Missouri - 44, Arkansas St. - 17

[NT80]

Missouri 44, Arkansas St. 17

By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer

September 3, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Brad Smith thrived in Missouri's new spread offense, throwing four touchdown passes and just missing 100 yards rushing in a 44-17 victory over Arkansas State on Saturday.

Brad Ekwerekwu caught his first two career touchdown passes for the Tigers, who rolled up 657 yards in offense while playing in Kansas City for the first time in 60 years. It was the home opener for Arkansas State, despite a 6 1/2 -hour drive from Jonesboro, Ark., to the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium, which was about half-full with an announced attendance of 32,906.

Smith, a dual threat his first two seasons, was primarily a dropback passer last year and Missouri suffered for it with a 5-6 record after going to the Independence Bowl a year earlier. He operated out of a no-back offense most of the time Saturday, mixing it up with handoffs, off shifts, short and medium-range passes and keepers, going 29-for-37 for 317 yards and gaining 95 yards on 12 carries.

He now has 3,083 career rushing yards, passing Brock Olivo for second place on the school's career list, and trails leader Zack Abron by 115 yards.

Missouri, which beat Arkansas State 52-20 in Columbia last year, did not punt until Smith left the game midway through the third quarter. By then, it was 37-0.

Two lost fumbles by wide receiver Sean Coffey were the only minuses in the first half for the Tigers, who scored on their other five possessions and had 417 yards total offense for a 30-0 lead. Smith threw a pair of short TD passes to William Franklin and Ekwerekwu, Marcus Woods scored on a 23-yard run and Tony Temple had a 6-yarder.

Arkansas State, held to 165 yards in a half, was plagued by dropped passes by wide receivers intimidated by some crunching hits in the secondary.

Antonio Warren had 121 yards on 18 carries and a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for Arkansas State, which opened away from home for the 10th straight season. Nick Noce added a 10-yard scoring pass to Patrick Higgins that cut the gap to 37-17 before the Missouri starters re-entered and quickly scored on a 10-yard pass from Smith to Chase Coffman.

Before the game there was a moment of silence for Aaron O'Neal, the Missouri linebacker who died of viral meningitis in July after a conditioning workout.

Edited September 3, 2005 by NT80