2009 Missouri Tigers football team The 2009 Missouri Tigers football team , their 120th season , represented the University of Missouri in college football ' s 2009 season . The team was coached by Gary Pinkel , who returned for his ninth season with Mizzou , and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium . Changes to Memorial Stadium for the 2009 season included a new scoreboard and expanded seating capacity following a reconfiguration of the student seating section . On December 6 , the Texas Bowl picked the 8 - 4 Tigers to play in their fourth annual game against the 9 - 4 Navy Midshipmen at Reliant Stadium in Houston on December 31 . On December 22 , Mizzou Sports Properties ( owned by Learfield Sports ) announced a contract for a new radio home on all its coaches ' and daily shows for five years , starting with the 2010 – 11 season . KFRU , owned by Cumulus Media , had the radio rights for the Tiger Network . Recruits . Key Losses : 23 seniors ( not incl . Jeremy Maclin ) played their final game in the Alamo Bowl . 25 student - athletes signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Missouri and play football for the Tigers in 2009 . Missouri and Coach Pinkel said they were pleased with its recruits , and Pinkel doesn ' t listen to how the recriting services rank his recruits ( Scout . com as 38th , Rivals . com as 41st ) since they have had great results in the evaluations they look for in the athletes recruited . This year , the breakdown by position in the 25 - man class was : five DBs , four LBs , four OLs , four DLs , two QBs , three WRs , two TEs , and one RB . Ten of the 25 are native Missourians . Pinkel said regarding Missouri ' s evaluation system : " I was at a national convention and a couple coaches from Texas said to me that we ask more about players , were more thorough , than any coaches that they ' ve seen and any program that they ' ve seen . " The recruiting class breaks down to 14 on defense compared to 11 on offense . Coaching staff . On February 20 , 2009 , Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus announced he was leaving the Tigers to join the Cleveland Browns . Game Summaries . Illinois . Blaine Gabbert passed for three touchdowns and 319 yards ( 25 – 33 ) , in a runaway 37 – 9 victory over rival Illinois . Missouri WR Danario Alexander posted a career high with 10 receptions totaling 132 yards . Gabbert became the third straight Missouri quarterback to earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors in his first start . Bowling Green . After trailing most of the game , Missouri scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to escape at home . Nevada . Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert posted a career high 414 yards on 25 of 40 passing . Missouri wide - out Danario Alexander once again posted career high numbers with 9 catches for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns . The turning point in this game was when Nevada running back Luke Lippincott fumbled on the Missouri 4 yard line , setting up a 96 yard touchdown drive by the Missouri offense . Nebraska . Game in the rain ends with a dramatic switch from a 12 – 0 Missouri lead after the 3rd quarter , changed to a 27 – 12 loss with an injured Blaine Gabbert ' s leg for the final half with the first two interceptions of his career . Texas . Kickoff time : 7 : 12 pm • End of Game : 10 : 02 • Total elapsed time : 2 : 50 Referee : Tom Walker • Umpire : John Mascarello • Linesman : Chad Green • Line judge : David Oliver • Back judge : Brad Van Vark • Field judge : Reggie Smith • Side judge : Brad Horchem • Scorer : Tim Knaar • Temperature : 56 F • Wind : S 5 • Weather : Cool and clear Kansas . These rivals put on a show in last year ' s game and somehow topped it , trading big plays , scores and momentum seemingly with every snap . Missouri tackled the quarterback for a safety with 2 : 39 remaining and Grant Ressel hit a 27 - yard field goal , his fourth of the game , as time expired , giving the Tigers a 41 – 39 win over Kansas on Saturday in another wild Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium . Ressel was subsequently named the Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week , for his perfect day ( 4 - for - 4 ) in field goal kicking . It was the first time since 1972 that a Missouri team has won a game from a field goal kicker after trailing in the final seconds of a game . Navy ( Texas Bowl ) . The Tigers lost to Navy in the worst bowl defeat ( in terms of the point differential , - 22 ) , in team history . Statistics . Statistics from :