COLUMBIA, Mo. — The ice cream man’s got nothing on Brad Smith. When I told a bunch of little Sharpie-toting Tiger fans that No. 16 was about to come out of the Missouri interview room after the game, their eyes lit up like the first-quarter scoreboard at Faurot Field.

MU’s senior quarterback handled all the autograph requests and then headed out for some quiet time with family and friends, certainly far quieter than the commotion he created inside the stadium Saturday.

Smith had his best game as a Tiger. He set a school record for total offense with 480 yards. He ran for three touchdowns and passed for one. He’s now second on the all-time NCAA list for QB rushing yards.

What a guy, and it goes far beyond football.

In an informal survey, I learned that 4 out of 5 dentists (not to mention fans, Tiger media folks and cotton candy vendors) recommend Smith as the choice for most popular Mizzou football player of all time.

“You’ve got to put him at the top,” said Bryan Bax, a 39-year-old MU fan from Jefferson City.

“He’s never, ever cocky. When he (gets) a touchdown, he just hands the ball to the officials. That’s what I like. He’s not a showboat.

“I don’t even want to talk about him on the field. The way he acts off the field is just incredible.”

Sounds a lot like the star of Nebraska’s offense — Cory Ross. Smith and Ross shared well-wishes after Saturday’s game.

“I told him he did some things with the ball I’ve never seen a quarterback do,” Ross said. “I don’t know him too well, but just judging from my experience of talking to him, I think he’s a great person. He’s probably a great captain on that team.”

The Huskers couldn’t stop Smith early, then they could, then they couldn’t again. I asked Bo Ruud if his Buccaneer brother had offered any tips on putting the clamps on Missouri’s star.

“It’s (Barrett’s) off week,” Bo said. “He came home yesterday, and we had a chance to talk. His experience with Brad Smith was from last year more, and they changed their offense.

“It was our fault we lost this game. It wasn’t Brad Smith just completely beating us.”

Two-minute drill:

— You can always tell how tough a road environment is by the number of people leaving the field in handcuffs after the game. I counted about two dozen Saturday. A state trooper told me there’s not a lot of rhyme or reason to deciding which trespassers get cuffed. I did learn that running at an officer on your way to the goal post is probably not the way to go on that deal.

— More on the postgame mayhem: Husker fans can take some comfort in knowing that the win cost Missouri about $12,000 in goal posts.

— With no baseball gigs in their near future — darn that Roy Oswalt — the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales were on hand at Faurot Field on Saturday. They must have thought the Tigers had it wrapped up early because they left the premises with 7 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

— I know it was the plan going in, but the Tigers’ decision to take the hot hand, Smith, out for a series to give the hot shot, Chase Daniel, a few snaps ranks right up there with “Ishtar” and the Pinto on the bad idea list.

— Cody Glenn is something on those short-yardage runs. Looks more like Matt Leinart all the time.

— Listened to a bit of one of those football handicapper shows Saturday morning on the road to Columbia. I would get a little nervous taking advice from a guy named Fats, but he did say he had a lock on that Chiefs-Dolphins game. I bet he did. (My tip? Take the Chiefs and the 1½ points.)

Reach John Mabry at 473-7320 or jmabry@journalstar.com.