Robert Griffin III threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, and Terrance Ganaway ran for touchdowns of 38 and 80 yards, leading Baylor to a 42-39 victory over Missouri on Saturday night.

Baylor set a school record by gaining 697 yards. Griffin, a dazzling dual-threat quarterback, cracked 400 yards passing for the third straight game; this time was more meaningful as the last two games were lopsided losses.

The Bears (5-3, 2/3 Big 12) improved to 5-0 at home and are one win from being bowl eligible for a second straight season. They haven’t been to bowls in consecutive seasons since 1991-92.

A week after overcoming an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit at nearby Texas A&M, Missouri could only come close to wiping out a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit. The Tigers (4-5, 2-4) scored 25 points in the final period, but were thwarted when Baylor recovered an onside kick with 1:59 left.

Perhaps days from joining the Southeastern Conference, Missouri didn’t have the kind of stingy defense it’s going to need to compete in that league. The Tigers wasted leads of 7-0 and 14-7, then let a 14-13 halftime advantage turn into a 28-14 deficit. Their fourth-quarter offensive surge was undermined by allowing a 68-yard touchdown pass and Ganaway’s 80-yard TD run.

After Ganaway sealed the game by running 18 yards to the Missouri 8 on a third-and-2 in the final minute, Baylor fans chanted “S-E-C! S-E-C!”

Baylor went ahead on its first drive of the second half, with Griffin throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass, then running in for the two-point conversion. Ganaway stretched the lead with his 38-yard touchdown following a fumble by Missouri.

The Tigers got within 35-25 midway through the fourth quarter, but on the Bears’ next snap, Ganaway broke loose down the right sideline for his 80-yarder. Missouri followed with another touchdown, but there wasn’t enough time left for the Tigers to pull off another late rally in central Texas.

Griffin — who came in as the second-most accurate quarterback in the nation, and third in total offense — was 27 of 41. His best pass was a heave that hit Tevin Reese in stride for the 68-yard TD. He also ran 18 times for 64 yards.

Ganaway had 186 yards on just 12 carries.

Missouri’s Henry Josey, who came in leading the Big 12 in rushing, ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns. It was his fourth straight game with at least 129 yards. Fellow sophomore James Franklin was 33 of 46 for 325 yards and a touchdown, and he ran 16 times for 57 yards.

The game got off to a bit of an odd start, with each team’s first possession ending with a 9-yard punt. Only Missouri’s was into the wind. Kicking was a problem all game for the Bears, as they had a point-after blocked and missed field goals of 27 and 54 yards.

— Associated Press —

Missouri quarterback James Franklin had the worst game of his short career last week, with four turnovers in the second half a loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State.

He made up for it on Saturday, throwing two touchdown passes, including the game-winner in overtime, and running for two more scores to lead the Tigers to a 38-31 win over No. 16 Texas A&M.

The winning score came on an 11-yard throw to Marcus Lucas.

Franklin didn’t feel like had a great day passing, but he made a perfect throw when it counted most.

“We definitely wanted to run the ball, (but) once we had to get some yardage we went to the pass,” Franklin said of the winning score. “We were getting the one-on-one coverage and it worked out.”

Texas A&M got the ball after the score, but Ryan Tannehill’s pass on fourth down was deflected.

“There was nothing easy about it,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said of the win. “These kind of games you just have to fight and fight. A lot of players did a lot of good things in critical situations and I’m very proud of them.”

The Tigers had a chance to win it in regulation, but a 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired.

Missouri (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) got the ball when Jacquies Smith caused a fumble by Tannehill, which was recovered by Dominique Hamilton.

The Aggies led by 11 at halftime, but Missouri took a 31-28 lead on an 11-yard run by Henry Josey with about eight minutes left. Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2) tied it on a 35-yard field goal about four minutes later.

Franklin threw for 198 yards ran for 97 yards. Josey, the Big 12’s leading rusher, had 20 carries for 162 yards.

It was the fifth 100-yard game for Josey and his second in a row.

Missouri has won three straight over the Aggies and unlike the rest of the Big 12 schools, the Tigers could face them again next year. Missouri is expected to soon join Texas A&M in a move to the Southeastern Conference.

Missouri took its first lead of the second half on the 11-yard touchdown run by Josey. To get that drive going, Josey bounced to the outside and dashed down the sideline for 43 yards before being dragged down from behind.

The Tigers went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas A&M 43 early in the fourth quarter and Franklin’s run was short. Missouri made up for it when Tannehill was hit as he threw a pass which was intercepted by Randy Ponder.

Ponder returned it 45 yards and Franklin cut A&M’s lead to 28-24 when he scored on an 8-yard run three plays later.

Pinkel was proud of his team’s defensive improvement in the second half.

“We got out of drives. I think we were a little bit more aggressive in the secondary,” he said. “We got a lot of balls batted down, we got some turnovers and we forced fourth down punts.”

Tannehill threw for three touchdowns in the first half, but the Aggies managed only a field goal after that to lose their third game this season after leading by double digits at halftime.

Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman doesn’t have an easy answer for why his team has struggled after halftime in its three losses.

“I just think that we didn’t make the plays we needed to make when we needed to make them,” Sherman said. “It’s definitely something we’ve got to talk about and get fixed.”

Both teams lost fumbles in the third quarter. Texas A&M’s Ryan Swope fumbled after a catch, but Missouri gave it back three plays later when Josey coughed it up. The Aggies didn’t capitalize on that error and neither team scored in the quarter.

Tannehill hit Cyrus Gray on a short pass and he ran into the corner of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter. Missouri’s offense stalled on the next drive and they had to punt. The punt was shanked and it went just 22 yards, giving A&M the ball at the Missouri 41.

The Aggies took advantage of the short field when Tannehill found Swope for a 6-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.

Texas A&M pushed its advantage to 28-14 when Tannehill scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with about three minutes left in the second quarter.

The Tigers had a first down from the Texas A&M 11 late in the second quarter, but the offense stalled and they settled for a 26-yard field goal to make it 28-17 at halftime.

Franklin broke four tackles on a nifty 20-yard run on third-and-1 to give Missouri a 7-0 lead on the team’s second drive of the game.

Tannehill’s first touchdown pass was a 2-yard strike to Michael Lamothe that tied it at 7-all later in the first quarter.

Eric Waters caught a pass from Franklin and two Texas A&M defenders missed tackles as he dashed 42 yards for a touchdown to put Missouri back on top 14-7 with two seconds left in the first quarter.

Texas A&M’s Christine Michael had 21 carries for 104 yards and Gray added 58 yards rushing.

— Associated Press —

Even without its starting wide receivers, Oklahoma State had plenty left on offense. The Cowboys’ big-play defense stepped up, too.

Joseph Randle scored a career-best four touchdowns, two on runs that capitalized on an interception and fumble recovery by Shaun Lewis, as Oklahoma State (No. 4 BCS, No.6 AP) remained unbeaten and ended Missouri’s 10-game home winning streak with a 45-24 victory on Saturday.

“This place will get kind of rowdy if you let it,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said. “Anytime you get them out of their seats and headed to the exits, that’s huge.”

Missouri quarterback James Franklin committed four turnovers in the second half: three interceptions and a lost fumble at the Oklahoma State 4.

“I know that I didn’t play the best,” Franklin said. “And it’s frustrating. But being sad about it isn’t going to do anything about it.”

Randle had 138 yards on 14 carries and scored on runs of 16, 59 and 12 yards. He also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

“He’s a big play waiting to happen,” Weeden said. “The guy is explosive. Without looking at the tape, he’s got to be our MVP.”

Weeden had three touchdown passes after the opening snap of the second quarter. Lewis’ interception and fumble recovery helped the Cowboys (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) pull away and win their ninth in a row on the road despite injuries to both starting wide receivers.

They’re 7-0 for just the third time in school history, also doing it in 2008 and 1945. A major reason: They’ve forced 22 turnovers the last five games.

“They gave us what we had been working on all week,” defensive end Jamie Blatnick said. “When we see what we’ve prepared for it works out for us.”

Justin Blackmon caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter but was held out the second half as a precaution after taking a blow to the head. Hubert Anyiam, the Cowboys’ third-leading receiver, is out for the season with a broken bone in his left foot.

Isaiah Anderson had a career-best five receptions and Tracy Moore matched his career best with seven receptions.

“It’s interesting how young men will play when they know they have to play,” coach Mike Gundy said.

Henry Josey had 138 yards on 25 carries and T.J. Moe had six catches for 103 yards and a score for Missouri (3-4, 1-3), which has yet to win consecutive games and has dropped three straight in the series. All four of the Tigers’ losses have come against teams ranked at the time, and they play at No. 18 Texas A&M next week.

“We adjusted at halftime and played a little better,” defensive end Jacquies Smith said. “But we didn’t make enough plays.”

The Tigers had a strong second quarter, scoring on an 18-yard run by Kendial Lawrence and Moe’s 34-yard catch from James Franklin to cut the deficit to seven, before being undone by mistakes.

Lewis intercepted a tipped pass at the Missouri 27 and three plays later Randle scored on a 16-yard run for a two-touchdown cushion midway through the third quarter.

Missouri appeared to regain momentum when E.J. Gaines intercepted Weeden in the end zone and returned it 54 yards, also ending Weeden’s string of 194 consecutive passes without a pick. Franklin’s lost fumble gave the Cowboys possession at the 12, and again they needed just three plays to respond with Randle’s 59-yard jaunt making it 38-17. Brodrick Brown’s interception and 21-yard return set up Randle’s fourth TD in the final minute.

“We had opportunities,” Pinkel said. “Against a team like this, a really, really good team, we have to take advantage of every single opportunity.”

Weeden was 33 for 49 for 338 yards after a sizzling start and extended his streak of 30-yard completions to 15 games. The 28-year-old senior was 19 for 25 for 214 yards in the first quarter, with all six incompletions on drops.

“We may score 40 in the first half if we just catch the dang ball,” Gundy said. “We have to clean that up this week.”

Michael Harrison was wide open on a 27-yard catch and Blackmon caught an 8-yarder for his 28th receiving touchdown in 19 games. On the first play of the second quarter, Oklahoma State went up 21-3 on Weeden’s 13-yard TD pass to Randle.

Trickery produced Missouri’s best play of the quarter, with Franklin throwing a lateral pass to Moe and then getting it back for a 31-yard gain to the 13. But the Tigers stalled, settling for a short field goal by Grant Ressel.

— Associated Press —

University of Missouri’s senior TE Michael Egnew (Plainview, Texas) has been named to the 2011 John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List, as announced today by the Nassau County Sports Commission. The award is given to the nation’s top collegiate tight end. The list of eight semifinalists will be announced on Nov. 14.

The John Mackey Award midseason watch list is an update from the preseason watch list. This list is meant to draw attention to tight ends in contention for the annual award based on their performance in the first half of the active season.

This season, Egnew has brought in 22 passes for 275, good for an average of 12.5 yards per reception, along with two touchdowns. Overcoming a slow start to the season, Egnew has totaled 14 receptions for 178 yards and a score in Mizzou’s last two contests. Egnew was a finalist for this award last season, along with being a First Team All-American.

Egnew and the Tigers play host to No. 4 Oklahoma State this weekend, beginning at 11 a.m. CT at Faurot Field.

— MU Sports Information —

James Franklin accounted for five touchdowns and Henry Josey had 129 yards rushing and a score as Missouri routed Iowa State 52-10 in its 100th homecoming game on Saturday.

Michael Egnew, T.J. Moe and Wes Kemp each had a scoring reception for Missouri (3-3, 1-2 Big 12), which scored on its first four possessions. Much of a sellout crowd of 71,004 had dispersed by the end of the Tigers’ 10th straight victory at home, and their first game at Faurot Field in a month.

It was the most lopsided setback of the year for Iowa State (3-3, 0-3). A.J. Klein’s 78-yard interception return for a touchdown was the lone highlight for the Cyclones, who have been outscored 54-10 in the first quarter.

Iowa State’s James White was held to 61 yards on 14 carries a week after getting a career-best 148 yards against Baylor.

White had 10 yards on 10 carries in the first three quarters.

Missouri had no penalty yardage in its fifth straight victory in the series. Linebacker Luke Lambert had two fumble recoveries.

After scoring on the first four drives for a 28-3 cushion, the Tigers turned it over in the passing game the next three times but were hurt only by Klein’s third career touchdown. The Tigers had 298 yards rushing one week after managing just 112 yards in a loss at No. 17 Kansas State.

Missouri defensive tackle Terrell Resonno injured his right knee in the first half and did not return. The 295-pound senior has started all 14 games the last two seasons and had 15 tackles and a sack in the first five games.

Franklin was 20 for 28 for 289 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 84 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns. Josey had 129 yards on 19 carries for his third 100-yard game of the year and scored in the fifth straight game.

Missouri opened the game with 10 straight runs, including Franklin’s 1-yard sneak with 12:03 to go in the first quarter for its fastest first touchdown of the year. The Tigers’ second score came quickly, too, after Steele Jantz fumbled on an option run and Lambert recovered at the Iowa State 38, setting up a 2-yard run by Josey.

Egnew had six catches for 105 yards. He split the defense and had an easy route to the end zone the last 20 yards on a 39-yard catch, the longest of the tight end’s career, to make it 21-3 late in the first.

The Cyclones lost by 23 points in each of their first two Big 12 games.

— Associated Press —