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Missouri pulls away from Texas A&M late

Nov 10, 2007 - 11:06 PM COLUMBIA, Missouri (Ticker) -- Chase Daniel and seventh-ranked Missouri overcame a scare from beleaguered Texas A&M to stay in the thick of the Big 12 North Division race.

Daniel threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers pulled away late for a 40-26 Big 12 Conference victory over the Aggies on Saturday.

Missouri (9-1, 5-1 Big 12 North) sits one game behind first-place Kansas in the division with two games to play. The Tigers visit the Jayhawks on November 24 in their regular-season finale.

The Tigers didn't put the game away until Daniel hooked up with Jeremy Maclin for a 12-yard scoring pass with 3:41 left to make it 38-26.

"I thought Texas A&M really played well as I had anticipated they would," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "They are a very good football team. I thought we fought and battled, but I want to give them credit for the way they battled back in the third quarter.

"We responded well as a football team, and I'm certainly pleased with that."

Maclin finished with five catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 31 rushing yards.

Missouri added two more points on the ensuing possession when defensive lineman Lorenzo Williams sacked Aggies quarterback Stephen McGee for a safety.

"I don't think you ever want games like this, but it was good to have it," Daniel said. "I would rather be blowing people out by 60 points. But for our team to come back and answer the call in the fourth quarter was big."

Texas A&M (6-5, 3-4 Big 12 South) entered the contest having dealt with the distraction of coach Dennis Franchione dodging questions all week amid reports of a contract buyout.

But the Aggies hung tough with Missouri, as McGee threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to tight end Martellus Bennett midway through the fourth quarter to pull Texas A&M within 31-26.

Texas A&M trailed, 24-9, at the half but scored 10 points in the third quarter on two-yard scoring run by Jorvorskie Lane and a 22-yard field goal by Matt Szymanski.

"Our guys kept fighting," McGee said. "I wish we could've converted a couple of times when we were down there. We just didn't do that.

"You've got to hand it to them, they played a really good game and our guys never quit. They always kept fighting, and that's why this team is so special."

Missouri opened their first-half lead with a 44-yard TD run by Tony Temple in the first quarter and two second-quarter TD passes by Daniel.

Daniel connected with tight end Chase Coffman on a five-yard score, then threw an 82-yard TD pass to Maclin.

Temple finished with 140 yards rushing on 22 carries for Missouri.

McGee was 18-for-28 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Aggies who did not score in the fourth quarter.

"We put ourselves in position, we had a chance to score, and we didn't get any points," Franchione said. "We missed a field goal, and they immediately went eighty yards, I think it was, to score.

"That's what good teams do, and we didn't cash in on our opportunities. We hurt ourselves with some penalties and some missed tackles, and you can't do that playing against a top ten team."