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November 6 – at Missouri Missouri 35, Colorado 14
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Colorado head coach Bill McCartney marked his own homecoming of sorts in traveling to Columbia to face the Tigers for the first time as the Buffs head coach. Missouri did not exactly make Coach Mac feel welcome, however, running over the Buffs in a 35-14 rout that was worse than the final score indicated.
The defense that had kept Colorado in earlier contests did not come to play against a Missouri squad that had won only one of its previous six contests. The Tigers scored on six of its seven first half possessions in posting a 35-0 halftime lead.
Total offense in the first half: Missouri, 299; Colorado 41.
In the second half, Colorado made the statistics a little less lopsided, with Steve Vogel replacing Randy Essington and passing for 200 yards in leading the Buffs to two second half consolation scores. In the third quarter, Steve Vogel hit tight end Dave Hestera for a 25-yard score. In the fourth, Richard Johnson, who had 83 yards on 15 carries on the day, scored on a one-yard run.
“This is the first time all year that we didn’t come to play. I don’t know why.” was all that Bill McCartney could come up with after the game. “We weren’t ready to play. By breakfast time, I knew the team wasn’t mentally ready … It’s really hard to figure out sometimes.”
The second half, though played against a home team going through the motions, did give the Buff faithful something to hang their hats upon. Colorado scored all 14 points in the second half, with Steve Vogel taking over for Randy Essington (who was five-for-13 for 21 yards and two interceptions). Vogel passed for 200 yards in the second half, including the 25-yard touchdown pass to Hestera.
The stats in the second half also favored the Buffs. Colorado had more first downs than Missouri (15 to 4), more rushing yards (88 to 79) and more passing yards (200 to 22). “We moved the ball well in the second half,” said McCartney. “The day is coming when we’ll be able to move the ball well against a good team.”
The Buffs were now 1-7-1 on the 1982 season. Up next was Kansas, 2-5-2 on the season. The Jayhawks had, like Colorado, managed a tie against Oklahoma State, and was coming off a 24-17 win over Iowa State. The Jayhawks hardly qualified as a “good team” …
… but it was about time for the Buffs to move the ball well.
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– Game Notes …
– Randy Essington’s two interceptions gave him 13 on the season, tying a school record. Essington would not have the chance to set the new record, though, as he did not play in the second half against Missouri, and did not play in the last two games of the 1982 season. Essington did set an ignoble record, though, finishing the season with 126 consecutive passes without a touchdown, a new school record.
– Running back Chris McLemore had a season high 92 yards receiving – on six catches – against Missouri.
– The win over Colorado ended a four-game winless streak for Missouri (two losses and two ties). The Tigers would go on to finish the 1982 season with a 5-4-2 record, 2-3-2 in Big Eight play (fifth overall).
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