Mizzou Links, 12-28-09

So...this wasn't quite the surprise I was expecting from Mizzourah this time around...

Mizzou Is Better Than Austin Peay at Basketball

• MUtigers.com: Long Ball Powers Tigers Past Austin Peay
  MUtigers.com: Box Score
• StatSheet.com: Recap: Missouri vs Austin Peay
• The Trib: Tigers cruise past Austin Peay
  The Trib: Tigers ready to make a run?
• The Missourian: Kim English paces Missouri men's basketball in win against Austin Peay
• KC Star: Mizzou flattens Austin Peay
  KC Star: Photo Gallery
• Post-Dispatch: MU surges past Peay
• PowerMizzou: Hot shooting puts away Austin Peay

What a Day for Mizzou in the NFL

• Jeremy Maclin sets up game-winning field goal
  Bleeding Green Nation: Game winning drive lifts Philadelphia over Denver
  Philadelphia Daily News: Eagles' Maclin stays inbounds to set up Akers' game-winner
  NFL.com: Jeremy Maclin 27-yard catch
• Ziggy Hood makes (almost) game-clinching fumble recovery
  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Steelers' defense shows it's postseason worthy
  NFL.com: Ziggy Hood fumble recovery
• Brad Smith pulls off longest play in Jets history
  The Missourian: Colts' perfection snapped; former Tiger plays key role in upset

Texas Bowl

First things first: Kurtis Gregory still leads the Senior CLASS Award voting.

• Inside Missouri Football: 1961 Orange Bowl
  KC Star: Navy's history lost on current Tigers
  Annapolis Capital: Bowl-full of Memories: Midshipmen hoping for payback for 1961 setback

  Navy and Missouri entered the 1961 Orange Bowl with different motivations. Missouri was eager for redemption after getting upset by rival Kansas in the season finale. That stunning 23-7 loss dropped the Tigers from first to fifth in the national rankings. Kansas would later be forced to forfeit the victory due to an ineligible player, but it was too late to salvage what had been a dream season.

  Dan Devine, head coach at Missouri from 1958-1970, blamed himself for allowing a letdown against Kansas. "That was a national championship team and deserved to be recognized as such," the late Devine wrote in his memoir "Simply Devine."

  Navy, on the other hand, was coming off an uplifting 17-12 victory over archrival Army that capped a campaign blemished only by a 19-10 loss at Duke.

  ...

  President-elect John F. Kennedy, a Navy veteran who just a month earlier had invited Bellino to his Georgetown home to recognize him for winning the Heisman Trophy, attended the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, 1961.

  "We were all very well aware that President Kennedy was at the game and would be rooting for Navy and did not want to disappoint him," Bellino said.

  ...

  Having taken the lead, Missouri controlled play the rest of the way with its physical, swarming defense and punishing rushing attack that would pile up 296 yards on the ground. Workhorse tailback Mel West led the way with 108 yards on 21 carries while speedster Donnie Smith added 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts.

  "Missouri out-weighed us along the line by about 30-40 pounds per man and had a tremendous running game. They really controlled the football, probably ran three plays to our one," Hardin said.

• Post-Dispatch: The advantage of adversity

  Consider that in the nine games Gabbert was mostly healthy this season, he completed 200 of 311 passes (64.3 percent) for 2,759 yards and 21 touchdowns with two interceptions as MU went 8-1.
  
  In the three games when his ankle was at its worst, Gabbert completed 47 of 103 for 543 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions.
  
  To what degree those reflect the competition and what degree the ankle can't be know. Whatever the case, Yost and Pinkel both believe Gabbert's future will be enhanced by what he had to grind through this year.
  
  The mental toughness he demonstrated, Pinkel said, earned him great credibility with his teammates. And Gabbert also was forced to evolve at the position in different ways than he might otherwise have.
  
  "It's changed a little bit of how he is as a quarterback in the pocket," Yost said. "I think his timing was much better over those last four games when he was much closer to 100 percent than what it was early in the year."

• The Trib: A pair of Tigers with star power
  Houston Chronicle: Danario Alexander geared to leave Missouri, Texas Bowl on top
• KC Star: Tigers uncover a gem in the secondary
• Houston Chronicle: Ricky Dobbs has Navy in the running in upcoming Texas Bowl
• The Trib: It is not a life for everyone
  Post-Dispatch: Navy: A true America's team
• The Missourian: Former high school football stars cope with the bench at Missouri
• Inside Missouri Football: Bowling During Bowl Week

And a bonus football link...The Missourian checks in on Sheldon Richardson.

Big 12 Links

• KC Star (Upon Further Review): Big 12 Bowl #1: Texas A&M vs Georgia
• KC Star (Upon Further Review): Big 12 Bowl #2: Nebraska vs Arizona
• Dallas Morning News: Oklahoma State prepares for post-bowl transition