# 2012 Missouri Tigers football team

The 2012 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached for the 12th season by Gary Pinkel and played their home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri for the 87th consecutive season. In their first season as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, Missouri finished fifth with a record of 2–6 in the conference, and 5–7 overall. As a result, the Tigers failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since the 2004 season.

## Recruits

Key losses:
* OL John Birdwell
* TE Beau Brinkley
* OL Quinn Brown
* WR Terry Dennis
* DL Brendan Donaldson
* LB Will Ebner
* TE Michael Egnew
* WR Brandon Gerau
* LB Luke Lambert
* DL Dominique Hamilton
* DB Trey Hobson
* OL Dan Hoch
* WR Jerrell Jackson
* S Kenji Jackson
* TE Andrew Jones
* WR Wes Kemp
* LB Tony Randolph
* DL Jacquies Smith
All nineteen recruits signed their National Letter of Intent during the National Signing Period (February 1, 2012 – April 1, 2012).
The recruits signed by February 1.
Almost one-third (six) of the nineteen recruits are from Missouri with three of them from St. Louis and one from Kansas City. Another six were from Texas. Markus Golden, a linebacker from St. Louis as well, is the only junior college transfer. Darius White (the 20th), a wide receiver from Fort Worth, Texas is a transfer from the Texas Longhorns who has already enrolled in the off-season but has to sit out the 2012 season per NCAA transfer rules and will then have two years of eligibility starting in 2013.
US college sports recruiting information for 2012 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Evan Boehm C | Lee's Summit, MO | Lee's Summit HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | 5.00 | Dec 21, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Torey Boozer OLB | Everman, TX | Everman HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | ? | May 23, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Harold Brantley DT | Hershey, PA | Hershey HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | 4.80 | Jan 29, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Levi Copelin S | Broken Arrow, OK | Broken Arrow HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | ? | Jan 18, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 68 |||||||
| Chasten Cuffee S | Cleburne, TX | Cleburne HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | ? | May 23, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Sean Culkin TE | Largo, FL | Indian Rocks Christian HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.60 | Dec 22, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| John Gibson CB | Missouri City, TX | Marshall HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | ? | Jan 29, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Markus Golden OLB | St. Louis, MO | Affton HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | 4.60 | May 1, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: JC |||||||
| Dorial Green-Beckham WR | Springfield, MO | Hillcrest HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 4.47 | Feb 1, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| Russell Hansbrough RB | Arlington, TX | Bowie HS | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 4.44 | Jan 12, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Rickey Hatley DE | Atlanta, TX | Atlanta HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | ? | Dec 10, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Brandon Holifield TE | Tallahassee, FL | Amos P. Godby HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | ? | Feb 22, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Maty Mauk QB | Kenton, OH | Kenton HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | ? | Jul 11, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Donavin Newsom MLB | St. Louis, MO | Parkway North HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | 4.50 | Jun 8, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Michael Scherer MLB | St. Louis, MO | Mary Institute and St. Louis HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | 4.75 | Jun 10, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Morgan Steward RB | Kansas City, MO | Staley HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | 4.52 | Mar 1, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Ka'ra Stewart S | O'Fallon, IL | O'Fallon HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | ? | Dec 10, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Jordan Williams OT | Denton, TX | Ryan HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | ? | Oct 20, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Evan Winston DE | Muskegon Heights, MI | Muskegon Heights HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | ? | Jul 23, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 3.05 (#33) Rivals: 3.11 (#31) ESPN: 77 |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Missouri 2012 Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012. "2012 Missouri Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012. "2012 Player Commitments – Missouri". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012. "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 pm | Southeastern Louisiana* | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | FSN PPV | W 62–10 | 62,173 |
| September 8 | 6:45 pm | No. 7 Georgia | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ESPN2 | L 20–41 | 71,004 |
| September 15 | 6:00 pm | Arizona State* | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ESPN2 | W 24–20 | 71,004 |
| September 22 | 2:30 pm | at No. 7 South Carolina | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | CBS | L 10–31 | 80,836 |
| September 29 | 11:00 am | at UCF* | Bright House Networks StadiumOrlando, FL | FSN | W 21–16 | 35,835 |
| October 6 | 6:00 pm | Vanderbilt | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECRN | L 15–19 | 66,250 |
| October 13 | 2:30 pm | No. 1 Alabama | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | CBS | L 10–42 | 71,004 |
| October 27 | 11:00 am | Kentucky | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ESPNU | W 33–10 | 67,853 |
| November 3 | 11:00 am | at No. 8 Florida | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | ESPN2 | L 7–14 | 90,496 |
| November 10 | 11:21 am | at Tennessee | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | W 51–48 $^{4OT}$ | 89,272 |
| November 17 | 6:00 pm | Syracuse* | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ESPNU | L 27–31 | 63,045 |
| November 24 | 6:00 pm | at No. 9 Texas A&M | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX | ESPN2 | L 29–59 | 87,222 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP PollAll times are in Central time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Years at MU | Alma mater (year) |
| Gary Pinkel | Head coach | 12 | Kent State (1975) |
| Dave Steckel | Assistant head coach Defensive coordinator Linebackers coach | 12 | Kutztown (1982) |
| David Yost | Assistant head coach Offensive coordinator Quarterbacks coach Recruiting coordinator | 12 | Kent State (1992) |
| Cornell Ford | Cornerbacks coach | 12 | Toledo (1991) |
| Alex Grinch | Safeties Coach | 4 | Mount Union (2002) |
| Josh Henson | Co – Offensive line coach | 4 | Oklahoma State (1998) |
| Andy Hill | Receivers Coach | 17 | University of Missouri (1985) |
| Brian Jones | Running backs coach | 12 | Connecticut (1981) |
| Craig Kuligowski | Defensive line coach | 12 | Toledo (1991) |
| Bruce Walker | Co – Offensive line coach | 12 | Central Washington (1983) |
| Dan Hopkins | Director of football operations | 6 | University of Missouri (2004) |
| Nick Otterbacher | Director of Football Recruiting | 9 | Toledo (2002) |
Source: 2012 Mizzou Football Roster
David Yost resigned on December 3, suggestingly for personal reasons.

## Games summaries
### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | 4OT | Total |
| • Missouri | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 51 |
| Tennessee | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 48 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | |
| Coaches | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Not released |