The 15th-ranked (BCS/AP) Missouri Tigers (8-2 overall, 4-2 in Big 12 play) hit the road for their final true road game of the 2010 season, as they will play at the always-tough Iowa State Cyclones (5-6, 3-4) this Saturday.
I spoke with KNXO Des Moines sports station and their morning host Tim Fisher to talk about this upcoming. That’s on this week’s Pressbox Podcast. Missouri-Iowa State Podcast
Kickoff for the game is set for 6:00 p.m. Mizzou’s final game of the 2010 regular season will be played at a neutral site, when the Tigers take on rival Kansas in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 27th. Any game after that for MU will take place at a neutral site.
Mizzou is looking to keep the upward surge going in the national polls, as the Tigers jumped five spots in this week’s A.P. Top-25 poll, to #15, following a 38-28 win over Kansas State (ranked #24 in last week’s BCS standings) last Saturday in Columbia. They’ll also be looking to stay within striking distance of North Division-leading Nebraska heading into the last week of the regular season. The Tigers trail Nebraska by one game in the North standings, and need to win in Ames to keep hope alive for a possible division title.
The Tiger offense had a balanced attack which included 232 yards rushing (2 TDs) and 208 yards passing (2 TDs) in the win over Kansas State, while the Tiger defense forced 4 turnovers against a normally sure-handed K-State team, and turned those into 10 points, including a scoop-and-score fumble return of 53 yards by junior DE Jacquies Smith. Smith’s play, which was made possible when sophomore DE Aldon Smith (no relation) crushed KSU QB Carson Coffman on a blind side sack, jarring the ball loose.
Similar to what MU was facing at home last Saturday, Iowa State is looking to break a two-game losing streak on what will be Senior Day for its team. After winning consecutive games at Texas (28-21 on Oct. 23rd) and at home over Kansas (28-16 on Oct. 30th), the Cyclones lost a heartbreaker at home to Nebraska (31-30 in OT on Nov. 6th) and last week at Colorado (34-14). The Cyclones also got hit with terrible news on the injury front, as senior QB Austen Arnaud was lost for the rest of the year with a knee injury, sustained in the 4th quarter in the loss at CU.
