Murray State University's football team kicked off its 2006 season at the University of Missouri today but the Tigers scored on their first three possessions to build a 21-0 lead and finished with a 47-7 victory in Columbia, Mo. Missouri out gained the Racers 242-14 to start the game and finished with 589 yards of total offense in front of 50,074 fans at Memorial Stadium.
Missouri got three first quarter passing touchdowns from first-year starter Chase Daniel. The sophomore connected with three different receivers, Will Franklin, Brad Ekwerekwu and Chase Coffman. Daniel finished the first stanza of play having completed 10-of-13 passes for 144 yards.
“Give them [Missouri] a lot of credit, they spread us out a little bit,” said Murray State Head Coach Matt Griffin. “They came out a lot faster than us.”
On the opening drive, Daniel took the Tigers 73 yards on five plays, capped off by a 60-yard scoring pass to Franklin. After holding the Racers on downs, Daniel orchestrated an 80-yard drive and finished it off with an eight-yard touchdown toss to Ekwerekwu. Daniel's three yard completion to Coffman gave Mizzou its third touchdown on its third possession.
“Chase Daniel played with great poise and operated the offense the way it's supposed to be,” Griiffin said.
The Racers stopped the Tigers on their fourth possession. Missouri started on the 18-yard line and drove to the MSU. Daniel's pass on third down was incomplete and the home team failed to convert on a 41-yard field goal attempt.
After a Murray State turnover, the Tigers went up 28-0 on their first touchdown on the ground. Marcus Woods carried it in from two yards.
The Racers picked up their first first down of the game with 7:34 left in the first half. Senior Chad Cook took the hand-off from Ryne Salyer and carried it up the middle for a 12-yard gain. MSU got its second first down on Salyer's 10-yard pass to Jonathan Eiland on the same drive, but the drive stalled at the Missouri 30-yard line.
“They just have so much speed up front,” Salyer said. “It was not the outcome we wanted, but their front seven are some of the best in the country.”
Daniel's 34-yard scoring pass to Franklin, with 57 seconds left in the first half, tied the school record for touchdowns in a game and sent the home team to the locker room leading 35-0.
On the opening drive of the second half, Salyer found Rod Harper for four yards and a first down, but after a loss of three on the ground and an incomplete pass, Missouri's Brandon Massey intercepted Salyer to end the drive.
The Racer defense held the Tigers deep in MSU territory. Missouri began its drive at the 35-yard line, moved to the 24 but a Michael Sturgis sack pushed Mizzou back 12 yards and Daniel failed to complete a third and long pass.
When Murray State was forced to punt from its own nine-yard line, Sean Witherspoon blocked the kick out of the end zone for a safety and a 37-0 Missouri lead.
Jeff Wolfert's field goal from the 38-yard line, with 6:16 remaining in the third, made it 40-0 after three quarters of play.
Daniel broke the school record for touchdowns in a game when he found Jared Perry for 35 yards and his fifth score of the game. The new Tiger starting quarterback finished 23-of-32 for 320 yards.
Dominic Spinks intercepted a pass for Murray State and returned it nine yards to the Racer 28-yard line with 5:34 left in the game.
Redshirt freshman Zach Barnard and running back Dante Woods led Murray State on a late fourth quarter scoring drive.
Barnard hit Woods for 13 yards to start the drive. Woods picked up 11 yards on back-to-back carries. After a Missouri penalty Barnard and Woods connected again for six yards. Charlie Jordan caught a nine yard pass to the Missouri 13-yard line. With 1:57 left in the game Barnard found Nate Moore for 13 yards and a Racer touchdown.
The Racers couldn't get anything going on the ground, finishing with 27 net yards rushing. Missouri finished with 256 rushing yards led by Tony Temple's 119 yards on 15 carries. Cook finished with 37 yards on 12 carries for MSU.
The Racers will open Ohio Valley Conference play next week when they face Tennessee State University on Saturday (Sept. 9) in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be played at LP Field, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
The Racers first home game of the Matt Griffin era will be on Sept. 23 when the team faces Illinois State at 6 p.m., at Stewart Stadium.
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