2007 Missouri Tigers football team

The 2007 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.

The team was led by junior quarterback Chase Daniel, a Heisman Trophy candidate^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] who finished fourth in voting behind Tim Tebow, Darren McFadden, and Colt Brennan. In the preseason, the Tigers were picked by some to win the Big 12 North.^[5]

On November 24, Missouri won their 11th game of the season by beating their arch-rival Kansas Jayhawks 36–28, in the Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The victory sealed Mizzou's berth into the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game against Oklahoma.

The Tigers won over 9 games in a season for the first time since 1969, and were ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 1960.^[6] This ranking lead to the Tigers' first ever appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. The Tigers also achieved their highest BCS ranking in history, at No. 1 after the Border Showdown.

After losing the Big 12 Championship game 38–17 to the Sooners, Missouri was chosen to play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, in which the Tigers prevailed 38–7 to complete their 12–2 season.

Five Tiger starters were named to the Associated Press All-American teams. Senior tight end Martin Rucker and freshman wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (as an all-purpose player) were named as first team selections, while junior quarterback Chase Daniel and junior safety William Moore were named to the second team. Senior center Adam Spieker was a third team selection.^[7]

The Anderson & Hester rankings listed the team as National Champions, however the school does not claim the title.^[8]

Schedule

Game summaries

Vs. Illinois

Missouri Tigers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini – Game summary

at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

Date: September 1
Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
Game weather: None (played indoors)
Game attendance: 62,352
Referee: John Bible
TV: ESPN2
Box score, Recap

At Ole Miss

Missouri Tigers at Ole Miss Rebels – Game summary

at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Mississippi

Date: September 8
Game time: 5:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Cloudy, 90 °F (32 °C)
Game attendance: 50,897
Referee: Randy Christal
Box score, Recap

Western Michigan

Western Michigan Broncos at Missouri Tigers – Game summary

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: September 15
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Partly sunny, 58 °F (14 °C)
Game attendance: 53,480
Referee: Ross Smith
Box score, Recap

No. 14 (FCS) Illinois State

No. 14 (FCS) Illinois State Redbirds at No. 25 Missouri Tigers – Game summary

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: September 22
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
Game attendance: 56,137
Referee: Clete Blakeman
Box score, Recap

No. 25 Nebraska

No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers at No. 17 Missouri Tigers – Game summary

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: October 6
Game time: 8:15 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Clear, 79 °F (26 °C)
Game attendance: 70,049
Referee: Jon Bible
TV announcers (ESPN): Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham, and Jack Arute
Box score, Recap

At No. 6 Oklahoma

No. 11 Missouri Tigers at No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners – Game summary

at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma

Date: October 13
Game time: 5:30 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Clear, 82 °F (28 °C)
Game attendance: 85,041
Referee: Gerald Wright
TV announcers (FSN): Joel Meyers, Gary Reasons, and Emily Jones
Box score, Recap

No. 22 Texas Tech

No. 22 Texas Tech Red Raiders at No. 15 Missouri Tigers – Game summary

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: October 6
Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Clear, 80 °F (27 °C)
Game attendance: 63,396
Referee: Randy Christal
TV: ABC
Box score, Recap

Iowa State

Iowa State Cyclones at No. 13 Missouri Tigers – Game summary

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: October 27
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
Game attendance: 53,386

At Colorado

No. 9 Missouri Tigers at Colorado Buffaloes – Game summary

at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado

Date: November 3
Game time: 5:30 p.m. CDT/4:30 p.m. MDT
Game attendance: 51,483
TV: FSN

Texas A&M Aggies at No. 7 Missouri Tigers – Game summary

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: November 10
Game time: 11:30 a.m. CST
Game attendance: 64,945
TV: FSN

At Kansas State

No. 6 Missouri Tigers at Kansas State Wildcats – Game summary

at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas

Date: November 17
Game time: 11:30 a.m. CST
Game attendance: 48,406
TV: FSN

Vs. No. 2 Kansas

No. 3 Missouri Tigers vs. No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks – Game summary

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Date: November 24
Game time: 7:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 80,537
TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lisa Salters

Vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship Game)

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 1 Missouri Tigers (2007 Big 12 Championship Game) – Game summary

at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Date: December 1
Game time: 7:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: None (played indoors)
Game attendance: 62,585
Referee: Clete Blakeman
TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger and Krik Herbstreit

Vs. Arkansas (Cotton Bowl Classic)

No. 7 Missouri Tigers vs. No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks (2008 Cotton Bowl Classic) – Game summary

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Date: January 1, 2008
Game time: 10:40 a.m. CST
Game attendance: 73,114
Referee: Ron Cherry
TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger

Roster

Coaching staff

Coaching staff from: "Missouri Tigers – 2007 Roster". CSTV.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2007.

Rankings

Statistics

(through Cotton Bowl Classic, Jan. 1, 2008)

Scores by Quarter

Offense

Field Goals / PAT

Special teams

Defense

Statistics from: "Missouri Tigers – Cumulative Season Statistics". CSTV.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.

References

^ "Missouri Football's "Chase the Heisman" Web Site Debuts". Columbia Missourian. November 17, 2007. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
^ Grillo, Ron (November 19, 2007). "Heisman Chase Will Continue from Field to New York". Rocky Mount Telegram. Archived from the original on December 15, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
^ Watson, Graham (November 14, 2007). "As Ballots Go Out, Daniel Is on Heisman Trophy List". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
^ "NCAA Football Heisman Hopefuls". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
^ Steele, Phil (2007). "Big 12 Conference". Phil Steele's 2007 College Football Preview. 13: 80–81.
^ "Not Since 1960 Has Missouri Held Down Poll's No. 1 Ranking". ESPN. Associated Press. November 25, 2007. Archived from the original on November 28, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
^ "Five Tigers Named to AP All-America Teams". University of Missouri Department of Athletics. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
^ Missouri #1 rank
^ Watson, Graham (September 23, 2007). "Tigers Win Despite Errors, Lack of Focus". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. D9. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "ABC/ESPN Networks 2007 College Football Schedule". ESPN. September 10, 2007. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
^ a b "CU-Mizzou game to be televised". Daily Camera. Boulder. October 22, 2007. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
^ "Player Bio: Gary Pinkel :: Football". Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.