April 17, 2007
Columbia, Mo. -
The University of Missouri football team held its final scrimmage Tuesday afternoon in Columbia, as it prepared for its annual Black & Gold Spring Game this Saturday. The scrimmage was the third of the spring, and the first that was able to be held outdoors at Faurot Field.
Out in the natural elements, the Tigers had a spirited scrimmage, with the big intrigue coming from which side of the ball won, thus winning the coveted black jerseys for Saturday's spring game.
With the score tied at 54-apiece at the end of the scrimmage, Tiger coaches decided to have the number one offense and number one defense battle one last time to determine the winning side. The offense got the best of their counterparts, driving 72 yards for a TD that was capped on a 34-yard touchdown pass from QB Chase Daniel to WR Will Franklin to give the offense the win.
The play capped an efficient day for Daniel, as he threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns, on 13-of-16 passing, with one interception. Daniel was 6-of-7 on the final possession, with three completions going to Franklin for 48 yards, while WR Danario Alexander caught the other three balls for 24 yards.
Mizzou's defense still had some big plays on the day, with DT Lorenzo Williams leading the way with an interception (returned for 35 yards), a tackle for loss and another pass that he broke up. That was the third interception on the day by the defense, as LB Sean Weatherspoon made a leaping pickoff over the middle against Daniel (returning it 15 yards) while walk-on DB Tony Buhr intercepted J.P. Tillman later in the day. Two long field goal attempts were blocked on the day, one by DE Stryker Sulak, with the other by DE Tommy Chavis. LB Van Alexander had a tackle for loss while S William Moore and LB Marquis Booker also broke up a pass apiece.
Franklin ended the scrimmaging with five catches for 77 yards and the one touchdown, while MU's tight end combo of Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman had their typical productive days - Rucker had three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown while Coffman had six grabs for 46 yards and a score. Rucker's score came from 59 yards, while Coffman opened the scoring with a 15-yard TD. WR Danario Alexander ended with six receptions for 59 yards in all.
Chase Patton had another solid day in his backup work, as he completed 14-of-16 passes for 87 yards and one touchdown - a two-yarder to Franklin. Dominic Grooms completed 6-of-9 passes for 44 yards, while J.P. Tillman had a tough go of it Tuesday, completing 3-of-12 passes for 19 yards and a pair of interceptions.
The Tigers will hold a final practice Thursday afternoon, prior to the Black & Gold scrimmage Saturday. Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m. at Faurot Field, and admission is just $3 or three canned food items which go to benefit the Central Missouri Food Bank.
Scrimmage Statistics
Scoring
Chase Coffman 15-yard TD pass from Chase Daniel
Will Franklin 2-yard TD pass from Chase Patton
Martin Rucker 59-yard TD pass from Chase Daniel
Will Franklin 34-yard TD pass from Chase Daniel
Passing
Chase Daniel - 13-16, 223 yds., 3 TDs, 1 INT
Chase Patton - 14-16, 87 yds., 1 TD
Dominic Grooms - 6-9, 44 yds.
J.P. Tillman - 3-12, 19 yds.
Rushing
Earl Goldsmith - 6-8
Marcus Woods - 5-9
Tony Temple - 4-4
Jimmy Jackson - 3-1
J.P. Tillman - 3-(-5)
Dominic Grooms - 2-4
Shawn Scott - 1-2
Chase Daniel - 1-(-11)
Receiving
Danario Alexander - 6-59
Will Franklin - 5-77, 2 TDs
Chase Coffman - 5-46, 1 TD
Martin Rucker - 3-81, 1 TD
Jon Gissinger - 3-26
Greg Bracey - 2-20
Jeremy Maclin - 2-18
Tommy Saunders - 2-18
Jimmy Jackson - 2-14
Jason Ray 2-(-1)
Shawn Scott - 1-8
Forrest Shock - 1-6
Lucas Null - 1-4
Field Goals
Jeff Wolfert - 3-5 (Make: 27, 27, 40) (Miss: 48, 55)
Adam Crossett - 3-5 (Make: 27, 27, 48) (Miss: 40, 55)
Punting
Adam Crossett - 5-200, 40.0 avg.
Gabriel Lickteig - 5-197, 39.4 avg.
