Smith has attention of Illini

ST. LOUIS -- Brad Smith won't surprise Illinois -- or anybody else for that matter -- this season.

Last year's season opener was the coming-out party for the Missouri quarterback, then an unknown redshirt freshman who led a 33-20 victory with 138 yards rushing and 152 passing. Smith went on to become only the second player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.

Today when the teams meet in the opener again in the Edward Jones Dome, Smith will top the list of players to watch out for. Illinois coach Ron Turner called him "a tremendous, tremendous player."

"Last year he caught us off-guard," Illinois middle linebacker Matt Sinclair said. "I think he caught a lot of teams off-guard. It just comes down to tackling."

Smith, directing an offense that has 10 returning starters, knows he'll be under scrutiny. He also assumes Illinois will try to keep him in the pocket.

"I'm sure they'll be prepared for us as a team," Smith said. "We don't do anything differently but prepare ourselves. Our focus is on what Missouri can do to win the game."

Missouri settled for a breakout year from Smith last year, finishing 5-7. This year the Tigers are hungry for much more, having landed in the top 25 of some preseason publications.

That's a big step for a program that's had only two winning seasons in the past 19 years.

Looking ahead, the Tigers say if they can win the opener they can be 5-0 when Nebraska comes to Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 11. After Illinois, Missouri faces Ball State, Eastern Illinois, Middle Tennessee and Kansas.

Still, first things first.

"You earn respect by winning, and I think we earned a little respect last year by being a competitive team," coach Gary Pinkel said. "I think the preseason stuff helps recruiting image a little bit, but it's the regular season that counts.

"That's the great thing about our business, that you have to go out and do it."

The opening loss took a toll last year on an Illinois team coming off a Big Ten championship. The Fighting Illini finished a disappointing 5-7, but only after winning four of their last six games.

This time around, players won't place too much emphasis on the opener.

"I don't think we handled adversity well last year," quarterback Jon Beutjer said. "We lost our first game and we kind of went in a hole.

"It is key to get off on the right foot but it's not going to make or break your season. It's not one of those games where if you lose, your whole season's done."

Illinois has 15 players from the St. Louis area, players who'll have extra incentive today.

"I don't think I'll have to do a lot of motivating or come up with a brilliant speech to get these guys ready to go," coach Ron Turner said. "Whether you're from St. Louis or not, I hope every guy associated with this program remembers the game last year and the start that we had to our season, and use that to get ourselves ready."

Illinois will attempt to exploit a defense that was Missouri's weak spot last year, allowing nearly 30 points per game. Pinkel doesn't want any more shootouts.

"We had some severe issues on defense when we got here," Pinkel said. "We've had to try to get the right people in the right spots and the athleticism, even though we haven't done anything yet, is significant from what it's been in the past."

Illinois is shorthanded for the opener after fullback Carey Davis underwent minor surgery on his left knee this week. Davis, the team's top returning rusher with 319 yards last year, will be out up to three weeks.

This is the final game of the two-year neutral-site series. The teams won't play again until 2008.