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Missouri seeks first win in Nebraska in 30 years

Oct 4, 2008 - 10:09 AM (3) Missouri (4-0) at Nebraska (3-1), 9:10 pm EDT

LINCOLN, Nebraska (Ticker) -- During its magical season last year, Missouri won at Colorado for the first time since 1997 and at Kansas State for the first time since 1999.

But that is mere child's play compared to the streak that the third-ranked Tigers will try to end on Saturday when they visit Nebraska in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.

Missouri (4-0, 0-0 Big 12 North) has dropped 15 straight games at Memorial Stadium, dating to a 35-31 upset of then-No. 2 Nebraska in 1978.

The Cornhuskers have not forgotten the beating they received in Columbia last season. Chase Daniel passed for 401 yards and two touchdowns as Missouri embarrassed Nebraska, 41-6. The Tigers riddled the Cornhuskers' defense for 606 yards.

The Tigers used that win as a springboard to the Big 12 North Division title, a 12-2 season and its first New Year's Day bowl win since 1966.

Nebraska (3-1, 0-0 Big 12 North) has shown improvement under first-year coach Bo Pelini, who replaced the unpopular Bill Callahan. Pelini's first task was to toughen a defense that ranked 112th in the Football Championship Subdivision last year.

However, the Cornhuskers may be hard-pressed to slow down Missouri's high-powered attack that is second in the FBS in scoring (53.8 ppg) and total offense (595.5 ypg).

Nebraska gave up nearly 400 yards in last week's 35-30 home to loss to Virginia Tech. The Cornhuskers fell behind, 28-10, midway through the third quarter before a late rally fell short.

"We made a lot of mistakes out there," Pelini said. "A ton of mistakes. We got to get them fixed and become better as a football team and keep progressing."

Missouri has been off since defeating Buffalo, 42-21, on September 20, a game in which Daniel passed for a career-high 439 yards and set a Big 12 record with 20 consecutive completions.

Daniel completed 36-of-43 passes with two touchdowns, falling three completions shy of the NCAA record of 23 in a row shared by Tennessee's Tee Martin (1998) and California's Aaron Rodgers (2004).

Missouri, which was held under 50 points for the first time this season, committed three fumbles in Buffalo territory.

"These aren't rocket science mistakes," Missouri coach Gary Pinkell said. "It's all about focus. We've got to focus on ball security."