BOULDER — Colorado honored veterans of the armed forces in a pregame ceremony Saturday. Missouri took it from there.
The ninth-ranked Tigers showed the ability to strike quickly in a 55-10 victory over CU before 51,483 at Folsom Field.
Winning in Boulder for the first time in 10 years, Missouri (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) scored on long passes, short passes and runs, finishing the first half with 24 unanswered points to take a commanding 31-10 lead into the break. The Tigers were up 48-10 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, choosing among at least four athletic receivers on every snap, picked apart a CU secondary that had performed well a week earlier against Texas Tech, which also employs the spread offense.
Daniel had 288 yards passing by halftime, including three touchdown passes. The junior from Southlake, Texas, told Missouri-based reporters earlier in the week that, after watching film of Colorado, he thought he could throw deep against the Buffaloes.
Daniel backed it up. Five of his throws in the first half went for 25 yards or longer. Each led to points. That included a 72-yarder down the left sideline to William Franklin that set up Missouri’s first touchdown, a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin and a 25-yard touchdown to tight end Chase Coffman.
Colorado (5-5, 3-3) surprised then-No. 3 Oklahoma five weeks earlier, but any chance of another headline-grabbing upset ended in the second quarter. The Buffs had not allowed this many points at home since 1983, when Missouri won 59-20.
CU remained one game shy of becoming bowl eligible. The Buffs play Saturday at Iowa State (2-8, 1-5) before completing the regular season at home Nov. 23 against Nebraska.
The Tigers, who have struggled in November in recent years, stayed on course for a Nov. 24 showdown with No. 8 Kansas. Missouri had lost four in a row in Boulder and 10 of the past 11. The previous Tigers win here was in 1997.
