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Daniel, Missouri roll past Kansas State

Nov 18, 2007 - 12:49 AM MANHATTAN, Kansas (Ticker) -- Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and Missouri did not get caught looking ahead.

Daniel tossed four touchdown passes and Maclin collected 360 all-purpose yards Saturday as sixth-ranked Missouri pulled away from Kansas State for a 49-32 victory in Big 12 Conference play.

The Tigers (10-1, 6-1 Big 12 North) clinched their first 10-win season since 1960, when they went 11-0.

"We did the necessary things (to win), and I'm real proud of our team," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "We're 10-1 and still going."

It was the fifth straight win for Missouri, which easily could have overlooked this contest against the upset-minded Wildcats (5-6, 3-5 North).

"I don't even know who we played this week - it's over with," Daniel said. "I don't even care about anything - we won, that's all that matters."

"There's no way in the world that you're going to win a game like this if you're thinking about somebody else," Pinkel added. "You're not going to have a chance. Kansas State is just too good and the Big 12 is just too tough."

The Tigers can clinch the division title and a berth in the Big 12 championship game with a victory next week over fourth-ranked Kansas in the annual rivalry game known as the "Border Showdown" or "Border War."

"That place is going to be wild," Pinkel said. "That's going to be a lot of fun. They're one of the undefeated teams in the country, they're playing great football, and we're obviously great rivals. It doesn't get better than that."

But with the matchup against Kansas looming, Missouri took care of business against the Wildcats, who had won their previous eight home games against the Tigers.

"Kansas, Kansas, Kansas, we can finally worry about it," Daniel said. "We didn't let this team worry about it until now. It was out there, but coach Pinkel did a great job at focusing on the task at hand, which was Kansas State."

An outside candidate for the Heisman Trophy, Daniel authored another chapter to what has been a brilliant campaign, completing 28-of-41 passes for 284 yards. The junior has passed for 3,590 yards and 30 TDs this season.

Daniel's favorite target in this one was the speedy Maclin, who hauled in nine receptions for 143 yards and two scores. The redshirt freshman also reeled off a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD in the opening quarter.

"Unbelievable, I think (Maclin) had 360 total yards," Daniel said. "He broke the freshman record and all sorts of (records). He's an unbelievable guy. He's open a lot, and we want to give him the ball as much as we can."

After hauling in a nine-yard TD to open the scoring, Maclin gave Missouri a 14-3 lead midway through the first quarter with his 99-yarder.

But Kansas State fought back in the second quarter, returning a blocked punt for a score and pulling within 21-18 on Brooks Rossman's 22-yard field goal before halftime.

Missouri pulled away in the second half, however, taking a 35-18 third-quarter lead on Tony Temple's two-yard TD run and Daniel's 44-yard scoring strike to Maclin.

Daniel sealed the victory midway through the fourth quarter with his fourth TD, a one-yard floater to tight end Martin Rucker that pushed Missouri's lead to 42-25.

Temple rushed for 75 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries while Rucker finished with 28 yards and two TDs on four catches for Missouri, which improved to 57-31-5 all-time against Kansas State.

"I clearly feel after today, that we played a team that has a legitimate chance from a talent standpoint, an organizational standpoint to win the national championship," Kansas State coach Ron Prince said.

Josh Freeman completed 26-of-41 attempts for 255 yards, two TDs and one interception while James Johnson ran for 172 yards and a score for the Wildcats, who are mired in a three-game losing streak.