Versatile Smith leads Tigers' charge against rival Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Rarely in the 113 times Kansas and Missouri have squared off on the football field has there been such a quarterback mismatch -- at least on paper.

The Tigers (5-2 overall, 3-1 Big 12) will have Brad Smith, the most productive quarterback in Missouri history, in today's game. Kansas (3-4, 0-4) will have Jason Swanson, the fourth quarterback the Jayhawks have tried in a season that has been characterized by tremendous defense and inept offense.

Smith is coming off a record-smashing 480-yard performance against Nebraska, in which he became just the sixth player in college history to rush and pass for more than 200 yards in a game. He was named player of the week by the Walter Camp Foundation and the Big 12 Conference, among others.

Swanson started the season with a leg injury and seemed lost on the scout team as first Adam Barmann, then Brian Luke labored without success to lead the Jayhawks.

Until Swanson came off the bench at Colorado last week and threw for 291 yards in a 44-13 loss, Kansas had gone 10 quarters without a touchdown and wasted outstanding defensive efforts in avoidable losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Thanks to Smith, who's only 1-2 in his career against the Jayhawks, the crowd at Memorial Stadium on Saturday will probably get to see history made. Smith needs only 43 yards rushing to erase the career record for a quarterback of 3,895 yards, held by Indiana's Antwaan Randle El.

With 104 yards passing and 147 rushing, he'll reach an even greater distinction: the first player in major college history with 8,000 yards through the air and 4,000 on the ground.

"He's a great athlete and a great player," said Kevin Kane, who has seen plenty of Smith during his career as a standout linebacker for the Jayhawks. "If you give him a little space, he'll take advantage of it. We have to try to corral and contain him. We haven't seen a quarterback like him so far."

Swanson's career numbers will come nowhere near the epic levels of Brad Smith. Still, his performance at Colorado, despite three interceptions, provided a much-needed spark for Kansas.

"I think his play was definitely uplifting," said linebacker Banks Floodman. "He came in there cold after not playing during the season. I thought he did a great job. I think that is a definite positive."

Swanson was the quarterback last season when Kansas won 31-14 for its second straight victory over Smith and the Tigers.

One big advantage for Kansas will be defense. Its senior-laden unit is No. 19 overall in total defense and No. 2 in the nation against the run.

That'll come in handy against Smith, the only Big 12 player who is averaging 100 yards rushing per game.

"We're playing one of the best defenses in the United States," said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. "They've outplayed us and outcoached us the last couple of years, and they won because they deserved to win, and certainly, it's a very important football game."

The Jayhawks have reason to believe they're capable of containing Smith because they've done it before.

In a 35-14 Kansas victory in 2003, Smith, then a sophomore, was held to 33 yards rushing and 62 passing. Last year, in the Jayhawks 31-14 win, Smith was credited with 13 carries for minus-41 yards.

"I don't think we've done anything out of the ordinary," said Mangino. "I think we've done a good job of trying to disrupt his rhythm. If he gets into a rhythm, either running or passing, he is very dangerous.

"There won't be any change in our philosophy this year. They've always run the ball and thrown the ball with him, but now they're just doing it in a couple of different ways."