30 Years, 30 Games, 30 Days: #23
Missouri goes in front of the press to preview the 2017 football season on July 13. To lead up to the unofficial kickoff of the college football season, PowerMizzou.com will take a look back at the 30 best Tiger games in the last 30 years.
In the course of compiling this list, there was no set criteria. I looked at the most memorable games, the most entertaining games, the most important games to the program at the time. All of these factored in when I put together the list. It is an entirely subjective list sure to inspire plenty of disagreement.
We continue the countdown today with Game No. 23.
Missouri 27, San Diego State 24 -- Columbia, MO -- September 18, 2010
The previous three years had been the best in many years for Missouri football. But with 1:47 to go against San Diego State, things looked bleak for the 2010 Tigers. San Diego State led Mizzou 24-20 and the Aztecs Leon McFadden had just intercepted Blaine Gabbert at the Mizzou 37-yard line.
San Diego State's first play was an eight-yard run by Ronnie Hillman, who at that point had 22 carries for 235 yards on the night. In a play that would prove to be far more critical than it seemed at the time, Jarrell Harrison forced Hillman out of bounds, stopping the clock. Hillman's next carry gained nothing and Missouri called a timeout with 1:36 to play. The Aztecs then picked up a five-yard penalty for a substitution infraction and lost a yard on a completed pass. San Diego State faced fourth and eight from the Missouri 35 with 1:29 to play and Missouri had just used its final timeout.
SDSU chose to punt the ball and Carl Gettis made a fair catch at the 12. Mizzou had 88 yards to go and just 82 seconds in which to do it. The Tigers wouldn't need nearly that long.
Gabbert connected with Jerrell Jackson for 20 yards on first down. Missouri's next play was a short pass on the left side to T.J. Moe.
Moe made one man miss at his own 40. He then picked up a block along the sideline from Jackson at the Missouri 46 (San Diego State fans will tell you it wasn't legal). The final 54 yards were nothing but green. Moe sprinted into the end zone, giving Missouri a 26-24 lead. Grant Ressel tacked on the extra point, putting the Tigers up three.
SDSU still had a chance. But an illegal shift wiped out a completion to midfield. After a personal foul on Missouri, Ryan Lindley's final desperation pass fell incomplete. Missouri had a 27-24 win that moved the Tigers to 3-0 thanks to the "Moe Miracle."
WHY IT'S ON THE LIST: Missouri fans know heartbreaking finishes. This list will prove that. But on this night, they knew the elation of being on the other end of it. Perhaps never has Mizzou football snatched a more improbable victory. Most of the fans left when Gabbert was intercepted with 1:37 to play. They missed one of the great finishes in Tiger history. Missouri would win its next four after that, including a 36-27 win over Oklahoma, the No. 1 team in the BCS standings. The Tigers would finish the 2010 season at 10-3, their third 10-win season in four years (they had just one in 116 years prior). No way it happens without Moe's mad dash.