KcMizzou
11-04-2007, 12:51 AM
Mizzou has climbed into rarefied air
By Bryan Burwell
BOULDER, COLO. — All the haunting echoes were gone with the cool autumn wind, as Gary Pinkel dashed off Folsom Field to the cheers of a suddenly delirious Mizzou fan base.
The rest of the stadium was practically empty at the conclusion of Missouri's 55-10 surgical dismantling of the Colorado Buffaloes, but the few thousand Tiger fans who had traveled to the Rocky Mountain foothills to witness ninth-ranked MU finally dismiss the enduring and excruciating Folsom Field gremlins were all on their feet.
Pinkel waved and grinned. He pumped his fists, reached over the front railing to dish out hand slaps and high fives and bathed in the thrill of victory. And a few minutes later, as he emerged from the locker room, a few enthusiastic and slightly inebriated Tiger fanatics greeted him again.
"Whooooo hoooo, PINKELLLLLLL!!!" yelled one lubricated loyalist who reached out and practically dislocated the head coach's wrist with a hearty handshake.
"GAR-EEEEEEE!!!" hollered another enthusiastic Pinkel worshiper.
The coach politely smiled, engaged them for a few seconds, then smoothly moved along.
"You know," an observant wise guy noted, "those are probably the same guys who were cussin' you out a few years ago when you couldn't win here."
"Oh yes, I know, I know my job very well," the coach said, nodding and laughing.
In the fickle world in which he lives Pinkel knows how long it has taken for him to turn those jeers into glad hands. After six years of torment, little by little, week by week, Pinkel's Tigers are shaking free of all those recurring nightmares that have kept his program from elevating to the level of serious national power.
Midway through the third quarter Saturday night, the stadium that was once filled with 51,483 spectators was now half-filled and Ralphie the Buffalo hadn't made an appearance since sundown.
Anyone who stayed around witnessed a shocking reckoning on the field. Mizzou put on a dazzling show of offensive athleticism and defensive muscle-flexing as it took another emphatic step toward what now seems to be an inevitable regular-season finale for the Big 12 North title against unbeaten and eighth-ranked Kansas.
"I told (the players) if you want to make a (championship) run, you better win big games on the road like this," Pinkel said. "I don't care if there are thunderstorms or snowstorms. And if you can't do that, you're not going to win anything. This isn't optional here. If you want to win a championship, you have to win games like this."
So the Tigers heeded his words, then put on one of the most dominant shows of strength Mizzou has produced in a mighty long time. This was nothing like any of the throat-clearing exhibitions against those Western Michigan and Illinois State patsies. And it was nothing like that 41-6 drilling over feckless Nebraska, which clearly had descended to the depths of the Big 12 food chain. This was a thorough thumping on both sides of the ball against the decent Colorado team that only six weeks ago handed sixth-ranked Oklahoma its only defeat (27-24 in Boulder).
But here's what made this game even more special for the 8-1 Tigers:
It started out like a typical Folsom Field horror show. On the second play of the game, Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel tried to fit an ill-advised pass into a crowd of Colorado defenders in the shadow of his own goal post and got it picked off. Three plays later, and less than three minutes into the game, Mizzou trailed 7-0. Near the end of the first quarter, Mizzou had a punt blocked, which led to a CU field goal, and Mizzou went into the second quarter trailing 10-7.
I've been saying for weeks that these aren't your father's Tigers, and they keep backing up my words with all the right evidence. This is a mature Mizzou squad that keeps summoning up its competitive heart and soul at all the right times. On both sides of the ball, the Tigers simply overwhelmed Colorado, outscoring the Buffs 48-0 the rest of the way.
This has become the season for Missouri to purge every haunting echo from its past and move steadily up the polls.
After this dominant show in Boulder, it's time to believe that Pinkel's team really has matured into a true national power.
By Bryan Burwell
BOULDER, COLO. — All the haunting echoes were gone with the cool autumn wind, as Gary Pinkel dashed off Folsom Field to the cheers of a suddenly delirious Mizzou fan base.
The rest of the stadium was practically empty at the conclusion of Missouri's 55-10 surgical dismantling of the Colorado Buffaloes, but the few thousand Tiger fans who had traveled to the Rocky Mountain foothills to witness ninth-ranked MU finally dismiss the enduring and excruciating Folsom Field gremlins were all on their feet.
Pinkel waved and grinned. He pumped his fists, reached over the front railing to dish out hand slaps and high fives and bathed in the thrill of victory. And a few minutes later, as he emerged from the locker room, a few enthusiastic and slightly inebriated Tiger fanatics greeted him again.
"Whooooo hoooo, PINKELLLLLLL!!!" yelled one lubricated loyalist who reached out and practically dislocated the head coach's wrist with a hearty handshake.
"GAR-EEEEEEE!!!" hollered another enthusiastic Pinkel worshiper.
The coach politely smiled, engaged them for a few seconds, then smoothly moved along.
"You know," an observant wise guy noted, "those are probably the same guys who were cussin' you out a few years ago when you couldn't win here."
"Oh yes, I know, I know my job very well," the coach said, nodding and laughing.
In the fickle world in which he lives Pinkel knows how long it has taken for him to turn those jeers into glad hands. After six years of torment, little by little, week by week, Pinkel's Tigers are shaking free of all those recurring nightmares that have kept his program from elevating to the level of serious national power.
Midway through the third quarter Saturday night, the stadium that was once filled with 51,483 spectators was now half-filled and Ralphie the Buffalo hadn't made an appearance since sundown.
Anyone who stayed around witnessed a shocking reckoning on the field. Mizzou put on a dazzling show of offensive athleticism and defensive muscle-flexing as it took another emphatic step toward what now seems to be an inevitable regular-season finale for the Big 12 North title against unbeaten and eighth-ranked Kansas.
"I told (the players) if you want to make a (championship) run, you better win big games on the road like this," Pinkel said. "I don't care if there are thunderstorms or snowstorms. And if you can't do that, you're not going to win anything. This isn't optional here. If you want to win a championship, you have to win games like this."
So the Tigers heeded his words, then put on one of the most dominant shows of strength Mizzou has produced in a mighty long time. This was nothing like any of the throat-clearing exhibitions against those Western Michigan and Illinois State patsies. And it was nothing like that 41-6 drilling over feckless Nebraska, which clearly had descended to the depths of the Big 12 food chain. This was a thorough thumping on both sides of the ball against the decent Colorado team that only six weeks ago handed sixth-ranked Oklahoma its only defeat (27-24 in Boulder).
But here's what made this game even more special for the 8-1 Tigers:
It started out like a typical Folsom Field horror show. On the second play of the game, Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel tried to fit an ill-advised pass into a crowd of Colorado defenders in the shadow of his own goal post and got it picked off. Three plays later, and less than three minutes into the game, Mizzou trailed 7-0. Near the end of the first quarter, Mizzou had a punt blocked, which led to a CU field goal, and Mizzou went into the second quarter trailing 10-7.
I've been saying for weeks that these aren't your father's Tigers, and they keep backing up my words with all the right evidence. This is a mature Mizzou squad that keeps summoning up its competitive heart and soul at all the right times. On both sides of the ball, the Tigers simply overwhelmed Colorado, outscoring the Buffs 48-0 the rest of the way.
This has become the season for Missouri to purge every haunting echo from its past and move steadily up the polls.
After this dominant show in Boulder, it's time to believe that Pinkel's team really has matured into a true national power.