FOOTBALL: Missouri rolls over Cyclones, 52-20

Football against Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones lost their last home game to the Tigers 52-20. Photo: Josh Harrell/Iowa State Daily

Josh Harrell

Football against Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones lost their last home game to the Tigers 52-20. Photo: Josh Harrell/Iowa State Daily

Michael Zogg

On third-and-goal, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel dropped back and fired a pass over the middle to wide receiver Tommy Saunders for the touchdown, putting the tigers up 7-0, a lead they would not relinquish.

The pass was one of 16 straight completions for Daniel to start the game, helping the Tigers to an early 21 point lead. From there, the Tigers rolled to a 52-20 win in front of a crowd of 46,013 at a frigid Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday.

The Cyclones started to come back after falling behind by 21, as quarterback Austen Arnaud took the Cyclones on a 73-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Patrick Neal, the first catch of his career.

The touchdown didn’t faze Missouri as they came right back 46 seconds later. Two plays after the Cyclones touchdown, running back Derrick Washington broke loose, zigzagging for a 52 yard touchdown run.

The second half, though full of more scoring for Iowa State, was rather anti-climatic, as the Cyclones never pulled within two scores.

Although the final score was pretty lopsided, the final stats showed a much closer game. Missouri only outgained the Cyclones by 53 yards, 497-444.

Both offenses were led by good quarterback play as Daniel completed 32 of 40 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.  Arnaud’s numbers were similar, as Arnaud set a school record with 36 completions on 54 attempts. The previous record was 32 completions in a game, set by Bret Meyer. Arnaud also had 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Cyclones got outrushed 169 to 118, although, Missouri gained most of its yards on the ground in the fourth quarter as it tried to run out the clock.