Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo. - It was a tale of two halfs for the Broncos in Columbia, Missouri at Faurot Field. WMU, who went into half time down by 28 points, came out in the second half firing on all cylinder. But it was too little too late for the Broncos as they were handed their third loss of the season, 52-24 by the Missouri Tigers.
On Missouri's first possession, junior quarterback Chase Daniel wasted no time hitting wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for a 25-yard touchdown pass just two minutes into the game; capping off a six-play, 72-yard drive to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. The score marks the third straight game that a WMU opponent has scored on their opening possession.
After a missed field goal by Missouri's Jeff Wolfert, WMU took over on offense with a promising drive; converting on a third-and-one with a pass from Tim Hiller to freshman tight end Anthony Middleton. Later in the drive, after a huge rush by Mark Bonds was called back due to an illegal formation, Hiller was intercepted by Mizzou's Brock Christopher. On the ensuing possession, Daniel dashed past WMU defenders for 39-yards all the way down to the 1-yard line.
On the very next play, senior running back Tony Temple pounded the ball in from 1-yard out to give Missouri a 14-0 lead, which they took into the second quarter.
WMU's offense gained some much needed momentum on the first play of the second quarter, when Hiller hooked up with tight end Keith Shultz on fourth-and-one dump pass. But after a hand full of penalties for the Broncos and a Mizzou sack, WMU was forced to punt on fourth and twenty nine and give the ball back to the Tigers.
Missouri took a 21-0 second quarter lead when wide receiver Jeremy Maclin took a direct snap 17-yards off the end into the end zone.
On their second trip to the red zone, WMU got on the board with a 24-yard field goal from senior kicker Mike Jones at the 6:11 mark. The Broncos drive was promising with a third-and-eleven completion to Jamarko Simmons, who had three receptions on the drive, and at one point got the ball inside the six-yard line. But after a Bronco penalty, they were held to the field goal from Jones. The 12-play, 59 yard drive cut the lead to 21-3.
WMU's defense got a big break with 3:30 left in the second quarter when Anthony Gebhart picked off Daniel's pass in Tiger territory taking it all the way down to the Missouri 32-yard line. Gebharts second-career interception broke Daniel's Big-12 record 254 passes without an interception. Daniel was only 18 shy of Trent Dilfer's NCAA record.
The Bronco offense stalled after the interception, turning the ball over on downs on four straight plays after an incomplete pass on a fourth down attempt.
Mizzou's offense came out and executed the two minute offense to perfection when Daniel rolled out to the right and found Tommy Saunders for a 25-yard touchdown pass, his second of the half, which gave the Tigers a 28-3 lead with 1:00 left in the second quarter.
After a great kickoff return from Brandon West, who scored on a career high 98-yarder last week, the WMU offense had just under a minute to work with until halftime. Hiller delivered a 10-yard strike to Herb Martin for a first down, but on the next play Hiller was sacked and fumbled in Bronco territory.
Missouri came out of the pile with the football, but their offense couldn't move the ball and were held to a 47-yard field goal from Wolfert that gave the Tigers a 31-3 lead going into the locker room at halftime. The 28-point lead is the largest first half defecit the Broncos have faced all year.
After both teams exchanged punts to start the second half, Missouri was faced with a third-and-eight on their second possession of the half. Daniel rolled out to his right looking for Maclin again and was intercepted by C.J. Wilson, who took the ball 46-yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The interception marks Wilson's third defensive touchdown of his career, as he also took an interception to the house last year against Ohio University. Wilson also sets a school record for interceptions returned for a touchdown in a career with his third, and is tied for third all-time in the MAC. After a PAT from Jones, Western Michigan cut the lead to 31-10.After a rough first half for the Bronco defense, they forced Missouri to punt on two of their first three possessions. Unfortunately, on the second punt the Tigers were able to pin the Broncos inside their own 4-yard line, and after a three and out they too were forced to punt.
Missouri's return man, Maclin, field the ball at mid-field and took the ball all the way to the WMU 29-yard line. The Tigers offense got inside the five-yard line, and Temple powered his way in for a touchdown from two-yards out making it 38-10.
On the ensuing possession for the Broncos, they marched down the field getting all the way down to the Missouri 14-yard line and were faced with a fourth-and-three. In the high pressure situation, Hiller completed a five-yard pass to West, which then set up WMU's first offensive touchdown. Bonds took a handoff nine-yards to pay dirt with 13:49 left in the fourth quarter, making the score 38-17 in favor of the Tigers.
The Broncos again got on the board with a 63-yard drive led by Hiller, which was capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass from Hiller to Brandon Ledbetter. The Broncos two unanswered touchdowns cut the lead to 38-24 with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter.
Mizzou got on the board for the first time in the second half with a 35-yard touchdown rush by Daniel with 8:19 left in the game, giving the Tigers a 45-24 lead.
The Broncos got the ball back and marched right down the field on their next possession, getting down to the 1-yard line. But after an illegal formation penalty, they turned the ball over on four straight plays from the six-yard line after an incomplete pass from Hiller intented for Schneider Julien on fourth-and-goal.
Missouri's backup quarterback Chase Patton finished off the Tigers scoring attack with a 18-yard touchdown rush with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter, giving Mizzou the 52-24 lead.
Western Michigan didn't give up with under a minute left in the game. Bill Cubit's offense took a few shots at the end zone, but Hiller was picked off on the last play of the game, and WMU left Faurot Field with a 52-24 loss.
Western Michigan will return home next week as the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils travel to Waldo Stadium to battle with the Broncos at 7 p.m.
