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Missouri beats Buffalo in final non-conference game

Sep 21, 2008 - 12:47 AM COLUMBIA, Missouri (Ticker) -- Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin enjoyed career days in Missouri's final tune-up before Big 12 Conference play.

Daniel passed for a career-high 439 yards and completed a Big 12-record 20 consecutive passes while Maclin hauled in a career-high 14 receptions Saturday as the fifth-ranked Tigers closed their non-conference schedule with a 42-21 rout of Buffalo.

A Heisman Trophy candidate, Daniel finished 35-of-44, threw two touchdowns and fell three completions short of tying the NCAA record of 23 in a row.

"(Daniel) brings his A-game every time he plays," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "He's smart about what he does. He's like a coach out there; he knows the offense so well. He always keeps his focus."

Daniel's favorite target was Maclin, who finished with 236 all-purpose yards. The sophomore standout had 168 receiving yards, 25 rushing yards and 43 on returns.

Derrick Washington rushed for 89 yards and two TDs while tight end Chase Coffman had 10 catches for 84 yards and a score for Missouri (4-0), which has a bye next week before opening Big 12 play at Nebraska on October 4.

"We're happy for the victory, but turnovers and mental errors just killed us today," Coffman said. "It might even have been a good thing for this game to be close like that, but we've just got to keep working to get better."

"It's time for us to start working on Nebraska," Pinkel added. "The bye week comes at a very good time for us. We're sitting here 4-0, we've done a lot of good things, but we've also got some things we need to improve on."

A former star at Nebraska, Buffalo coach Turner Gill had his team primed for its matchup with the high-powered Tigers, who entered leading the nation with an average of 57 points per game.

"We did have some good things, it wasn't totally negative," Gill said. "But Missouri was the best team today."

One week after a thrilling last-second win over Temple, the Bulls (2-2) pulled within 27-21 on Drew Willy's 3-yard TD pass to Ernest Jackson midway through the third quarter.

But Missouri, a five-touchdown favorite, pulled away courtesy of Washington's 3-yard TD late in the third quarter and Daniel's 4-yard scoring strike to Coffman with 9:41 remaining.

Although the Tigers lost three fumbles in Buffalo territory, Daniel was his usual efficient self. The senior completed his 20th consecutive attempt on a 9-yarder to Maclin in the third quarter.

But Daniel's string of successful passes ended later in the drive when his 4th-and-1 attempt to Maclin was incomplete. The NCAA record of 23 straight completions is shared by Tennessee's Tee Martin (1998) and California's Aaron Rodgers (2004).

A Heisman finalist last year, Daniel will enter Big 12 play with staggering statistics. He has completed just under 76 percent of his passes for 1,412 yards and 12 TDs with one interception in four games.

But despite Daniel's impressive resume and Missouri's plethora of offensive weapons, the Bulls kept it close against one of the nation's premier teams.

Willy completed 22-of-40 passes for 237 yards, two TDs and one interception. Jackson had a pair of scoring catches and returned a kickoff for a touchdown while Naam Roosevelt hauled in nine catches for 87 yards for Buffalo, which was outgained by a whopping margin of 590-286.

"We held them to 49-yards rushing, which is good, and only 286 yards, so that's pretty good," Pinkel said. "We've just got to focus more on both sides of the ball."

Facing a 10-0 deficit, Buffalo got on the board late in the first quarter on Jackson's 97-yard kickoff return.

The Bulls clawed within 17-14 on Jackson's first receiving TD of the game, a 32-yard strike from Willy with 7:30 remaining in the first half.

"Jackson had a good day today," Willy said. "He usually does back-up kick returns, but he started today. He did a great job today."