University of Missouri women’s basketball senior Jordan Frericks will miss the 2016-2017 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee.

Frericks, a 6-foot-1 forward from Quincy, Ill., has been the Tigers’ leading rebounder for three consecutive years.

“Jordan is an incredible leader and a fierce competitor and as she begins her rehab and recovery, our program will persevere together as a family and support her along the way,” Pingeton said in a statement. “We know she will bounce back in the face of adversity and that she’ll return from the injury stronger, on and off the court. I have no doubt she will continue to be an important leader for our team this season and beyond.”

Frericks suffered the injury during a preseason workout and she plans to return for her redshirt senior season in 2017-18.

She helps Mizzou finish 22-10 last season as they qualified for the NCAA Tournament and defeated BYU in the opening round.

Frericks has been chosen All-SEC second team by the conference’s coaches each of the past two seasons.  She averaged 12.1 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds last season.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Missouri defensive end Justin Smith has been honored as Mizzou’s member of the 2016 SEC Legends Class, announced Tuesday by the Southeastern Conference. The SEC Legends are a collection of former football standouts who will be honored at events surrounding the SEC Football Championship Game in Atlanta in December.

Smith was one of the top pass rushing defensive ends in Tiger history. He was a first-team All-American as a junior in 2000 before bypassing his final year of eligibility for the NFL.  In his final season as a Tiger, he recorded 97 total tackles and 11 quarterback sacks, both Mizzou season records at the time. In just three years, he established the MU career sacks record with 22.5.

Smith went on to become the highest-ever draft pick by a Mizzou Tiger when he was selected with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He turned in a stellar 14-year NFL career, becoming one of the league’s most feared defenders in seven seasons with the Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers.  He was selected for five consecutive Pro Bowls (2009-2013), and was named to the AP All-Pro Team in both 2011 and 2012. Sports Illustrated named him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and he helped lead the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII.

The class will be honored at the 2016 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 2-3 in Atlanta, Ga.  The annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T will be held Dec. 2 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta and the group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at the Georgia Dome on Sat., Dec. 3.

— Mizzou Athletics —

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ed Orgeron held both arms in the air as he emerged from the Tiger Stadium tunnel for his first game as LSU’s interim coach. Derrius Guice’s long, crowd-thrilling touchdown runs ensured Orgeron would have every reason to leave Death Valley in an even better mood.

In the first game since the firing of coach Les Miles, and with star running back Leonard Fournette sidelined with ankle soreness, Guice rushed for a career-high 163 yards and three touchdowns, leading LSU to a 42-7 victory over Missouri on Saturday night.

Orgeron walked of the field beaming after his players gave him a celebratory drenching with a bucket of sports drink and handed him a game ball.

Guice scored the game’s first touchdown on a zig-zagging, 42-yard run in which he left several would-be tacklers grasping at air before using his speed to race away for the final yards. He added TDs from 4 and 37 yards before the first half ended.

Darrel Williams added a career-high 130 yards and three short touchdowns for LSU (3-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), which finished with 418 yards on the ground.

Missouri (2-3, 0-2) struggled to sustain drives and didn’t score until executing a reverse pass from receiver Eric Laurent to quarterback Drew Lock with 6:11 left in the game. LSU dominated time of possession, 42:42 to 17:18 and ran 82 plays to Missouri’s 60. LSU also finished with 634 yards — the school record for an SEC game- to Missouri’s 265.

Getting rid of the ball quickly, Lock limited LSU’s formidable pass rush to two sacks. But LSU’s secondary didn’t give the quarterback many easy throws. Lock, who came in averaging 377 yards passing, finished 17 of 37 for 167 yards and was intercepted once by Tre’Davious White on a long, over-thrown pass.

Miles, arguably the most successful coach in LSU history after winning 77 percent of his games in 11-plus seasons — including the 2007 national championship — was fired last Sunday, the day after an 18-13 loss at Auburn. That game marked the second time this season LSU’s offense looked stagnant in a loss to an underdog that was not ranked at the time of the game.

Orgeron promised a different look on offense and delivered early with four wide-receiver sets and enough passes to keep Missouri’s defense honest. But statistically, LSU looked a lot like some of Miles’ most dominant teams, with more yards and scoring on the ground than through the air.

LSU QB Danny Etling completed 19 of 30 for 216 yards and did not turn the ball over.

THE TAKEAWAY

MISSOURI: Stats can be deceiving. Mizzou’s offense, which came into the game leading the SEC, has looked far less prolific against teams from Power 5 conferences than the overmatched Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference and Delaware State of the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision.

LSU: Les Miles may be out as coach but there’s no questioning the talent he brought in when LSU gets rolling. And it’s clear the Tigers were ready to play under Orgeron. LSU could be a tough out for a number of their remaining opponents.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

After falling out of the AP Poll last week, LSU could very well jump right back into the ranking with its emphatic rebound from its last-second lost at Auburn.

UP NEXT

MISSOURI: After a bye next weekend, Missouri will visit Florida on Oct. 15.

LSU: A clash with historical rival Florida in the Swamp next weekend is on tap for LSU, marking the first road game of the Orgeron era.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football senior TE Sean Culkin (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla.) is one of 65 players from college football’s Bowl Subdivision to be named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, as announced Wednesday by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation and is prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.

Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient’s grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $11.1 million.

Culkin is nominated for the award as a business administration major who is playing with his degree after graduating in the spring of 2016. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in education, counseling & psychology. He is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and has devoted his time to various different organizations in the Mid-Missouri community. He has worked with the Special Olympics, local children’s camps and has visited children in the hospital. His Mission work was recognized by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey during SEC Media Days as well, where Culkin was one of Mizzou’s three participants in July.

“The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist’s achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates.”

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has received a gift totaling $1.675 million, as announced Wednesday.  The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has directed $1 million of the gift to go toward the new football facility in the south end zone at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field, with the remaining amount to be used for other Athletics initiatives.

This gift comes on the heels of a recent gift announcement which rejuvenated the push for new football facilities.  Specific details and scope of the campaign and project will be unveiled at a later date, after plans are approved and finalized.

“We are so grateful for this very generous gift,” said Director of Athletics Jim Sterk.  “It is critical to keep momentum building with our drive for new facilities, and this is exactly the shot in the arm we need to keep that moving forward.  Our donor is really pleased to be involved in helping us transform our facilities, and is excited about the future of our football program,” he said.

“I’m very excited about this gift, it’s another very important step in this process,” said Head Football Coach Barry Odom.  “Our donors are amazing with the passion they have for Mizzou and for our program.  This is the type of support we need to keep things rolling, and I can’t thank our donor enough for their generosity,” he said.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football junior WR J’Mon Moore (Missouri City, Texas) is one of eight wideouts added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, announced Tuesday by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. The Biletnikoff Award is presented to college football’s outstanding receiver annually. Moore certainly fits that description after the first four weeks of play as his 434 yards and six touchdowns lead the SEC, ranking in the top-10 nationally in both.

Enjoying a breakout junior campaign, Moore has tallied an SEC-best three 100-yard receiving games so far this season, highlighted by a league-best 196 yards and two scores against Georgia in Mizzou’s SEC opener. The 196 yards in that game are the ninth-best in school history. One week removed from that performance, Moore tied the school record with four touchdown grabs in Mizzou’s 79-0 win over Delaware State, also going over 100 yards in that game, needing just one half to put those numbers up.

The 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on December 8, 2016, on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast 7:00 – 9:00pm (EST) on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will present the 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner on the show.

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., will announce the ten Biletnikoff Award semifinalists on November 14, 2016, following the vote by the members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee. Likewise, the three finalists will be declared, following another vote, on November 22, 2016. For complete details and updates of interest, together with weekly statistics and timely, important news of the Biletnikoff Award candidates, as well as the FanVote and FanForum discussion board, please consult the Foundation’s highly informative website at www.biletnikoffaward.com.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, MO. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball announced its full 2016-17 schedule on Tuesday. The Tigers will host 18 guaranteed home games at Mizzou Arena, including two exhibition contests and 16 regular season matchups. Mizzou could potentially face 11 opponents that competed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

“Looking at our full schedule, we will have 16 games at home and that is certainly our favorite place to play,” head coach Robin Pingeton said.  “The support from our community and the environment that they help create has been really fun and special and we appreciate everyone’s support. We had the largest increase in attendance in Division I women’s basketball last year and it is my hope that we will be able to continue to build on that.”

Mizzou opens its slate with a pair of exhibition games against Central Missouri and Truman State on Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, respectively. The Tigers begin the regular season by hosting Abilene Christian at Mizzou Arena in the first round of the 2016 Preseason WNIT. This is the first time Mizzou has competed in the 16-team tournament, which features three guaranteed games and potential matchups against Nebraska, Washington and Notre Dame, among others. The second round is set for Nov. 13/14, the semifinals will take place Nov. 17 and the championship game is slated for Nov. 20.

“We are excited to not only start our season playing at home in Mizzou Arena but to also be participating in the prestigious WNIT tournament,” Coach Pingeton said.  “They have put together a great field that I know will be very competitive.”

Following the Preseason WNIT, Mizzou returns home on Nov. 22 to face Indiana State for the second time in program history. Over Thanksgiving, the Tigers will head to Freeport, Bahamas, for the 2016 Junkanoo Jam. At the holiday invitational, Mizzou clashes with Creighton on Nov. 25 at 1:15 p.m. CT. A day later, Coach Pingeton’s squad will play either Dayton or Georgia Tech.

Mizzou then comes back to Columbia for two home games against Western Illinois and Missouri State on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 before traveling to Indianapolis on Dec. 4 to square off with IUPUI. After that trip, the Tigers host four consecutive contests at Mizzou Arena vs. SIU Edwardsville, Wichita State, UT Martin and UC Riverside. Mizzou is a combined 13-0 all-time against those four programs.

The Tigers round out the nonconference slate with a road trip to Saint Louis on Dec. 21. Mizzou has never lost to the Billikens in 20 all-time meetings.

The Tigers open Southeastern Conference play with a home contest against Georgia on New Year’s Day before hitting the road to face Kentucky on Jan. 5. Both of those games will air on SEC Network. The Tigers host Alabama on Jan. 8 and then travel to LSU on Jan. 12 and Vanderbilt on Jan. 15. After an SEC Network-televised home matchup with Texas A&M on Jan. 19, Mizzou heads to rival Arkansas on Jan. 23.

A quick homestand the following week features contests against Auburn on Jan. 26 and Kentucky on Jan. 30. Mizzou hits the road Feb. 5 to take on Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The Tigers knocked off the then-No. 6 Bulldogs last season, 66-54. Mizzou ends a road swing with a trip to national power Tennessee on Feb. 9, which will air on SEC Network.

After hosting Arkansas on Feb. 12 and traveling to Florida on Feb. 16, the Tigers will square off with vaunted South Carolina at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 19. That matchup will be televised on ESPN2.

Mizzou will wrap up its regular season with senior night vs. Ole Miss on Feb. 23 and a road game at Alabama on Feb. 26. The SEC Tournament will be held March 1-5 in Greenville, S.C.

“We are really looking forward to this season,” Coach Pingeton said. “The team has put in a lot of work over the last several months. None of us are satisfied and we want more, but we understand that only comes with a lot of hard work.”

Click here for full schedule.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Southeastern Conference has released its 2017 football schedule for all league schools, as announced tonight on the SEC Network.  Mizzou’s slate of foes includes an exciting seven-game home schedule, three away games at Eastern Division rivals, the annual Thanksgiving weekend game against Arkansas (in Fayetteville) and a first-ever trip to play at UConn.

The schedule in 2017 starts with a rarity – four straight home games.  The last time Mizzou opened a season with four straight home games dates all the way back to 1908, when Head Coach W.J. Monilaw’s crew hosted Warrensburg, the Missouri School of Mines, Iowa and Westminster on four consecutive weekends.

Next season, the foes look a little different, including the season opener on Sept. 2 against longtime former MU assistant coach Dave Steckel and his Missouri State Bears.  The following three Saturdays will see visits to Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium by South Carolina (Sept. 9), Purdue (Sept. 16) and Auburn (Sept. 23), the latter of which will be making its first-ever appearance in Columbia.

The month of October will see Head Coach Barry Odom’s troops play three of four games on the road, and it will begin at Kentucky (Oct. 7), followed by a game between the hedges at Georgia (Oct. 14).  Mizzou will return home for Homecoming on Oct. 21st against Idaho, and then will wrap up non-conference play for the regular season with a game at UConn (Oct. 28).

The stretch run of November starts with a pair of home games against Eastern Division rivals Florida (Nov. 4) and the home finale against Tennessee (Nov. 11), and concludes with road games at Vanderbilt (Nov. 18) and the annual Thanksgiving-weekend rivalry game against Arkansas (Nov. 25 in Fayetteville).

The schedule is subject to change due to television considerations, and all kickoff times will not be determined until the summer of 2017 at the earliest.

“We are very excited about the schedule for next season,” said Executive Associate Athletic Director Bryan Maggard, who oversees scheduling as the football sport administrator.  “It certainly provides our fans with an exciting home game experience as well as several fun and manageable road trips.  We’re pleased to begin the series with Purdue, which we feel is a good regional matchup.  Although the spacing of home and away games is unique, we look forward to a very exciting September at Faurot Field, and of course Homecoming in October,” he said.

2017 MIZZOU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 2  MISSOURI STATE
Sept. 9  SOUTH CAROLINA
Sept. 16  PURDUE
Sept. 23  AUBURN
Oct. 7  at Kentucky
Oct. 14  at Georgia
Oct. 21  IDAHO
Oct. 28  at UConn
Nov. 4  FLORIDA
Nov. 11  TENNESSEE
Nov. 18  at Vanderbilt
Nov. 25  at Arkansas

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football redshirt freshman Johnathon Johnson (Memphis, Tenn.) has been named SEC Freshman of the Week following an electrifying performance last Saturday in a 61-21 win over Eastern Michigan, the league announced Monday. Johnson finished with 210 all-purpose yards with a pair of touchdowns and became the first Football Bowl Subdivision player with a punt return touchdown, receiving touchdown and 100 receiving yards in an FBS game since 2001, according to data from Sports-Reference.com.

Johnson took a punt to the house for a 54-yard score in the second quarter, marking Mizzou’s first punt return touchdown since Marcus Murphy in 2014 at Florida (Oct. 18). It was Mizzou’s first special teams touchdown since Aarion Penton returned a blocked punt for a score in Mizzou’s season opener against SEMO last season.

While the punt return was an exciting play, it was not the most electric play made by Johnson on the night. In fact, on Mizzou’s seventh drive, Johnson took a screen pass from Lock and blazed 87 yards to a touchdown, the middle of a three-TD flurry for Mizzou that spanned just 1:19 of game time to close a 19-point second quarter. The 87-yard strike was Mizzou’s longest passing play from scrimmage since L’Damian Washington scored a 96-yard TD against South Carolina in 2013.

Johnson’s 210 all-purpose yards last Saturday were just 17 shy of cracking the all-time top-25 at Mizzou.

Mizzou Football returns to The Zou this Saturday (Sept. 17) to face No. 13/16 Georgia at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 1550 AM.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Saturday morning, Missouri coach Barry Odom woke up to a text message informing him of something he did not know; since 1957, only one Missouri coach-Bob Stull in 1989-won in their home debut.

Make that two.

Drew Lock tied a school-record with five touchdown passes as Missouri ran away with its home opener, defeating Eastern Michigan 61-21 Saturday.

Odom, who was a linebacker for Missouri from 1996-99, discussed the surreal nature of earning his first home win as coach of his alma mater.

“It got to me a little bit tonight. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t…I feel the responsibility to do it right, because there are so many people that have worked so hard to put this program where it is.”

Lock completed 24 of 37 pass attempts for 450 yards, only 30 yards shy of the school record.

“He did some really good things tonight,” Odom said of Lock. “He is doing a great job of running our offense, and things are slowing down tremendously for him. I think he will continue to grow by learning from his mistakes, while learning from the good things he does as well.”

The Tigers (1-1) amassed 647 yards of total offense, the most since Sept. 17, 2011. Running backs Demarea Crockett and Ish Witter combined for 25 rushes, 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Ray Wingo led Missouri in receiving yards with 125 on just three catches, one of which was a 52-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. Johnathon Johnson caught five passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, and Emmanuel Hall had three catches for 90 yards.

“Their passing attack proved to be too strong,” said Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton, who is now 4-22 in three seasons with the school. “The long balls, and even just the quick game, would eat up yards. They did a really good job of that.

“We just got run by on some of those long balls, and some well-placed balls, and some speed and size at receiver that we just weren’t able to combat.”

On the final play of the first quarter, Johnson bobbled a high-arcing punt near midfield, but recovered and took it 54 yards for a touchdown. He finished with 210 all-purpose yards.

“It was scramble mode,” Johnson said of the circus play. “I had to pick it back up. I knew I had muffed it, so I was just trying to get it back up, and I just cut it across the field.”

Odom said he’s seen this type of playmaking ability from Johnson before.

“The things he did on the field tonight, he does in practice on Tuesday’s and Wednesdays. It’s important to him that he is a total package player, having the ability to not only play out wide, but to return punts and block. He is only going to get better.”

Eastern Michigan quarterback Todd Porter was 23 of 45 for 287 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed 13 times for 46 yards and one touchdown.

The Eagles (1-1) struggled offensively, especially in the first half. Their first seven drives consisted of five punts, an interception and a 1-yard touchdown run. They converted 11 of 21 third down attempts and were 0 for 1 on fourth down.

Missouri cornerback Aarion Penton broke up three passes, made two tackles and had an interception, but left the game with a sprained shoulder and did not return.

Eastern Michigan cornerback Juan Giraldo was ejected early in the fourth quarter for a targeting hit on Missouri receiver Keyon Dilosa.

TAKEAWAYS

Missouri: In a 26-11 loss at West Virginia last week, Missouri’s offense ran 100 plays, more than any team in the nation. That tempo slowed somewhat Saturday, as the Tigers ran 78 plays. However, they nearly doubled their average yards per play, from 4.6 against West Virginia to 8.3 against the Eagles, and scored the most points since a 62-10 win against Southeast Louisiana Sept. 1, 2012.

Eastern Michigan: Starting running back Shaq Vann was limited to just one carry for 10 yards. Vann injured his shoulder early in the first quarter and did not return. Ian Eriksen became the Eagles’ primary ball carrier with Vann on the sidelines, rushing 23 times for 90 yards and a touchdown.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers host Georgia (2-0) next Saturday night. The Bulldogs defeated Missouri 10-9 last season in Athens.

Eastern Michigan: The Eagles travel to UNC Charlotte (1-1) next Saturday in the first meeting between the schools. The 49ers football program began in 2013.

— Associated Press —