Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
5-3 , 2-2
Missouri
6-2 , 2-2
Tech Loses Offensive Battle, 62-31
October 25, 2003 | Football
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Missouri quarterback Brad Smith ran for 291 yards and a school-record five touchdowns and the Tigers controlled Texas Tech's top-ranked offense in a 62-31 victory Saturday.
Smith's yardage total is the second highest in school history and he needed only 19 carries to do it. He was elusive on both designed runs and scrambles, scoring on runs of 10, 27, 2, 41 and 61 yards to help Missouri (6-2, 2-2 Big 12) become bowl eligible for the first time since 1998.
He added 128 yards passing, going 13-for-24.
Zack Abron added 139 yards on 25 carries and scored the Tigers' other three touchdowns on runs of 3, 4 and 2 yards. He has 38 career touchdowns, tying the school career record set by Corby Jones from 1995-98, and has scored 228 points to tie another Jones record.
Texas Tech (5-3, 2-2) entered the game leading the nation with a 47-point average, but couldn't recover from three turnovers in the first half that led to 17 points as Missouri took a 34-10 lead. B.J. Symons, the nation's leading passer, was intercepted on consecutive passes in the half, mistakes that led to 10 points.
Symons ended up with four touchdown passes, two of them to Carlos Francis, and was 40-for-62 for 408 yards. But he threw a season-worst three interceptions, two picked off by Brandon Barnes.
 B.J. Symons racked up 408 yards passing.  | |
Missouri finished with 469 yards rushing and had no turnovers. The Tigers entered the game tied for the Division I lead with only five turnovers all year.
Missouri scored on all six possessions in the first half against a defense ranked near the bottom of Division I (113th of 117) after giving up 51 points to Oklahoma State last week. The Tigers also neutralized Texas Tech's pass-happy attack, especially in the first half, by dropping as many as eight players into coverage while still getting pressure on Symons.
Barnes' interception set up Abron's 4-yard run on the first play of the second quarter, putting the Tigers ahead 24-3. James Kinney intercepted Symons' next pass and returned it 21 yards to the Texas Tech 20 to set up a field goal by Mike Matheny that made it 27-3.
Texas Tech capitalized on the Tigers' first two punts of the day with Symons throwing touchdown passes to Francis and Mickey Peters to cut the deficit to 34-24. Symons and Francis hooked up on a 26-yard score later in the third to again cut the gap to 10 points at 41-31.
Each time, Missouri answered the threat. Abron scored on a 2-yard run to cap a 77-yard drive on the first play of the fourth quarter and Smith scored on a 2-yard run with 11:40 to go to make it 48-31.
Barnes' second interception at the Missouri 10 with 11 minutes to go kept Texas Tech from cutting the gap to 10 again.
Team Stats
TT 0, MU 3
MU - Matheny, Mike 33 yd field goal 12 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:04
TT 3, MU 3
TT - Toogood, Keith 23 yd field goal 10 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:37
TT 3, MU 10
MU - Abron, Zack 3 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 3:22
TT 3, MU 17
MU - Smith, Brad 10 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 8 plays, 51 yards, TOP 3:09
TT 3, MU 24
MU - Abron, Zack 4 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 6 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:50
TT 3, MU 27
MU - Matheny, Mike 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 1:15
TT 10, MU 27
TT - Peters, Mickey 6 yd pass from Symons, B.J. (Toogood, Keith kick) 13 plays, 93 yards, TOP 6:21
TT 10, MU 34
MU - Smith, Brad 27 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 7 plays, 70 yards, TOP 3:37
TT 17, MU 34
TT - Francis, Carlos 12 yd pass from Symons, B.J. (Toogood, Keith kick) 5 plays, 26 yards, TOP 2:33
TT 24, MU 34
TT - Peters, Mickey 32 yd pass from Symons, B.J. (Toogood, Keith kick) 7 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:27
TT 24, MU 41
MU - Abron, Zack 2 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 3:25
TT 31, MU 41
TT - Francis, Carlos 26 yd pass from Symons, B.J. (Toogood, Keith kick) 7 plays, 79 yards, TOP 1:23
TT 31, MU 48
MU - Smith, Brad 2 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 7 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:54
TT 31, MU 55
MU - Smith, Brad 41 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 1 plays, 41 yards, TOP 0:10
TT 31, MU 62
MU - Smith, Brad 61 yd run (Matheny, Mike kick), 3 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:32