#1 Texas destroys #11 Missouri

Sports handicappers call it a “letdown spot”—a situation where a team comes out emotionally flat after a big win. Texas’ game against Missouri had all of the makings of a classic “letdown spot” with the Longhorns off their upset victory over then-#1 Oklahoma. The Longhorns, however, buried that game in the past—literally and figuratively—and took care of business against Missouri in smashing fashion on Saturday breezing to a 56-31 victory and solidifying their claim to the top position in the college football polls.

During the past week the Texas football team congregated at an undisclosed location, dug a hole and buried the game ball from the Oklahoma game. The symbolic meaning of this gesture was clearly not lost on the Texas players, as they came out firing on all cylinders from the opening gun. The Longhorns ran off 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-3 halftime lead and coasted to the final margin.

Texas has owned Missouri in recent years, with this victory representing the Longhorns 14th win over the Tigers in 15 tries. Missouri also hasn’t had much success when stepping up in class, and Saturday’s loss dropped their record against #1 ranked teams to 0-11.

The Tiger defense, in particular, looked awful and was shredded by Texas QB Colt McCoy for 337 yards on 19 of 23 passing as he tallied 4 TDs—two passing and two rushing. At one point McCoy completed 17 straight passes, good for a school record. The Tigers didn’t have much luck stopping Texas’ running game either, with the Longhorns amassing 203 yards on the ground. Texas was an impressive 10 of 12 on third down conversions and held a dominant 36:26 to 23:34 time of possession edge.

Should Texas manage to maintain their dominant form and finish undefeated they’ll have earned it despite a very challenging schedule that began last week with #1 OU. Having dispatched #11 Missouri in decisive fashion they’ll turn their attention to #7 Oklahoma State who invades Austin for a game next Saturday (10/25). After that they’ll travel to #8 Texas Tech before returning home for an 11/8 home game against Baylor.

Missouri, meanwhile, will try to break their two game losing streak as they host Colorado next Saturday. The matchup with the Buffalos will be followed by a trip to Baylor before they return home on 11/8 to host Kansas State.