College football

Chase is on: Missouri wins, makes bid for No. 1

Daniel lifts Tigers by No. 2 KU, into Big 12 title game; Hawaii lone unbeaten

Orlin Wagner / AP

Chase Daniel threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns and the third-ranked Tigers ruined No. 2 Kansas’ unbeaten season Saturday night with a 36-28 victory in the most important football game either school ever played.

The 116th — and most important — game between the bitter border rivals drew 80,537, the second-biggest crowd in the 35-year history of Arrowhead Stadium.

The Tigers had only one first down on their first three possessions but finally broke through with a 78-yard touchdown drive once Daniel found his groove.

Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1 on his fourth possession, Daniel hit tight end Martin Rucker on a quick slant for the night’s first touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first quarter.

Reesing seemed to find his touch after a poor first quarter when he hit Kerry Meier for a 39-yard gain on the first play of the second quarter. That was his school-record 213th straight pass without an interception. But on the next play, safety William Moore stepped in front of Fields at the 2 and made the pick. It was his seventh interception of the season, tying the Missouri record of NFL Hall of Fame defensive back Roger Wehrli, and gave all the momentum right back to the Tigers.

The Jayhawks, one of the nation’s least-penalized teams, made another big mistake, a defensive holding after stopping Missouri on third-and-12 from the 40.

Given new life, Daniel found Alexander for 20 yards and then on third-and-goal from the 11, the junior quarterback danced away from pressure and fired a pass to Alexander as he fell into the corner of the end zone, capping a 98-yard drive.

Twice Kansas, which had scored on 22 straight trips to the red zone, got to the Missouri 16. But both times, Scott Webb missed field goals.

Tommy Saunders had eight catches for 82 yards for Missouri and Fields led the Jayhawks with eight receptions for 116 yards.

“When we started the season, this is where we wanted to be,” Missouri defensive lineman Stryker Sulak said. “We can’t wait to play in the Big 12 championship game. I knew coming here I could be part of something special.”

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