**11:31 p.m.**: Just got back from postgame. Some thoughts…Obviously, the mood was pretty somber. The key, as it is in most games, was that Missouri made more plays, according to Mark Mangino.In this game, not only did MU make more plays, though, the Tigers made _a ton_ more plays, and each one of them was necessary to make up for the 141 penalty yards MU racked up on 14 flags.As far as Todd Reesing wearing the glove on his throwing hand, Mangino pointed out that that was the plan all along for when KU was put in a cold weather situation given Reesing’s smaller hands. Reesing maintained that it had no effect on his throws. Honestly, too, no one other than him really knows either, so second-guessing the wardrobe switch is completely moot.The funny thing now is that KU fans all need to be Missouri fans next week as the Tigers take on Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. Right now, KU is a fringe BCS team. But if MU wins and rocks on into the BCS Championship game, the Jayhawks, with one loss, would have better odds at a Fiesta Bowl berth than the would-be three-loss Sooners.Just a thought.Talk to you tomorrow.**10:27 p.m.**: Ryan Wood said it best in that you cannot blame the offense for this one on the KU side.Chase Daniel just completed his 40th pass of the night as I’m typing this. While Todd Reesing has scrapped together a solid second half to give himself 293 passing yards on the night on 23 completions, the defense just hasn’t stopped MU on third down situations.Forty completions can make up for a lot of things. Most notably, they’ve covered up 13 Mizzou penalties. KU has committed just two, yet still trails by 10 points.**10:05 p.m.**: Sorry for the delay there, wirelss at Arrowhead went out for awhile.You know, bless Todd Reesing for his gutsy effort, but Chase Daniel has just been a machine tonight. He’s completed 35 passes so far, and has basically done what he’s wanted in the KU secondary. Then again, the Jayhawks have had a tough time getting much pressure on the MU slinger. James McClinton has appeared hobbled most of the night.**9:17 p.m.**: KU is the ‘home team’ now, instead of just the home team sans quote marks.As Mizzou leads 21-0, you can audibly hear the ‘M-I-Z, Z-O-U’ chant from the capacity crowd. Well, at least the MU faithful are doing so, as the KU fans are relegated right now to sitting on their hands in the bitter cold.But with the way these teams are playing, it doesn’t matter whether this game is at Arrowhead, Faurot or Memorial. KU has been thoroughly outplayed to this point.You’ve got to wonder if Reesing wearing a glove on his throwing hand has had anything to do with the two interceptions. Of course, right now, that’s all speculation, but the two throws that were picked were short and behind the receiver, respectively.**8:41 p.m.**: Well, I wouldn’t be taking too much of a risk by saying that KU just played its least impressive half of football so far this season.Todd Reesing, sporting a glove on his throwing hand for the first time this season, has completed just 9-of-17 passes for 126 yards and an interception, snapping a streak of 213 straight passes thrown without a pick.We figured coming into this game KU had a bit of an advantage because of how well-rounded its offense was, being able to move the ball both through the air and on the ground. So far, Mizzou has been the double-edged sword, with 167 yards passing and 106 rushing. KU has run for just 24.The key to this game will be the second half’s opening possession, obviously. That’s not much of a stretch. KU’s last chance to make this a game could be scoring on that drive. That last stop at the end of the first half was crucial. Now the offense needs to pick up the slack. The defense hasn’t been terrible – it’s just been on the field far too long.We were noting that this is the second straight time KU has had difficulty defending the run against a spread offense, as Oklahoma State and Dantrell Savage were able to move the ball efficiently on the ground two weeks ago in Stillwater.How often this season have we been able to say the offense needs to catch up to the defense’s pace? Wild…**8:18 p.m.**: If there’s a play that could prove to be a big one once this is said and done, it could be James Holt’s flag for defensive holding on Missouri’s second scoring drive.It’s not just the fact that it continued a drive that looked stalled or that the drive ultimately ended in a touchdown. It’s that it negated the importance of a HUGE Darrell Stuckey hit on William Franklin, which could have stood as a momentum-changer for the Jayhawks had it stood.Also, Patrick Resby and Kendrick Harper, both of whom sat out last week against Iowa State, have yet to play tonight in KU’s secondary.**7:38 p.m.**: With the game scoreless and the first quarter clock dwindling, I would hardly say the reason for the goose eggs is nerves on either side.But one thing is for sure, I would say: Jeremy Maclin is certainly on pace to get his yards tonight, one way or another.After nearly taking the game’s opening kick to the house, only to trip over a blocker in front of him, he almost did the same on a punt return down the right sideline (only to have a blocker throw punter Kyle Tucker in front of him).Hard to get a grasp on this one, so far. No one expected a defensive struggle, but that’s what it’s been. Maybe Mizzou should have taken the three points intsead of faking a field goal attempt on its third possession.**7:09 p.m.**: Missouri won the toss and elected to receive, both teams have taken the field and the crowd looks about as 50-50 as it could get.As for the link posted below, Missouri officials went around the press box and handed out double-sided flyers posting Chase Daniel’s accomplishments and stats from the year. It’s a neat late ploy to make a Heisman push. My guess is that whoever wins tonight is guaranteed a seat at the Downtown Athletic Club two weeks from tonight. The loser might still make it, though.**6:55 p.m.**: www.chasetheheisman.com**6:39 p.m.**: KU and Mizzou have now fully taken the field. The Jayhawks are in their home blue tops with gray pants and white socks. The Tigers are sporting white tops, gold pants and black socks….and that’s that for the boxing-style intros…As for KU, Anthony Collins was on the field for his typical two-hours-before-the-game calisthenics and he looks like he should be ready to go tonight after sitting a week ago.Kendrick Harper, who was also out last week, is back, was jumping around in pregame warmups with Aqib Talib and looks ready as well. He does have a cast back on his right hand, though. That hasn’t been present since he fully healed early in the conference season from a right wrist injury that kept him out of the lineup until the K-State game.Patrick Resby is also in uniform and warming up after sitting a week ago. Same goes for James McClinton, who saw limited action against Iowa State.It’s also one of the weirest atmospheres I’ve ever sat here and heard. Our seats in the box are just to the left of the 50-yard line, with Mizzou fans in the lower bowl to our right and Kansas faithful to the left. As the starting lineups are being introduced, it’s a strange cascade of both boos and cheers.The tunnel where both teams will emerge from is on the Missouri side, FYI.**5:25 p.m.**: Plenty of bowl officials here, obviously. Here are the ones represented tonight at Arrowhead: Holiday, Orange, Cotton, Fiesta and Sugar.As far as pro scouts, six teams have scouts in the press box tonight: Washington, Tampa Bay, Seattle, New York (Jets), Cincinnati and Oakland.A funny sidenote for this game is the field. The turf looks like its patchy in a few areas and doesn’t appear like it’ll be all that welcoming for those who get dropped hard onto it. The guys who might feel it the most, though, are the Chiefs, who play the Raiders at noon tomorrow on this same field. The grounds crew will have a loooooooooong night of patching and painting.**4:57 p.m.**: I never thought I’d be able to type this sentence in my life: I just saw people tailgating _on_ I-435.At 3 p.m., in the standstill traffic before the exit for the sports complex, folks who obviously hadn’t seen their cars move in at least 20 minutes were standing outside of their cars, eating, jollying and who knows what else.It only adds more spice to an already crazy day to cap an even crazier week.As it stands right now, West Virginia is about to improve to 10-1, leading by 30 late in the third quarter at home against an overmatched UConn squad. As it stands, the Mountaineers and the Ohio State Buckeyes stand in the most comfortable positions in terms of the BCS Championship game picture. Ohio State is 11-1 and done. The Buckeyes have to just sit and wait, hoping now that both Missouri and Kansas lose somewhere along the way. One will for sure tonight.As for West Virginia, they’ve got one game left – at home against Pittsburgh. Any chances Pitt had left at rallying and gaining bowl eligibility went out the window today with a loss to South Florida. Despite how wacky this season has been, you’ve got to love the Mountaineers’ chances to close out the season 11-1.But on to tonight’s game that everyone’s here to talk about.The traffic was freakin’ ridiculous today, as I mentioned. It was one of those days where you throw all courtesy out of the window, hugging the bumper of the car in front of you, refusing to let _anyone_. The only person we let in was a 78-year-old woman (she willingly gave up her age while begging us to let her in) because she told us she’s not going to the game. Then again, I was fully prepared to see her in the lot with a Coors Light in her hand. Didn’t happen, but still.We just plopped down in the press box, and the gates just opened, as the fans are now spilling in slowly.Nothing really of note, yet. The skycam is here, obviously, with this being ABC’s big game of the week. It took its practice laps around the field while the Missouri players just emerged from the tunnel to tour the field while wearing sweats.Again, nothing to report yet, but I’m sure there will be before kick. Talk to you shortly.
