NCAA 09: Colorado

To both better prepare for football season and to better illustrate our nerd-dom, over the next few weeks, RMN will be using EA Sports' NCAA Football 09 to predict the 2008 football season for Mizzou and the rest of the Big 12. The games are run without human involvement under game-predicted conditions and six-minute quarters. This installment previews Colorado visit to the home of the nation's No. 1 team.

No. 1 Tigers remain unbeaten with 17-7 win over Colorado

       COLUMBIA, MO. - In non-conference play, No. 23 Colorado announced its presence with upsets over West Virginia and Florida State. On Saturday, Colorado nearly added No. 1 Missouri to that list.
       However, despite being outgained 314-250 and outpassed by nearly 100 yards, Missouri (8-0, 4-0) remained unbeaten with a 17-7 win over Colorado (5-3, 1-3) at Faurot Field.
       The win came courtesy of a Missouri defense that bent but never broke. The Tigers came up with two red zone stops in the second half to preserve the victory.
       The game's first drive nearly came at a high price for Missouri. Halfback Derrick Washington left the game during Missouri's first drive, suffering what was diagnosed as a bruised elbow.
       A few plays later, Chase Daniel was forced to the sideline with a strained pectoral. The injury-riddled drive ended with a 31-yard field goal for Jeff Wolfert.
       On Colorado's first possession, Nick Nelson, filling in for Cody Hawkins who was still out with a dislocated shoulder, accounted for 64 yards of a 65-yard touchdown drive. Nelson went 4-of-5 on the possession, capping it with a 2-yard touchdown pass.
       Mizzou reclaimed the lead in the second quarter, with Chase Patton scoring on a QB draw to make the score, 10-7.
       On the following possession, the injury epidemic struck again. First, Missouri safety William Moore temporarily left the game with back spasms. Two plays later, Colorado tailback Darrell Scott left with a bruised ankle.
       CU appeared ready to to tie the game heading into the half, but Adam Garcia pushed a 39-yard field goal attempt wide right. The miss kept the score at 10-7 entering halftime.
       The Buffaloes were due to receive the ball to begin the third quarter, but a fumbled kickoff return gave Mizzou the ball on the CU 34. Four plays later, Daniel, after a play fake to Jimmy Jackson, found Tommy Saunders on a post route for a touchdown.
       Dan Hawkins challenged whether or not Saunders broke the plane before his knee hit the ground, but the review upheld the touchdown and cost CU a timeout.
       Colorado was able to drive the length of the field on its next possession, but Mizzou's third goalline stand in two weeks kept CU off the board. On third and fourth down, William Moore and Sean Weatherspoon came up with stops on Scott inside the one-yard line.
       Colorado would drive the length of the field again in the fourth quarter. However, another Mizzou stop on fourth down inside the red zone gave Mizzou the ball with under two minutes to play and a 10-point lead.
       Mizzou then bled out the clock, improving to 8-0 on the season. The Tigers travel to Waco next week to face Baylor, who is still winless in Big 12 play.

Scoring, stats, results, and Big 12 standings after the jump.

SCORING

First Quarter
MU - FG Wolfert 31
CU - Williams 2 pass from Nelson (Garcia kick)

Second Quarter
MU - Patton 1 run

Third Quarter
MU - Saunders 18 pass from Daniel (Wolfert kick)

Fourth Quarter
None

STATS

TEAM STATS

Total yards: CU 314, MU 250
Passing yards: CU 284, MU 192
Rushing yards: MU 58, CU 30
First downs: CU 19, MU 11
Turnovers: CU 3, MU 2
Time of Possession: CU 13:42, MU 10:22

PASSING

RUSHING

RECEIVING

WEEK 9 RESULTS
(No. 14) Texas Tech 41, (No. 10) Kansas 38 - Harrell and Reesing combine for eight touchdowns as KU rally falls short
(No. 11) Oklahoma 28, (No. 24) Kansas State 14 - Murray and Bradford each account for two touchdowns
(No. 5) Texas 35, Oklahoma State 16 - 'Horns rebound from Mizzou loss with convincing win over Cowboys
Nebraska 38, Baylor 27 - Four Ganz TD passes help Huskers overcome halftime deficit
Texas A&M 25, Iowa State 18 - 15-point fourth quarter gets Ags back to .500 in conference play

CONFERENCE STANDINGS