Pack lose big to Tigers
COLUMBIA, Mo.–Nevada’s defense couldn’t counter a plethora of weapons Saturday on the side of the No. 6 Missouri Tigers in the Wolf Pack’s 69-17 loss.
Nevada (1-2) also lost running back Brandon Fragger for the rest of the season because of a bruised shoulder, Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault said.
“We played horrible football,” Ault said. “We didn’t do anything right.”
Steady rain didn’t stop Missouri (3-0), and quarterback Chase Daniel, from putting the ball in the air. The Tigers’ spread offense showcased four and five receiver sets, a tight end with a huge mismatch and a wide receiver who did a little of everything.
“They disrespected us,” said Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who threw for 152 passing yards and 17 completions on 31 attempts.
Missouri set a school record for passing yards (519) and tied a school record in points (69), set in 1969.
“It’s a compliment to Missouri’s great offense, and Chase Daniel is just excellent,” Ault said.
Daniel led Missouri to 12 touchdowns on 13 possessions. The only possession the Tigers failed to score a touchdown ended with a field goal. Daniel passed for 405 yards, which made him Missouri’s all-time passing leader.
“It means a lot,” Daniel said. “I’m very honored to be in that class of quarterbacks and hopefully still have a long way to go.”
Missouri’s first two scores came on 50-plus yard plays. The first was a 59-yard run by Derrick Washington and the second was an 80-yard pass play to Jeremy Maclin, putting the Tigers up 14-0 with 12:02 left in the first quarter.
Maclin was Mr. Everything for the Tigers. He scored three touchdowns and gained 173 yards receiving. Maclin also had 23-return yards on punts and two rushing carries for five yards.
“What do you need to say about (Maclin),” Ault said. “There are no secrets about him. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t show up to play.”
Tight end Chase Coffman, who stands 6-foot-4, played the role of Missouri’s mismatched receiver. Nevada’s defensive backfield had fits with Coffman, who was second behind Maclin with 127 receiving yards Saturday.
“We can’t look at that,” Coffman said. “Now we have to keep doing it, keep preparing, keep watching film, keep working hard in practice.”
Fragger, who left the game in the first half because of a bruised shoulder, will miss the rest of the season and becomes the second Wolf Pack running back to suffer a season-ending injury in the past two weeks. Luke Lippincott left last week’s game with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
“I’m going to have to hold (the running back position) down,” Nevada running back Vai Taua said. Taua rushed for 51 yards on 15 carries against Missouri. “I’m definitely going to have to be a leader and carry the load.”
Nevada also saw freshman running back Lampford Mark for the first time this season. Mark had seven carries and 25 yards.
This is the third time Missouri coach Gary Pinkel has beaten Ault. The previous two came while Pinkel was at Toledo.
The Wolf Pack has next week off before it faces interstate rival UNLV on Sept. 27. When asked what the Wolf Pack had to work on going into the bye week Ault said, “Pick something.”
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September 15th, 2008 at 9:38 am
First Lipponcott and now Frager. Taua is the only RB left before the entire run game gets dominated by Kaepernick.