A Tiger mauling

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- University of Missouri All-American senior quarterback Chase Daniel said during the week he hoped to be out of Saturday's game for good by halftime.

That would mean things were progressing smoothly for the sixth-ranked Tigers against 50-point underdog Southeast Missouri State.

Daniel didn't even have to wait until the intermission to be through for the night.

With Daniel directing five straight lightning-quick touchdown drives to begin the contest, the Tigers piled up a 42-0 halftime lead and coasted past the outmanned Redhawks 52-3.

The touchdown that made it 42-0 came with 8 minutes, 45 seconds left in the second quarter. Daniel never saw the field again.

"I thought we played a great ballgame tonight, exactly like we should," Daniel said.

Daniel had a performance worthy of his status as a 2007 Heisman Trophy finalist. He completed 16 of 17 passes -- including his last 14 attempts -- for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

Southeast's Victor Anderson pulled down Missouri's De'Vion Moore during the first half Saturday.

"That's a high-powered offense and they have a great leader in Chase Daniel," Southeast senior cornerback Kendall Magana said. "They played pretty well."

An announced crowd of 62,305 at Faurot Field -- the fourth-largest home-opening attendance in MU history -- saw the Tigers improve to 2-0 while the Redhawks fell to 1-1

Southeast's athletic department received $250,000 in exchange for having its Division I-AA football program play a BCS conference opponent for the third year in a row.

"I've done it in the past with places like Arkansas and Cincinnati, but it was a great time tonight in front of 60,000 loud fans," said Southeast senior wide receiver Mike Williamson, who along with several other current Redhawks competed in front of more than 70,000 fans at Arkansas in 2006.

Four of MU's first-half scoring drives covered at least 70 yards, with a fifth traveling 48 yards. None took longer than 2:48.

The Tigers, who also scored on an interception return, finished the opening half with 367 yards.

"They've got a good offense and they got into a rhythm," Southeast junior cornerback Eddie Calvin said.

But despite being shut out at the break, Southeast's offense actually showed signs of life while operating against MU's first-line defense.

On four of the Redhawks' eight first-half possessions, they drove into MU territory. Southeast had a respectable 199 yards in the opening half.

"We finally got into a rhythm, we just couldn't put it in the end zone," Williamson said. "That's a testament to how good their defense is."

Twice Southeast got all the way to the Tigers' 11-yard line in the first half.

Both of those marches ended in missed 28-yard field goals by junior Doug Spada, a blocked kick in the first quarter and a wide boot on the final play of the first half.

"We have a lot of good things in our offense. We have to work on scoring in the red zone," said Southeast quarterback Houston Lillard, who completed 20 of 38 passes for 197 yards before taking a seat on the bench for good late in the third quarter.

With MU rotating two backup quarterbacks in the second half, Southeast's defense limited the Tigers to 10 points the rest of the way.

"We hung in there the second half," Magana said. "We talked before the game about fighting for four quarters. I thought we showed heart."

Southeast had another solid drive on its first offensive possession of the second half, moving inside the MU 35 before losing a fumble.

The Redhawks finally ended MU's hopes of a shutout early in the fourth quarter.

True freshman quarterback Matt Scheible directed a 56-yard drive that ended in Spada's 31-yard field goal with 11:33 left that made it 45-3.

MU finished with 592 yards, while the Redhawks had 334.

"We fought hard. We didn't back down when things got out of hand," Lillard said.

That trait is what Southeast coach Tony Samuel particularly liked about the Redhawks and also what stood out to MU coach Gary Pinkel.

"Well, I didn't know what the score was going to be, but I knew we were going to be outmanned pretty much," Samuel said. "I was more looking for the kids to play hard and execute. ... I thought our kids hung in there and that's going to springboard us into some better things.

"That's a great team we just played. Their offense is extremely fast and disciplined and precise and they do a great job."

Said Pinkel: "I was proud of watching SEMO, how they played, how they competed and stuck it out to the end. That says a lot about their program."

Southeast's effort wasn't nearly enough to make the Tigers sweat, but the Redhawks believe it was enough to send them into Thursday's Ohio Valley Conference opener -- at home against Tennessee Tech on ESPNU -- with a solid dose of confidence.

"I thought we showed a good spark," said junior wide receiver Walter Peoples, who led Southeast with eight catches for 80 yards. "We're more than ready for the OVC."