Daniel leads Tigers past Nevada 69-17

COLUMBIA, Mo. " Missouri wants to score on every possession. Against Nevada, the No. 6 Tigers almost did.

Chase Daniel threw for 405 yards to set the school career passing record and Missouri scored on its first 10 possessions in a 69-17 win Saturday over Nevada.

"We want to score every time we touch the ball," Daniel, a Heisman finalist a year ago, said. "We know that's probably not going to happen."

It almost did. Daniel threw for four TDs and was 23-for-28 to take Missouri (3-0) to seven touchdowns and a field goal before exiting in the third quarter. His backups, Chase Patton and Blaine Gabbert, led two more scoring drives before Missouri was finally forced to punt late in the fourth quarter.

By the time Daniel was done, he had shattered predecessor Brad Smith's record. He has 9,513 yards passing. Smith finished with 8,799 yards in four seasons as a starter.

He still holds the school record for total offense with 13,088 yards, a record Daniel has an outside chance at.

The Tigers gained 651 yards and averaged 10 yards per play. The 69 points tied a team record set against Kansas in 1969, and they've scored 173 points in three games.

Nevada (1-2) fell for the second straight time to a Big 12 opponent after losing to Texas Tech a week ago.

"Pass defense is all about putting pressure on the quarterback and we just couldn't get that done today," Nevada coach Chris Ault said.

Daniel connected on touchdown passes of 80, 14 and 49 yards with Jeremy Maclin, and threw a 27-yarder to Jared Perry. Derrick Washington ran for two scores.

Missouri also scored on a fake field goal and an interception return in the second half, after Daniel had already put the game out of reach.

"He loves to play," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. "He can't wait for game day."

When games go like this, how could he?

Maclin had six catches for 172 yards. Three other receivers had six catches " Chase Coffman for 127 yards and a touchdown on a fake field goal, Tommy Saunders for 100 yards and Perry for 98 yards.

Missouri led 14-0 2:58 into the game on Washington's 59-yard run and Maclin's 80-yard catch-and-run " which moved Daniel into first place on the career list.

"Catching Chase's record-breaking pass " it's a special moment," Maclin said.

Pinkel said Daniel appears improved even over his breakout 2007 season.

"You look at him " it looks like he's playing better," Pinkel said. "Certainly he has raised the bar to the highest level."

Nevada scored on a 1-yard run by quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the first quarter, a 31-yard field goal by Brett Jaekle in the second and on a 42-yard pass from Kaepernick to Marko Mitchell on the final play of the first half that cut the deficit to 38-17.

But after gaining 237 yards of offense in the first half, the Wolf Pack managed just 125 in the second.

Kaepernick was 17-for-31 for 152 yards and led Nevada with 71 yards rushing on eight carries.

Washington led Missouri with 80 yards rushing on eight carries. He has scored two touchdowns in all three games.

The Missouri offense has been essentially unstoppable with Daniel at quarterback over the past two games. Daniel played just a quarter and a half in leading Missouri to five straight touchdowns in last week's 52-3 win over Southeast Missouri. Combined with Saturday's effort, the Tigers have scored on the past 13 possessions with Daniel at the helm " 12 touchdowns and a field goal.

During those games he was 39-for-45 for 650 yards, seven touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 259.33.

For the season, Daniel has completed 72 percent of his passes for 973 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. Notes: In addition to Daniel's career passing record, several other Missouri team marks were tied or broken. The three quarterbacks combined for a record 519 yards. Jeff Wolfert's nine extra points were a record. Maclin's three receiving touchdowns tied a team record, as did the team's five touchdown passes. ... Coffman, who normally wears No. 45, wore 25 to honor Aaron O'Neal, a Missouri linebacker who died shortly after a practice in July 2005.