Columbia, Mo. ? Missouri’s once-commanding 24-point lead had been whittled to eight when coach Gary Pinkel took a risk and put the game in Brad Smith’s hands.

Maybe it wasn’t such a big gamble.

Smith’s 56-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-one late in the game was the decisive score that helped the Tigers beat Baylor, 31-16, Saturday and become bowl eligible for the second time in three seasons.

“They went beyond making me look good,” Pinkel said. “I just wanted a first down.”

Smith gave Missouri a lot more with two more touchdown runs, including another 56-yarder, and 161 yards on 21 carries. All he wanted on the key play with 6:04 to go was a first down, too.

“I just wanted to stretch the line out and then try to cut it up and try to get the one yard,” Smith said. “They did such a great job of blocking, I just kept running.”

Marcus King had an interception return for another score, and Tony Temple ran for 100 yards in his first career start for the Tigers (6-4 overall, 4-3 Big 12 Conference), who succeeded in their third attempt to qualify for a bowl.

Missouri missed out last year with a 5-6 record.

“You want to go to bowls every year, that’s the way it is,” Pinkel said. “If you do that consistently, then your program will become a football program respected around the country.”

Smith was bottled up in a pair of losses at Kansas University and Colorado, in which Missouri was outscored by a combined score of 54-15, before breaking loose on a senior day that began with Pinkel hugging each of the departing players before they ran out on the field.

Baylor (4-6, 1-6) rallied in the second half behind backup quarterback Shawn Bell, who threw a pair of touchdown passes and led the Bears to their first scores in three games.