Tigers take aim at Knights

Columbia, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – The 20th-ranked Missouri Tigers will attempt to keep their perfect start to the season alive in their return home to Faurot Field on Saturday afternoon when they take on the UCF Knights in non-conference action.

UCF had a bye last week to recover from its transatlantic loss to Penn State on Aug. 30 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, 26-24, a game in which it led late until the Nittany Lions drilled a field goal as time expired.

Knights head coach George O’Leary takes pride in his team’s difficult non- conference schedule, which also includes a matchup versus BYU next month.

“I’ve always tried to schedule a great non-conference schedule if we can,” O’Leary said. “I’ve always thought you get better as a football team because of that. We’re always going to try and do that and play up if we can.”

Missouri has picked up right where it left off from an outstanding 2013 campaign with a pair of wins to start the 2014 season. After downing South Dakota State in the home opener, 38-18, the Tigers went on the road last Saturday and easily defeated a quality Toledo squad, 49-24.

“We’ve got a really good football team in (UCF),” Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel said of this matchup. “A year ago, as you all know, they went 12-1 and beat Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl, so (O’Leary) has really done a great job down there with that program, working at a very high level. It’ll be a challenge to play our best football game, so we’re preparing for that.”

The only other meeting between the programs came in 2012, when the Tigers downed the Knights in Orlando, 21-16.

UCF’s offense was held in check for most of the opener, as the unit amassed just 246 yards and 11 first downs.

Justin Holman completed only nine passes on 14 attempts but piled up 204 yards, including a 10-yard scoring strike to Josh Reese in the fourth quarter. The quarterback finished with negative-5 yards rushing but scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground, one on a six-yard run with 1:13 left to give his team a one-point lead.

J.J. Worton (five receptions, 83 yards) and Breshad Perriman (three receptions, 81 yards) both got off to strong starts at receiver.

The running game was bottled up all afternoon, as the team finished with a mere 24 yards on 29 carries. Dontravious Wilson (21 carries, 34 yards) hopes to have better days ahead as the lead back.

Although the Knights allowed PSU to put up 511 yards, they remained in the game by forcing three turnovers, but the unit couldn’t come up with a stop when it needed it the most late in the game.

Clayton Geathers racked up 15 tackles and 2.0 TFL in addition to recovering a fumble. Jacoby Glenn and Jordan Ozerities both picked off a pass and Jaryl Mamea and Thomas Niles each recorded a sack.

Even with a mostly-new set of starters on offense in 2014, Missouri has continued to shine by scoring 43.5 ppg while showing strong balance between the rushing (196.0 ypg) and passing (251.5 ypg) attack.

Maty Mauk tied a school record in the Toledo win with five touchdown passes, upping his season totals to 503 passing yards and nine touchdowns (one rushing) while completing 64.2 percent of his passes.

“He gets better every week, and he’ll continue to improve,” Pinkel said of his quarterback. “He’s at six (career) starts now, so he’ll continue to get better. That process will go on for the rest of the season and the remainder of his career.”

A trio of talented receivers have stepped up as Mauk’s favorite targets. Jimmie Hunt (102 yards, two TDs) is the possession guy with nine receptions, while Bud Sasser (seven receptions, 158 yards, two TDs) and Darius White (seven receptions, 152 yards, three TDs) are the deep threats.

Russell Hansbrough has taken to the feature role at running back well, turning 38 carries into 210 yards and two scores. Marcus Murphy, who already has a 100-yard kickoff return under his belt this season, is heavily involved in the offense as well with 110 rushing yards and 61 receiving yards.

The Missouri defense has been more than solid enough to support the offensive attack, as the unit allows only 21.0 ppg and 387.5 ypg while holding teams to just 33 percent on third down.

Markus Golden and Shane Ray have been menaces behind the line of scrimmage, combining for 8.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks. Michael Scherer has a team-best 18 tackles and Aarion Penton has picked off a pair of passes.

Categorized in: NCAA Football