Who: Kansas State Wildcats vs. No. 6 Missouri Tigers
Where: Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.
When: 11:30 a.m. CDT
Line: Missouri by 7.0
VS. 
Radio: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, John Kadlec, Chris Gervino)
TV: Fox Sports Net (Joel Meyers, Gary Reasons, and Jim Knox)
Weather: Hour-by-hour forecast
Online trackers: CSTV, ESPN
SB Nation affiliate: Bring On The Cats
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Fight Tigers!
(And once again, The Boy is hijacking this post for his liveblog. Click 'Full Story' for that.)
11:36 - We're looking live Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This sucks. I seriously considered just taking a bunch of Nyquil and sleeping until about 4pm. This is a different Mizzou team, and we're far beyond any concern about a "Pinkel collapse" or whatever you want to call it. The extreme paranoia I'm feeling completely come from a) scars from previous Sports God smitings, and b) the fact that about 113 teams have been ranked in the Top 5 and lost at some point this season. We're better than KSU, the weather is decent, and...well, we're better than KSU. But stuff happens, and I really just want to fast forward to the end of the game.
11:41 - Wait, we're kicking off to start the game? That's allowed?
11:42 - Leon Patton with a nice run on a draw to start the game. He's starting over James Johnson?
11:43 - And we've got our first third down of the game. Third-and-4 for KSU. I like putting Josh Freeman in passing downs, but a draw might work for 4 yards.
11:44 - And right on cue, William Moore picks off Josh Freeman!!! Third downs are our friend against Josh Freeman. Wish Willy would have taken it to the house, but I like our offense to go 15 yards.
11:45 - TD, Jeremy Maclin! We kick off to start the game and still score in less than 90 seconds. And now we get the ball to start the second half too! Daniel comes up gimpy, but it doesn't look too serious...I hope...
11:48 - My wife is actually debating with me the presence of a Sports God. She thinks it would be Athena. Who am I to disagree?
11:49 - Leon Patton returns the kickoff out to about the 45, carrying three tacklers about 10 yards. He loves playing Missouri.
11:50 - James Johnson with a couple nice runs for a first down in Mizzou territory. He loves playing Missouri.
11:51 - Back-to-back false starts for K-State, and the left guard is subbed out without a play being run. Not sure I've ever seen that before.
11:53 - Third down and 7 for KSU. Come on, boys.
11:54 - Nice pass to Mastrud for a first down...just over the outstretched arms of Sean Weatherspoon. KSU working the clock nicely on this drive.
11:55 - Third-and-1 for KSU from the Mizzou 21...Johnson with a nice run inside the 10...and fumbles!!! Recovered by Darnell Terrell! Crowd boos, and this will be reviewed.
11:56 - Ooooh...dunno. The strip came before Johnson's knee came down, but you don't actually see the ball pop out until afterward. Interesting. The strip obviously caused the fumble, but the video evidence is pretty tight. Hmm.
11:59 - Verdict? No fumble. I disagree, but I'm a homer. I also think Dave Lapham's an idiot, but that's a whole 'nother story. Wait, is Lapham the color guy? Whoever the color guy is, he's an idiot.
12:01 - Third-and-goal from the 2...gotta figure K-State scores here. Freeman is stopped at the 1 by William Moore (who also forced the almost-fumble)! And Ron Prince chickens out and settles for the FG.
12:02 - Field goal is good, and the crowd's STILL booing Prince's decision. Fun. 7-3 Mizzou. I'll say it right now--I'll take K-State averaging 1.5 points per possession, won't you?
12:06 - JEREMY FREAKING MACLIN JUST RETURNED THE KICKOFF FOR A TOUCHDOWN!! LOL!! He was hemmed in (in my best Mike Kelly voice) but never popped down. That's the first Mizzou kick return TD since, what, 1981? Holy crap. That's what I get for saying K-State has the special teams advantage. Mizzou's up 14-3 and has run two offensive plays.
12:07 - Dang, I was wrong. It was 1982. I was 4 years old instead of 3.
12:08 - My wife is REALLY getting sick of the color guy saying Maclin is the "Big Mac Attack". I mean really sick. Funny.
12:10 - Pass glances off of Jordy Nelson's hands and is picked off by Carl Gettis!! Or incomplete. Looks like we're gonna have another review.
12:11 - Oh that was a freaking catch. This is gonna be overturned. No way did that hit the ground.
12:12 - Call is confirmed. Complete horse shit. I hate replay so much. That was very conclusively a catch, no matter what this awful color guy says. What an awful call.
12:13 - The Mizzou D-line implodes the pocket on third down, hitting Freeman despite a hold, forcing an incompletion and bringing up fourth down. K-State will punt, but that was still an INT at 12:10.
12:15 - Daniel's back in the game! Whew. Quick pass to Maclin for 8. Anybody else gonna touch the ball today?
12:15 - T-Ruck with the first down!
12:16 - Poor Danario...the blocking never seems to be there when he gets the quick pass. Second-and-13 for Mizzou.
12:16 - Will Franklin fumbles for no reason. Boo. Flag on the play, though. Roughing the passer! Nice. Bullet dodged. It was still an INT at 12:10, by the way.
12:18 - Third-and-4 for Mizzou at about midfield. Saunders with the first down! Love that kid.
12:20 - Another third down for Mizzou...this one about 3rd-and-9. Mizzou's eating up some clock (down to 2 minutes left in the 1st), but how about we score too? Saunders with the catch, and he's about one or two yards short.
12:21 - Interesting call here...it would be a 47-yard FG...I bet we go for it. Yup, we're going.
12:22 - OH MY GOD. COFFMAN GOT TACKLED AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, AND IT WASN'T PASS INTERFERENCE. THAT WAS WORSE THAN THE INT. SO PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW.
12:23 - Touchdown K-State on a long James Johnson run. I'm so freaking pissed. We've gotten horrifically screwed twice, and the first quarter's not over yet. PAT blocked. 14-9 Mizzou.
12:26 - Maclin fumbles the kickoff, but Castine Bridges is there for the recovery. We're a little shaken up right now...and justifiably so. It should be about 21-3 right now. Seriously, that might be the worst pass interference no-call I've ever seen.
12:27 - There will be a huge third down for the Mizzou offense when the 2nd quarter begins. I need a beer.
12:30 - Q2 begins with Chase scrambling short of the first down. Mizzou will punt. Cross your fingers this isn't blocked.
12:31 - Blocked punt TD. Saw it coming a mile away. Horrible blocking. Crossett got the kick going pretty quickly and was still smothered. Meanwhile, Mizzou blocks another PAT, and it's 15-14 KSU. What a weird game. Still shaking with rage from the pass interference. I need to get over it, and so does Mizzou.
12:35 - Maclin fumbles the kickoff again but recovers it and takes it to almost the 20. It's like all that early running took his legs away from him. Let's get it going, guys.
12:37 - Flag thrown on a fade to Franklin. I'm sure this is on us. Wow, pass interference on K-State. They can make that call.
12:38 - Will Franklin with a nice little catch from a double oopty-oop formation.
12:40 - Danario Alexander with a positive gain on the reverse for the first time this season. Second-and-short at the KSU 30.
12:41 - Maclin back on the field after receiving medical attention, and he's got a catch inside the 10. I guess he better get used to being this tired...he's going to be the man for the next two (at least) years.
12:42 - TD, Rucker. Handshakes all around! Knowing Pinkel, I assume we'll go for two here. Huh...or not. Wolfert with the PAT, and it's 21-15 Mizzou.
12:45 - What an awful commercial. Somebody at Valero actually thought, "We're a gas station...let's use that 'Life is a Highway' song! Only, you know what would make it better? Somebody singing it with a country twang!"
12:46 - Derrick Washington with a lovely play in kick coverage, and K-State will start from the 26. Meanwhile, Will Franklin hurt his tailbone and is grimacing mightily on the sideline.
12:47 - Another reason the early kickoff for this game sucks: I'm missing Harvard-Yale in HD on HDnet.
12:48 - Freeman with an awful throw, airmailing a screen, and it's third-and-9 for K-State. Throat. Stomp. Now.
12:48 - Freeman makes a decent underneath pass to Deon Murphy, and it bounces off of Murphy's chest. K-State will punt...but Mizzou calls timeout first. Weird. Guess we decided either a) Maclin needed a bit longer to rest, or b) somebody other than Maclin will be returning this one. That, or, you know...I'm overthinking it and we just had the wrong personnel on the field or something.
12:51 - Maclin to return. Deep punt, and Maclin returns it to around the Mizzou 30.
12:52 - Weirdest option pass ever. I actually thought Daniel had pitched it to Temple, but I was apparently the only one fooled, and he had to throw it away.
12:53 - Chase Daniel is 48-7 as a starter in high school and college. Not bad.
12:54 - A fantastic diving grab by Maclin on third down...got the left foot down inbounds. Oop...they're reviewing it. I say it was easily a catch. Therefore it will be overturned. I wasn't this cynical when the game began.
12:57 - Well holy crap, it was a catch after all. First down Tigers.
12:58 - Jason Ray powers through two tacklers, and it will be third-and-short. We're a Greg Bracey sighting away from everybody being involved in the first half. Oh yeah, and Jared Perry.
12:59 - Never mind...a very generous spot for Ray, and it's first-and-10 for Mizzou. Four or five more calls like that, and I'll feel much better about this officiating crew.
1:00 - Third-and-3 for Mizzou from the KSU 40. Big play. Incomplete to a diving Saunders, and Mizzou will try to pin KSU deep. Murphy calls fair catch at the 5. I'll take that.
1:02 - So Jordy Nelson married his sixth-grade sweetheart. Can't say that happens often. In sixth grade, I was still three years away from having a sweetheart. Then again, I was a geek.
1:03 - Third-and-7 for K-State from their 8. Screen to Johnson, and he does a nice job of plowing ahead for the first down. Relatively decent defense there, but Johnson's a really strong runner. I'm still nervous because we're only up 6 and Nelson's due a big gainer.
1:04 - Another third down...this time third-and-6 from the 23. Time to force another Freeman mistake.
1:05 - Good protection for Freeman, and it's complete to Nelson out to near the 40. Come on guys. The run defense has been strong on this drive, but they're completing passes on the passing downs.
1:06 - And right on cue, James Johnson busts a 10-yard run. Another first down for KSU, and time is ticking away in the first half. Under 3 minutes to go...
1:09 - Easiest Aflac trivia question ever: name the only K-State RB to run for 100 yards in 10 straight games. Uhh, gee...let me think...it's not like it's been 15 years since Sproles graduated or something...
1:10 - Play action pass to Pooschke, and K-State's moved all the way into the Mizzou redzone. Nice drive for KSU. The Mizzou D's been on the field quite a bit for better (Maclin kick return) or worse (a couple quick Mizzou punts), and they seem to be wearing down.
1:11 - Screen to Nelson down to about the 5. I guess holding them to a FG with a weary defense is a bit too much to ask. The question now is, how much time does Chase have left when he gets the ball back.
1:12 - Third-and-2 from the Mizzou 5. Nice pursuit on Johnson on second down, but he somehow spun ahead about three yards.
1:13 - Incomplete pass, and it's fourth down! KSU to kick another FG...nice stop for Mizzou.
1:14 - Rossman FG is good, and it's 21-18 with :38 left. Unless Maclin busts a nice return, I assume we take a knee and go to the locker room. Oh, and Rossman is 2-for-2 on FGs and 0-for-2 on PATs.
1:15 - Maclin returns it to the 25...I assume that means victory formation is coming. Yup. 21-18 at half. Please Sports God, let Big Head drink some victory whiskey in about 2.5 hours...
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1:36 - And we're back. Second half about to start. Have I mentioned that I hate just about everybody associated with Fox Sports? Lapham, D'Marco Farr...aside from maybe McLaughlin, they all suck. Stupid and obnoxious is a horrible combination, but it seems to be their business plan. Meanwhile, I watched five minutes of the Michigan-OhSt game and damn near fell asleep. I hate Big Ten football. I hate a lot of things right now, actually. I hate sports in general at this exact moment.
1:38 - Side judge Phil Laurie is retiring after today's game. I guess the "could they all retire?" joke is a little too obvious, so I won't make it.
1:39 - Mediocre return for Maclin, and Mizzou will start at their 23. Maybe it's time to establish the run?
1:40 - Nice run for Temple, but there's a late flag on the play. Hands to the face on KSU. Nice. Ron Prince is whining about it on the sideline, therefore I think it was an even better call. First-and-10 from midfield.
1:42 - Franklin lets a pass go through his hands and walks gingerly off the field. Doubt we see too much more of him.
1:43 - TOUGH run by Temple for a first down! He's running much harder (and more straight-ahead) so far in the second half.
1:44 - Deep ball to a wide-open Maclin! Thirty-six yard gain to the 2!
1:45 - Touchdown, Tony Temple!! That was a pissed off drive by Mizzou. 28-18.
1:48 - Horrid kickoff by Adam Crossett, out of bounds at about the 20. So K-State will get it at the 35. Guess allowing them to return it might have been worse.
1:49 - James Johnson has 17 carries for 148 yards
1:49 - If that pass to Daniel Gonzalez was one inch higher, it would have been picked, but Gonzalez managed to get a hand on it. And no, Dave Lapham, that wasn't a good pass.
1:50 - Third-down screen to Leon Patton, and he gets the first down by about a yard. Boo.
1:51 - Good god. Freeman scrambled and basically threw the ball away, only Brock Christopher tackled the TE before the ball got there. Not sure it was anywhere near catchable, but I guess it's good to know that it's at least sometimes pass interference when the tight end gets tackled. Yes, I'm still bitter.
1:53 - Alright, here go defense. Third-and-10 from the KSU 45. Do not let them get this.
1:54 - Nice! They went to the screen pass well one too many times, and Mizzou stopped it. K-State to punt.
1:58 - Tony Temple with another nice run to move the Tigers away from their goalline. Meanwhile, my cat just threw up in his bed and just stared at it...didn't want to actually get out of bed. There's lazy, and then there's Stan lazy. My wife's cat had to have been the inspiration for Get Fuzzy, but my cat makes Garfield look like a go-getter.
2:00 - We have a Greg Bracey sighting!! Granted, he didn't catch the bomb, but he was mugged so bad that these officials even had to call pass interference. First-and-10 from midfield.
2:01 - Tyler Luellen with a false start, and I believe that's Mizzou's first penalty of the game.
2:01 - Maclin on the screen...he was a shoestring tackle from breaking it. Then Derrick Washington takes the handoff and bulls ahead for the first down. He really does seem like a precise combination of Temple and Jimmy Jackson.
2:03 - Temple eaten up on second down...he had no chance...that'll bring up a 3rd-and-16 from the KSU 44.
2:04 - Bomb to a wide-open Jeremy Maclin for the touchdown!!! How in the hell did he get that open?! Best third down offense in the country, and it's 35-18 Mizzou! Love that kid. I slapped my hands together real loud when they scored and startled the crap out of our geriatric Yorkie sitting next to me (my wife's dog, not mine). Sorry, Kayle.
2:08 - Wolfert in to kick this one off, and the pop-up is returned to about the 30. Not bad.
2:11 - Another completion to a KSU tight end...they're doing to us what I thought Colorado would do a couple weeks ago.
2:12 - James Johnson fumbles, and Castine Bridges catches it in mid-air! Yeah, baby. Garrett got his helmet on the ball, and Mizzou's one more big play away from ending this game.
2:13 - Good defense by KSU on this drive...it's 3rd-and-15 for Mizzou. Think Maclin will be wide open again? Doubtful.
2:14 - Okay, we apparently decided to take that drive off. Daniel couldn't find anybody open, got pinned in, and just kind of went down.
2:15 - STUPID play by Deon Murphy. After this punt was only partially blocked (ugh), Murphy called fair catch, then fielded it off the bounce and ran for 5 yards. I haven't been altogether impressed with Deon Murphy this season, and that impression hasn't changed today. He continues to strike me as a slightly smarter Travis Garvin.
2:16 - That's right, I just made a T-money reference.
2:17 - Horrid possession for K-State. Easy three-and-out, and Maclin will field another punt. No he won't. It goes over his head and checks up at the 1. Phil Mickelson couldn't have done it better than that.
2:19 - Maclin bobbles the ball 19 times and drops it. Third-and-9 from the 2. REALLY don't want Crossett punting from the endzone. And he will. Daniel threw it away. Hold your breath. Back-to-back three-and-outs. Maclin shoulda caught that ball...but I can't really complain about him, can I?
2:20 - Crossett gets it away, but it has a hangtime of about 0.2 seconds, and Murphy jogs untouched to the Mizzou 20. I figured there was no way he wasn't returning that for a TD after I compared him to T-money.
2:22 - Sean Weatherspoon just crushes Freeman on second down. He was untouched, and Freeman didn't have much of a chance. Third-and-17 from the Mizzou 20.
2:23 - TD, K-State. Darnell Terrell with some horrid coverage...that, or they got their feet tangled up and he stumbled away. Either way, easy TD for K-State on third-and-long, and it's 35-25 MU (Rossman actually made the PAT).
2:23 - Yup, Terrell stepped on Pierce's feet and stumbled. Guess I won't hold that against him...too much.
2:24 - God, I hate Dave Lapham.
2:26 - Maclin returns it to the 20, and it's time for the damn offense to get back on track. K-State's got momentum again.
2:27 - And quickly it's 3rd-and-9. Ugh. I hate sports.
2:28 - Pass to Danario for the first down! Nice. Meanwhile, Ohio State beat Michigan 14-3. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
2:28 - Alexander with a drop...Daniel can't throw these any better, but Maclin and Alexander both have drops in the last two drives...it's like the first quarter in Boulder all over again.
2:29 - Third-and-6 for Mizzou from the 36. Another big play. Daniel throws it between two receivers, and Mizzou will punt again. Grr...
2:30 - Crossett with a nice punt...Murphy bobbles it, but falls on it. On to Q4...
2:33 - I have to remind myself we're up 10. The way my stomach feels, you'd think we were down 10.
2:34 - Weatherspoon with another sack to start Q4!! Guess he got tired of the LBs' poor play in this game. It was another "hold on and don't let go" tackle...impressive since Josh Freeman is damn near Daunte Culpepper big. Poor pass on second down, and we've got 3rd-and-16 for K-State. COME ON, DEFENSE.
2:35 - Willy Moore with the sack!! He's done it all today! K-State to punt. Huge stand by the D.
2:36 - And Maclin mishandles the punt...his third special teams drop of the day. Luckily, he recovers this one too.
2:37 - Saunders with a nice catch down to the KSU 30. Let's go back up by 3 possessions, guys!
2:39 - Coffman is stopped short of the first down...and then gets the first anyway. He spun off of two guys and fell forward. Love that guy. First-and-goal.
2:40 - Short swing pass to Washington, and it's third-and-goal from the 8. A field goal won't get us out of the "two possession" range, but it'll force them to score two TDs.
2:41 - Saunders barrels his way into the endzone, but they're saying he was down at the 1. On replay, that looks like another pretty bad call.
2:42 - No Matter. Daniel fakes the fourth-and-goal plunge and jump passes it to Rucker for the TD. Wolfert's PAT is good, and it's 42-25. Hoo boy.
2:47 - More pressure on Freeman...he scrambles out of the pocket and has to throw it away. Third-and-6 for the 'Cats. End this now.
2:49 - Nope...pass complete to Pooschke, who is lit up and apparently fumbled. Yup, it was a fumble...Alexander forced it and recovered it. Hell yeah. Hitting hard in the fourth quarter.
2:50 - Second-half yardage: Mizzou 227, K-State 105. KSU's only TD drive in the second half started at about the Mizzou 20.
2:51 - Make that about 248-105 after a TOUGH run by Temple.
2:52 - Jared Perry down to about the 1. Everyone has officially been involved now.
2:53 - TD, Tony Temple. Ballgame. They struggled in the first half...struggled for a while in the third quarter...and they have 49 points. 49-25. Bring on Kansas.
2:56 - Knoxie, it's time to start doing the "Crazy Fan of the Game" thing before Q4...just like with the Colorado game two weeks ago, they come back from commercial to show a bunch of crazy, excited KSU fans...whose team is getting destroyed with a few minutes remaining. LOVED that footage of Knox getting dumped over in the sofa before the game, though. Had to rewind that and watch it a couple more times.
2:57 - And now that the game is iced away, I can officially mention how much I love this shirt. (via Mizzourah)
People just don't understand how deep the Mizzou-Kansas rivalry runs. Screw the Michigan-Ohio State "we're close to each other and have been good at football forever" rivalry. This is a "both sides killed women and children in the Civil War" rivalry. Tom Rinaldi better have some dramatic Civil War feature on Gameday next week.
3:02 - So I'm pretty sure we haven't heard from Jordy Nelson at all in the second half today.
3:03 - Lol, right on cue, Nelson with the first down. I'm really good at that.
3:04 - Hey! It's Luke Lambert with the sack! Love seeing that.
3:07 - Now that Nelson has caught a couple balls, it's okay to talk about nothing but Nelson for about 5 minutes. You can tell they expected him to have a big game, and they stored up these stories and interview clips, and they're dumping them now.
3:08 - TD, Jordy Nelson. That's fine. Would have preferred they not score again, but we made them eat up about 4 minutes doing it. 49-32 with 2:04 left.
3:09 - My wife has come to the realization that she's not going to have any fingernails left by Saturday night. Picking the nails is her nervous habit, and she gets way more wrapped up in these games than she wishes she would...gotta love that. I'm just glad she hasn't had to wish for anybody to get knee-capped today.
3:13 - On-side kick goes out of bounds, plus KSU was offsides. Mizzou ball. Let's see if Ron Prince uses his timeouts for no reason like he did last year...using his TO's down 20 in driving rain. Still pissed at him for that.
3:14 - It's Chase Patton! Hello, Chase! Daniel's final line: 28-for-41, 284 yards, 4 TD's, 0 INT's. But Tim Tebow's better at jump passes, so I'm sure he'll remain the Heisman favorite.
3:16 - Ballgame. Lovely.