Gabbert, Missouri throttle Illinois 37-9

By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer Sep 5, 8:19 pm EDT

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ST. LOUIS (AP)—Blaine Gabbert threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth in a stellar starting debut to lead rebuilding Missouri to a 37-9 victory over Illinois on Saturday, its fifth win in a row in the neutral-site series.

Juice Williams was held in check and failed to convert a crucial fourth-down play for Illinois, which just missed cracking the preseason Top 25 but flopped despite an offense with eight returning starters. The Fighting Illini were 5-7 last year but had been a touchdown favorite against a program replacing 23 seniors, including quarterback Chase Daniel and a pair of NFL first-round draft picks.

Missouri won its eighth straight opener without most of the key skill players from an offense that helped produce 22 victories the past two seasons. Gabbert, a sophomore shining in his hometown after appearing in three games last season as Daniel’s understudy, was 25-for-33 and added 39 yards on 10 carries for an offense that had no turnovers.

Gabbert had three first-down runs before bulling into the end zone on an 8-yard carry in the fourth quarter

The Tigers led 16-3 at the half and pulled away with touchdowns on two of their first three possessions after the break. Danario Alexander had 10 receptions for 132 yards, including two catches for 59 yards, on the opening drive of the third quarter, and Jared Perry caught a 46-yard touchdown pass in the third for a 30-3 lead.

Williams was 18 for 28 for 179 yards with an interception and was sacked three times. Last year, Williams passed for 451 yards and five touchdowns and set an Edward Jones Dome record with 461 yards of total offense.

Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn and running back Jason Ford missed the second half with ankle injuries. Daniel Dufrene, the starter at running back, dressed but did not play due to an ankle injury.

Gabbert was 7 for 8 for 106 yards in the first quarter, leading Missouri to a 10-0 lead after two possessions while Illinois opened with two punts. The big play of the half was a 49-yard scoring pass to Wes Kemp, a sophomore also making his first career start, and the Tigers added field goals of 32, 44 and 41 yards from new kicker Grant Ressel.

Trailing 13-3 late in the second quarter, Illinois failed to capitalize on a roughing the punter call when Williams stumbled just after taking the snap on 4th-and-1 at the Missouri 20. Williams appeared to get his legs tangled with guard Randall Hunt and fell backward for a 4-yard loss.

Missouri has won 11 straight non-conference games, the longest streak in school history, since a home loss to New Mexico in 2005.

Updated Sep 5, 8:19 pm EDT
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Head to Head - Week 1

Team Total Yds Pass Yds Rush Yds First Downs 3rdD% Pen./Yds Turnovers Time of Poss.
Missouri 442 325 117 21 52.9% 5/45 0 29:54
Illinois 325 215 110 18 37.5% 4/40 2 30:06
NCAAF

45 Comments

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  1. Hutch
    45. Posted by Hutch Fri Sep 11 12:50am EDT

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    The problem with Illinois is not talent because they have good talent, its Zook. Zook, was the same exact way at Florida. He gets in his own way. He is completely obvious and his offense is trash. When he was at Florida, it was like he was playing against himself. And whats really crazy is everyone at Florida liked him! But when they brought in the guy from Utah, even when the guy from Utah was using alot of Zook's players, you could see a huge difference in the way they played on offense...it was like night and day.
    He had alot of talent at Florida and was a good recruiter but he just can't stop being average. I have never seen a coach like him.. You know what he's going to do...and even when he starts to get a step ahead, he calls a play that just allows the defensive coordinator to get back to even...the Def. Coordinator rarely has to guess or is caught off guard. by a Ron Zook Offense, or a Ron Zook team.
  2. w p
    44. Posted by w p Mon Sep 7 11:05pm EDT

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    hey chickenhawk g- you've obviously never actually been to Columbia. If so you'd know the Big 12 is one of many bars that's a total @#$% palace 7 nights/wk with the hottest girls in the country let alone the Big 12 conference. But then getting lost in wheat fields is all you know how to do. you probably think larry, kansas has so much to offer. pull your head out and take a look around-there's nothing in larry, nooooothiiiiiing.
    Wait till the chickenhawks have to play Mizzou. sod reesing will once again be picking sod out of his helmet, and wishing the game was over in the first quarter, which it will be. suck chalk chickenhawks and KUCK FANSAS.
  3. w p
    43. Posted by w p Mon Sep 7 10:32pm EDT

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    Hindsight is always 20/20, but being psychic, I knew Mizzou would be at least as good this year as last. They were obviously over rated last year, under rated this. They will probably go 10-2 this year losing to ut and osu., but spank everyone else especially the cornholers and the chickenhawks to win the North again
    . The Tigers will beat them both like a red headed step child. The morons that thought Mizzou would finish way off the pace had their heads way up their a$$. Just look at the talent they have now, and the new recruits coming in. The defense can go nowhere but up, and the offense is better as well. Then the next 2 following years, they will be so stacked and talented, they will compete for the national championship. Mark my words, you read it here first. Oh by the way, the cornholers and chickenhawks will be in a mad fight for 5th in the North. KUCK FANSAS.
    Cheers.
  4. Denise
    42. Posted by Denise Mon Sep 7 8:48pm EDT

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    Gabbert was great. Defense looked good. Caps off to the Mizzou offense. Illini sucks. Zook look out cuz if you put forward more weak to mediocre football you can kiss your job goodbye.
  5. fan of baseball
    41. Posted by fan of baseball Mon Sep 7 7:13pm EDT

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    There seems to be a very serious problem with how Zook is preparing this team....Illinois needs a new coach..and i mean fast....This game Saturday was terrible for Illinois fans...i was just beside myself after this highschool performance of a game. Illinois you have some problems...You all played like you were highschool freshmans...SAD!!!
  6. Jayhawk G
    40. Posted by Jayhawk G Mon Sep 7 4:24pm EDT

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    Columbia is a disgusting town and Missouri is the trashiest state in America. The women are all hideous. MU was rated ugliest women by Big 12 schools, falling right behind K-State. It had the highest suicide rate among universities for quite a while, probably due to the depressing environment. MU fans will never sniff a national championship at anything but they will probably sniff some glue to distort their perception of reality. MUCK FIZZOU!
  7. Michael M
    39. Posted by Michael M Mon Sep 7 3:35pm EDT

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    Hey, Rockin Bob, there is nothing wrong with a running QB at the college level if the team runs a full-blown option such as the Power I or Wishbone.
  8. <i>korbinroyals07</i>
    38. Posted by korbinroyals07 Mon Sep 7 2:57pm EDT

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    This was the biggest surprise in college football for the first week. I'm a big mizzou fan and i thought this year was going to be a rebuilding year with how many seniors we lost from last year. Gabbert is just taking the ball that was passed from smith-daniel. Look for Blaine Gabbert to do some big things these next three years. It doesn't hurt either that we have Weatherspoon in our linebacking core who will be a first round draft pick.

    MIZ!!!!!
  9. SJ
    37. Posted by SJ Mon Sep 7 1:03pm EDT

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    Mike S I agree with most of what you posted however, I believe that Illinois' first game will be nothing like how they should/will play. Every other Big Ten school played cupcakes, granted Navy has been a good team the past few years and UNI is competitive in the Missouri Valley. Not to mention Toledo/NIU in the MAC. Regardless, Illinois looked scared and dazed, especially after Benn left resulting in a poor performance against a more confident and eager Big Twelve opponent. Not only was Benn knocked out of the game but the first and second string running backs Dufrene and Ford. Illinois o line did a great job for the most part along with Pollard and LeShoure but if you don't have a vertical game running the ball effectively becomes a challenge. Like the Bears, Illinois achilles will be their secondary, which was burned bad against a freshman QB. Need to get a win this Saturday to gain some momentum and confidence heading into the Shoe
  10. Don
    36. Posted by Don Sun Sep 6 5:36pm EDT

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    Missouri looked really good--they were 7 point underdogs and dominated! I doubt anyone will move up the rankings more than Missouri...they're definitely a top 20 team, maybe better.
  11. mike
    35. Posted by mike Sun Sep 6 5:20pm EDT

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    ron zook is doing his best to prove he is a lousy coach and that 2007 was a fluke.all the talent in the world and he cant motivate them to play better then that crap we saw yesterday.granted benn went out and that hurt but its not like ill. is empty at wideout.they just couldnt catch and fumbled too much when they did thank u jeff cumberland.the d-line played okay and ian thomas was good but their d-backs dont have a clue and martez wilson may not have a clue till he graduates. mikel leshoure ran good and the o-line actually did good and gave juice enough time or at least as much as gabbert had to find receivers, i just wander why they were never open? jared fayson should why he was a 5 star recruit he will be good if he can get the ball. but i dont agree with zook that long ball is not an intricate part of their game plan,is he nuts that threat opens up everything else illinois wont win playing dink and dunk with 8 yard passes. if these guys dont get their heads out of their rears were looking at a best 2 and 10 season. everyone that ill plays in the big ten with the exception of indiana kicked ass. after looking at this game i will bet they cant wait to play illinois and pad some stats.
  12. Lind
    34. Posted by Lind Sun Sep 6 5:01pm EDT

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    Being a Illini football fan is a lot like being a Cubs fan, dooohhhhhhhhh.
  13. Don M
    33. Posted by Don M Sun Sep 6 2:48pm EDT

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    This is going to be a very interesting year for Missouri. After a lot of success the past two years, but not quite being able to get all the way over, they have lost an enormous amount of talent. Can they overcome that? do they have enought talent that was simply buried on the depth charts, that we will now get a chance to see, or are the people who will step into starting roles this year not up to the task? The answer we get will say much about the recruiting and coaching at Mizzou.

    Blaine Gabbert had a pretty good first game. Not incredible, but solid, and a good start. I had heard though, that the defense was supposed to be the strength of the Tigers this year- but look at the stats- The Missouri defense game up similar total yards, passing yards, running yards, first downs, and time of possession to Illinois- So I find that a little concerning. Last two years, a slightly suspect defense wasn't a serious liability most of the time- the high powered offense simply outscored everyone. It's okay to give up 35 points if youre scoring 42. But with so many offensive weapons graduated, we are going to have a really solid defense, at least until we see if the offense can keep rolling. I hope that Gabbert, and the rest of the players on that side of the ball are just as good as what we are used to. But the reality is, with the type of team we have had the last two years, we will win most games- except Oklahome, or Texas, the most powerful offenses in the country, and the stingiest defenses. There's a reason those teams are competing for the national championship year in and year out, and we are fighting for a conference championship, and good bowl game- They are the complete package, solid on both sides of the ball. Our team has been very very good, but just barely not good enough. If we want to win it all, we need top play on both sides.

    The wild card now is Sam Bradford and his injured shoulder. If he can spring back from that, the Sooners will likely roll on as expected. But if it is worse than we realize, or it keeps nagging at him, then OU could be vulnerable- And it will likely be Texas out of the south. (And probably will be anyway)
  14. Rockin Bob
    32. Posted by Rockin Bob Sun Sep 6 1:42pm EDT

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    Any serious football fan knows that a quarterback needs to be intelligent to manage an offense, not be the whole offense like Williams loves to do.. These dumb college coaches for some reason think they need running quarterbacks! Of course, it makes it easier for the opposing defense to just key in on the quarterback. Juice Williams is not a quarterback! Maybe Illinois should have someone outside of the coaching staff analyze high school prospects for that position.

    Great throwing quarterbacks go to the pro's and win super bowls.
  15. <i>darrellmessbarger</i>
    31. Posted by darrellmessbarger Sun Sep 6 11:25am EDT

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    It kills me that the intellectually disadvantaged from Lawrence, KS, make up the vast majority of insipid, or disgusting, comments inflicted on the sports fans of America. Every success seen by any team, other than Kansas, is either a fluke, they cheated, KU was cheated, whatever.

    For most of us, nobody cares about your glorious basketball tradition during football season. We, as gridiron fans, would appreciate it if you just took your antidepressants or anti-anxiety disorder medications waiting for the game at Arrowhead. Since Missouri is supposed to be nothing or go anywhere this year, you will have to trudge through your season with the knowledge that no matter what happens, you have to play the Tigers at the end. The result will probably be that you will suffer a repeat of your near perfect season, year before last, when M.U. tagged your J-canaries with its only loss. Such a shame. I wouldn't have traded that game for ten years of basketball championships.

    The fans from Illinois are more sports savvy, have far more class, and can construct a complete sentence. We, at MIssouri, and the rest of the Big Twelve, wish them luck and a successful season.
  16. jeff b
    30. Posted by jeff b Sun Sep 6 9:27am EDT

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    Hey josh........ you must be a dipsh------- mizzou fan ,,,, as i said before your all the same .. i was referring to an illini message. you mizzou fans are like little children. if i want to hear from you i will talk to you........ berate people and hide behind a computer screen ....... speak when spoken to.
  17. Jarrod
    29. Posted by Jarrod Sun Sep 6 3:59am EDT

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    Wow, Jayhawk G. With this comment string being about football, you manage to bring in something about KU basketball because we all know that KU football blows a$$. Good job. Stong argument. Douche.
  18. AlS
    28. Posted by AlS Sun Sep 6 3:34am EDT

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    Illini Fan here--

    You ruin our labor day we ruin your Christmas. The trend continues. Looking for anything to hang hope on. They did get beat by MO. the year they went to the Rose Bowl and beat Ohio State on the Road. I don't think that season was all luck. Okay I give, Missouri looks great.
  19. Matt A
    27. Posted by Matt A Sun Sep 6 2:48am EDT

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    A lot of foks including the dumba@@es from Kansas have no clue about how good Mizzou actually is. Dream on my lame friends, Mizzou will win the Big 12 North....
  20. Jayhawk G
    26. Posted by Jayhawk G Sun Sep 6 1:55am EDT

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    Impressive win by Mizzou. Gabbert might be better than Chase Daniel. Unfortunately, Tiger fans, the Kansas Jayhawks are the best team in the Big 12 North and you know it. I predict Kansas will lose 3 games all season at football, which will actually be more losses than we have at basketball this season. We went 37-3 during the 2007-2008 basketball season. In case you forgot, we won the national title that year, something that Missouri has never come close to achieving. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK GO KU!
  21. Man G
    25. Posted by Man G Sun Sep 6 1:38am EDT

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    illini was picked to win they just sucked and it was pretty horrible there goes my BCS hopes
  22. kevin
    24. Posted by kevin Sun Sep 6 1:14am EDT

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    Weaker coaches in the Big 12 than Pinkel: Mike Sherman in Texas A&M (they have better recruiting yet perform worse), Dan Hawkins in Colorado (they recruit similar to Mizzou every year and still perform worse), Bo Pelini in Nebraska (a little too early to judge but nothing so far says he is better), Mike Leach in Texas Tech (has better recruits and only one national title "run" to show for it. Other than that, he has not outdone Pinkel), Mangino in Kansas (has similar recruits to Mizzou and has lost to Mizzou quite frequently as of late......with last year as the exception), Bill Snyder in Kansas State (been a while since they've won the division), and it's hard to judge the coaches at Baylor and Iowa State because those teams are always non-factors every year.

    Pinkel has turned around a program that was in the toilet. He recruited two key pieces in the turn-around (Brad Smith and Chase Daniel). He also kept the same coaching staff up until the end of last season. He has shown stability at the head coaching position. It's really hard to say that he has done a worse job than the coaches of the schools listed above.
  23. <i>stevebradley50</i>
    23. Posted by stevebradley50 Sun Sep 6 12:42am EDT

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    For the idiot who calls the offense for Illinois, you must throw the ball deep to keep the safeties back. Why would a reciever go to a team who never tries to get you the ball down field?
  24. J
    22. Posted by J Sun Sep 6 12:32am EDT

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    Jeff, no one can read your wall of text. It's called punctuation dip@#$%.
  25. jeff b
    21. Posted by jeff b Sat Sep 5 11:36pm EDT

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    hey football fan name a weaker coach in the big 12 you mister football knowledge i was giving credit to the big 12 and your to stupid to read between the lines you mizzou fans are all the same rah rah border wars in basketball thats another story let me rephrase cause they certainly havent been wars now have they lets see where mizzou finishes i know our program sucks but as i said name a weaker big 12 coach mr knowledge
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Top Performers

 Top Performers
 Missouri
B. Gabbert B. Gabbert, QB
25-33, 319 yds
3 TDs
10 Rush, 39 yds, 1 TD
 Illinois
M. LeShoure M. LeShoure, RB
10 Rush, 38 yds
1 TD

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