Mizzou 38--Arkansas 7

Chris, Tim, Susan and I went to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Years Day. We met up with some friends of theirs from vet school, who drove down from North Wichita. All of us Mizzou fans were a little disappointed that Mizzou didn't get a BCS bowl bid given the quality of their season. However, it has been 37 years since Mizzou played in a New Years Day bowl game (Susan and I were at that one, too, and it didn't have nearly as good an outcome. We sat in the rain and watched Mizzou lose 10-3). This game was great and the Cotton Bowl is a quality event. A lot of Missouri's players come from Texas and it's prime recruiting ground. Turns out that Dallas is also home to the largest concentration of alums outside Missouri. It had the added benefit of being only three hours drive from Austin.

Missouri was a only a 3.5 point favorite, but dominated the game almost from the beginning. Arkansas had beaten LSU, who is playing for the national championship, so everyone expected the SEC team to give Mizzou fits, especially because Arkansas' running back had won the Doak Walker Award as the best running back in the country. He turned out to be the second best running back on the field yesterday. Tony Temple, Missouri's tailback, set Cotton Bowl records for rushing yardage (281) and touchdowns (4) and was the game's most valuable player. The day was cold and we were in the shade of the scoreboard for much of the game, but it was worth it to see Missouri just overpower a good team.

This has been a weird football season. Missouri lost only two games--both to Oklahoma, who lost two games to teams that Missouri destroyed. Missouri beat teams that beat both of the BCS championship teams (Illinois, who beat Ohio State and Arkansas, who beat LSU). Aside from the two losses to Oklahoma, it was a good season. Mizzou beat Kansas (when Kansas was ranked #1) and won the Big 12 North. Most of the team is back for next year, so I am optimistic.

I have some pictures, but I took them with Chris's camera because I left mine in the car. As soon as she sends them to me, I'll post them here.