive that took 10 plays and 3:30.

Oregon State showed some resolve on its ensuing possession. As Missouri expected, the Beavers showed a steady dose of Bernard. The Pac-10’s second leading rusher carried the ball four times for 20 yards constantly putting the Beavers in manageable third down situations. Moore had two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, but was able to complete 4-of-7 for 44 yards. OSU drove 80 yards on their first possession as well, tying the game 7-7 on a 13-yard scoring strike from Moore to Stroughter for his fifth touchdown reception of the year.

The Tigers were unable to get anything going on their next drive. Martin Rucker had a chance to make a big play, but came up short. Chase Daniel (16-of-29, 342 yds, 2 td) spotted Rucker deep down the right sideline but Rucker was unable to haul in the catch as he had a step on the defender. Temple took a handoff up the middle for a short gain on second down. A high snap on the next play was fumbled and recovered by Daniel, and the Tigers were forced to punt.

Stroughter returned the punt to the Mizzou 40. Bernard gained a yard on the first play. He was able to find a little more daylight picking up the first down on the next play with a gain of nine. On first-and-10, Moore escaped some light pressure to hit Ruben Jackson for another first down. After two short runs by Bernard, OSU was faced with third-and-seven. Coming out of a timeout, Moore scrambled to his right before hitting Stroughter a yard short of the first down. OSU coach Mike Riley opted to go for it on fourth down handing it off the Bernard who picked up the first down before being tackled on the one-yard line. Moore sneaked the ball past the goal line for the Beavers second touchdown of the quarter and giving them a 14-7 lead.

Jeff Wolfert brought Mizzou within 14-10 on a 30-yard field goal. It didn’t take Mizzou much time to score again. The Tigers faced a third-and-6 when Daniel spotted a wide open Danario Alexander sprinting down the right side of the field. Daniel launched a pass Alexander’s way and connected for a 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown strike giving Mizzou the lead 17-14. The score remained 17-14 going into halftime.

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 (7 rec, 86 yds, 2 td), who used his body to shield David Overstreet from the ball. Just like that, OSU took the lead 21-17.

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.

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.

Alexis Cerna added a 29-yard field goal for OSU closing the gap to 31-24. But Mizzou didn’t waste any time answering the score. Daniel connected with Coffman for an 18-yard scoring strike and a 38-24 lead.

Oregon State cut into the Mizzou lead with a short touchdown pass from Moore to Bernard that made it 38-31.

Related web sites:
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Oregon State started the fourth quarter with the ball on Mizzou’s 29 trailing 31-21. So far in the game, the Tigers have outgained the Beavers 403-278 in total yardage. OSU was unable to punch the ball into the end zone but did get a 29-yard field goal from Alexis Serna making it 31-24 Mizzou. DRIVE SUMMARY: 9 plays, 59 yards, 4:09.

Mizzou didn’t waste any time answering the score. Daniel connected with Coffman for an 18-yard scoring strike and a 38-24 lead. DRIVE SUMMARY: 4 plays, 80 yards, :58.

Oregon State cut into the Mizzou lead with a short touchdown pass from Moore to Bernard that made it 38-31. DRIVE SUMMARY: 7 plays, 76 yards, 3:14.

With 6:02 remaining, Mizzou took over at its own 20. Tony Temple was stopped for a loss of two on first down. Pinkel and the Tigers offense looked like they were content with the one touchdown lead and got very conservative. Temple took the next handoff and raced for a gain of seven. Mizzou was able to convert on third down as Daniel hit Rucker on a screen pass. Misssouri could not run out the clock and was forced to punt with 1:41 left in regulation.

Stroughter was able to return the punt 40 yards to the Beavers 46. Bernard caught a first-down pass for a pick up of 13 to move the chains. Mizzou was conceding the short pass dropping most of its secondary deep and rushing just four linemen. Dedrick Harrington had a chance to ice the game for the Tigers but dropped an interception that hit him right between the numbers. OSU was forced into a crucial fourth-and-three, but was able to convert. Moore found Stroughter for a first down pick up and the Beavers had new life. Moore was able to tie the game on the next play hitting Newton in the end zone and tying the game at 38. Much to most fans surprise, coach Riley opted to attempt the 2-point conversion. Bernard rushed the ball right up the middle of the Tigers defense and Oregon State had a 39-38 come from behind lead. DRIVE SUMMARY: 7 plays, 55 yards, 1:19.

FINAL SCORE: Mizzou 38 OSU 39

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.

FIRST HALF STATS:

Missouri Passing: comp/att, yards, td, int

Chase Daniel — 8/14, 197, 1

Tommy Saunders — 0/1, 0,

Oregon State Passing: comp/att, yards, td, int

Matt Moore — 11/19, 131, 1

Missouri Rushing: car, yards, td

Tony Temple — 10, 43, 1

Jared Perry — 2, 5, 0

David Overstreet — 1, -6, 0

Chase Daniel — 4, -28, 0

Oregon State Rushing: car, yards, td

Yvenson Bernard — 13, 40

Ruben Jackson — 1, 16

Matt Moore — 5, -16, 1

Missouri Receiving: rec, yards, td

Danario Alexander — 1, 74, 1

Chase Coffman — 3, 51, 0

Brad Ekwerekwu — 1, 41, 0

Jared Perry — 1, 20, 0

Martin Rucker — 1, 7, 0

Tommy Saunders — 1, 4, 0

Oregon State Receiving: rec, yards, td

Sammie Stroughter — 5, 63, 1

Joe Newton — 3, 35

Ruben Jackson — 1, 15

Brandon Powers — 1, 14

Yvenson Bernard — 1, 4