ozark trout fisher

I think a lot of people were calling for AL/ Oregon last year as well at this time. That's how I remember it anyway. As I remember Oregon had the edge in the BCS standings and was the favorite over ND, with even Kansas State ahead of them in the pecking order at this point. ND was really the third most likely opponent to face Alabama, who almost didn't make it to the title game themselves (Five yards more for Georgia in the SECCG and 1 more yard for Stanford against ND and we have a Stanford/Georgia title game .) Remember when Irish fans were ringing their hands about being on the outside looking in, just like Ohio State and FSU are right now? And when Alabama was out of it for sure after losing to Texas A&M? I know I do. College football is crazy, and any given matchup has at most about a 35-40% chance of occurring at this point. Counting on one team to win out is tough but to count on two you are pushing your luck with 4-5 games left each, most of them in conference. Alabama has Auburn and LSU, Oregon has Stanford. I think Oregon does win out because as tougher opponents go, Auburn>Stanford, but I wouldn't be that surprised if neither are in Pasadena. Who knows, it could easily be FSU/OSU or FSU/Auburn or heck, even if the stars align Missouri could somehow end up there. The point being we don't know.

Now back to Mizzou.....time to bounce back Saturday. UT is a tough opponent with a good offensive line, especially, as well as a stud receiver in Marquez North. We know all about their QB situation, as they are throwing a true freshman (who was supposed to be a redshirt this year) into the starting spot. If they had Worley (who is solid, at least) I might just predict UT to pull the upset on a team that might still be pretty down about last week. As it is, I say Tennessee keeps it close all the way through, even with a true freshman QB. But I think Mizzou wins it 21-17. Last week's prediction didn't go well though. Now that's assuming Pinkel doesn't surprise everyone by putting in James Franklin. If that were the case I dare not even predict the outcome, because we have no real idea about how he'd play coming off the injury. But as of right now, the signs point to Maty Mauk at least starting the game. Gaines should be back (which is pretty nice, although our younger cornerbacks have played pretty well) but we'll see if Josey plays and if so how much. Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansborough are very capable, but it would be nice to have our full stable of backs when there are some question marks about the passing game at this point. Other MU news......big time basketball recruit Devin Booker decides tonight. Hopefully he will add to an already pretty good 2014 class.

There is an obvious matchup in late October/early November every year. When was the last time it actually happened? Can't remember.

The reality is that most of those players you see, even in the SEC, will never sniff the NFL.

This is as of right now. Miami looks pretty terrible, but they are currently undefeated with a decent win (Florida). And they have played at least slightly better competition than Baylor or NIU/Fresno. Anyway, no reason to spend a bunch of time scrutinizing it, just thinking out loud.

I could see a good argument for 4-8 teams in the playoff. I want the regular season to say incredibly important, but I don't like the arbitrary decisions that are necessary when it's just two. Personally I would like to see it doubled to 8, though I'm happy we are at least going to four. But with 8, all of the undefeateds could go (and there would be no more arguments between Oregon, Florida State, Baylor, and Ohio State, they'd all be in). Then you'd have a few elite one loss teams.The 7/8 seed could give smaller schools like Northern Illinois and Fresno State a chance to prove their worth if they are 12-0. In my dream scenario.....I'd seed it: 1. Alabama 2. Oregon 3. Florida State 4. Stanford (I know they have a loss, but they also have more quality wins than teams below them) 5. Ohio State 6. Miami 7. Baylor 8. Fresno/NIU (whichever finishes higher assuming they go undefeated) Missouri would be just out at #9 or #10, right there with Auburn. This is assuming neither team wins the SEC title or knocks off Alabama.

Missouri did the exact thing I am advocating against Kentucky last year and it worked-initially keep him on the bench if possible but put him out there to win the game at need. And that is exactly what Steve Spurrier did against us last week with Connor Shaw and it also won him the game. It can be an effective strategy when a QB is cleared to play but injured enough that you don't want him taking hits for a full 60 minutes. If he is healthy enough to be himself he should be under center without a doubt. If he's 50% and cleared to play but would be ineffective or seriously risk further injury there is no point in starting him. Mauk would give us the better chance to win in that scenario which is the main thing. If he is more like 75% it becomes a tough decision, and should depend on the potential for him to aggravate his injury and miss more time. I don't know where he stands so obviously I don't know what the right decision is here. But I do know I want him healthy for Ole Miss and A&M if possible.

Wayne, you win. I hope we can get Missouri against Oklahoma in some bowl game so this can be settled the way it should be. I hope Franklin plays this weekend. But ONLY if he is 100%, which I kinda doubt. We need him to be 100% against Ole Miss and Texas A&M certainly, and we certainly have a chance to get by UT with Mauk, probably a good chance. And UK, one would think that we would even have a better chance with with Mauk, heck, we only played Franklin lightly against UK last year when we were much worse and still won by a considerably amount. But for those last two games of the season, I just don't see us being able to win unless Franklin is not only in the lineup, but he is also back to his full self. So they need to shoot for that, if at all possible. If he is playable but not 100% I'd like to see him in a similar role to Connor Shaw for USC last week.....that is only to come in if the team desperately needs him in the fourth quarter. If we can get by UT and UK without him I'd like to wait until after the bye week. But it looks like the coaching staff may not do that.

Um, other people have been talking about seven straight, but I've been talking about this season all along, because it's the only thing that matters. Seven straight is nice, but it's irrelevant in BCS title contexts. As for Missouri and Texas A&M: what Missouri or Texas A&M did in the Big 12 50 years ago (or 2 years ago for that matter) has no bearing on the conversation. And those teams haven't exactly been rolling through the SEC, with a combined record of 14-11. That's a ridiculous argument anyway and you know it.

Missouri doesn't have to play a tough non-con because we have tough games in conference play. So here's a question: you keep dodging the notion that the Big 12 isn't very good, because their teams played terrible out of conference. How else, exactly, would you measure a conference, by who has the nicest logo? Conference play is a zero sum game and is of very little use as a measuring stick. I don't care whether or not Alabama should have been in the national title game in 2011. It's 2013 and what happened two years ago couldn't be more irrelevant. I'm saying the SEC is much better than the Big 12 or Big Ten THIS year. And if you look at non-conference resumes, the only reasonable measuring stick, that's not an opinion. It's a fact. Any conference power rating would back me up on that. To try to argue otherwise is silliness. If you're a Pac-12 fan, you have an argument. Otherwise, let's be real.

You never, never know. November has a way of sorting through undefeated teams. And really, who would be surprised to see a team like Ohio State or Baylor who have been coasting over terrible competition get tripped up by one of the semi-real teams left on their schedule? FSU and Miami still have to play each other and probably again in the ACC championship game. Oregon could easily lose to Stanford and possibly to Oregon State. It's a long shot, but a lot of one loss teams have looked dead in the water (Alabama last year) before making a run. For Mizzou you just have to go back to 2007 for when we were out of the race and then found ourselves at #1 late in the year. And it's far from impossible that a one loss SEC champ jumps an undefeated Baylor or Ohio State. So it's unlikely, but you need two losses before you start talking about title hopes being totally over and done with.

Right now the ranking is irrelevant. Sure, staying in the top ten looks good, and I think this is still justified. But it doesn't matter. An at large BCS bowl is unlikely anyway. Our best (only?) chance is to win the SEC and clinch an automatic spot at least in the Sugar Bowl. So, the only thing that does really matter is finding a way to win the east and play Alabama. A date with the Tide in Atlanta is about as good as a national championship game anyway. I don't care if we are unranked or #4 when if we get to Atlanta, I just want to get there. That's what the rest of the season is about. Got to start by beating Tennessee which won't be easy. We still do control our own destiny. but obviously there is no room for a loss against UT with Ole Miss and A&M still to come. South Carolina may as well start making flight plans to Atlanta if we can't get this one. They only have one marginally tough conference game left against Florida. If nothing else, 10 wins equals a very successful season with or without a division title. Beat UK and UT and you at least give yourself a chance to do that in the bowl game. Though I still think we knock off at least one of Ole Miss/A&M particularly if Franklin is back.

Hopefully this will wake them up. It seems we need a loss like this every year to do so. Last year it was against Vandy where we passed up multiple opportunities to run away with the game and lost (NEVER punt or kick a field goal on 4th and 1 or 2 in the opponents territory and REALLY never punt inside the 40 yardline- statistically it's almost always a terrible decision.) Pinkel has been conservative all year and got away with it. Hopefully he realizes he was relying on his defense too much and is actually going to have score some points in the second half against real opponents. And Tennessee next week is a real opponent. Heck, we can't afford to do this against Kentucky. The Head Ball Coach actually went out there and let his team play football Saturday night. Sure, 4th &2 from his own 35 he should have punted, but he repeatedly asked his team to go out there and win the game instead of playing not to lose. Granted, it was different for him being down 14-17 points, but still. Pinkel is a great coach, but last night showed his most glaring shortcoming.

Tough one. Got to turn around and find a way to regroup enough to beat UT and UK before (hopefully) getting Franklin back. Mauk played well against Florida, but it became clear we need QB #1 back in the lineup last night. IF we can handle business those games against Ole Miss and A&M will be huge. Probably gonna have to win out now to take the east, unless Florida or Miss State can pull a shocker against USC. The reality is this is still (barring letting South Carolina beat them again) going to be a good season. Even if we only beat UT and UK the rest of the way. But just to feel comfortable about winning next week we are gonna have to play more aggressive. Here's a rule-don't punt from the opponent's 36 yardline with 30 seconds left in the half. We punted repeatedly in situations where going for it or kicking a field goal is the better move. It seemed like the staff assumed that a 17 lead was insurmountable. Almost every fan in that stadium knew better. I'm just gonna assume the title game goes out the window, even though that's not entirely true. It's about rallying to win the SEC east now. And giving yourself the chance at a conference championship. Getting to 10 wins is a good secondary goal as well.

Well let's go ahead and beat Carolina so we'll have the chance to find out about some of these scenarios first hand. I fear all the title talk (started by me, so I'll take the blame) may jinx things. Apparently Corbin Berkstresser will not be able to go as the backup. If has to come out we are looking at having to use one of our intended redshirts as QB. Let's hope he can stay healthy. How many quarterback injuries have we had in the last 12 months or so?

Yep. I think that's where this system is headed, eventually. Can't get there fast enough.

I don't think the SEC should get an automatic birth to the title. Say South Carolina wins tomorrow and qualifies for the title game, and beats Alabama, they have no business playing for it all at 2 losses. But an undefeated SEC champion, yeah, they need to come before the Baylors and the Ohio States of the world. Why? I've said it before, but it's those non-conference games. I mean that for the specific team and for the conference as a whole. Baylor is the easiest to pick apart, and I don't think they have any argument even at 12-0, barring a truly crazy string of events (which admittedly, tends to happen often as not.) Here's why..... First of all, they played Wofford, Buffalo, and Louisiana-Monroe. Buffalo is the closest to a legit opponent, but.......... And like it or not, they are dependent on the other members of their conference. Those terrible losses by Iowa State, Kansas State, and Kansas drag the whole conference down, because that 30% of the league, and 25% of Baylor's schedule this year. And the "good teams" failing to pick up any major non-con wins against quality also hurts.....ie Texas losing to BYU and Ole Miss. I could say most of the same things about Ohio State, though the Big Ten is slightly better. One can say those are early games and meaningless, the argument I've seen. But the only way to compare conferences is through non-conference play, and those games are usually early in the season. Bowl records are pretty meaningless except in the sense that they are an extra non-conference game you could figure in. Even in that case, you don't get any information about the lower tier teams by that method because they aren't playing. Now, I won't try to discredit Florida State or Oregon, because doing so would be unfair. The ACC and Pac-12 are legit with multiple top 15 teams. Those two play real schedules unlike those in the Big 12 or Big Ten and deserve a title game spot if they go undefeated. The Pac-12 might even be better than the SEC, but those two are almost certainly the top 2 conferences, with the ACC a solid 3rd.

Per the Yahoo! article: Missouri fans......LOL. A great season has many of us only thinking about impending doom. This is 2013, not 2007. There is no logical reason why history has to repeat itself. South Carolina's a tough opponent, and a loss is very much within the realm of possibility. But even if it happens I see nothing from this team that will make me think they would fold. They would still control their own destiny in the east and I'd still be very hopeful about getting to Atlanta (though Pasadena might be out of the question.) It would just be a harder road. That said, forget about all that and get a win Saturday! I feel really strong about our chances, but USC has enough talent to make this a very interesting game. I'm thinking Missouri by two touchdowns or so, but that's only if we are successful in playing around Clowney. There is no question he played a little bit better than usual this season against UT. We need to stop him from having another breakout game.

The end of the world may happen. But UT isn't beating Alabama.

I can look at both Saturday, and January possibilities, cause I'm pretty sure those things are related. When you are competing for a title shot each week matters, not just for your team but for every other undefeated contender. So yeah, it's worth looking at what is going on around the country while also watching your team. Fans of every title contender in the country are looking at the BCS standings and cheering like heck against every team that is ahead of them or close, and looking for reasons to discredit those teams. With the crappy current system that's what you have to do, it's not that I have some longstanding grudge against Baylor or Ohio State. Getting that playoff a year early would be a good thing right about now. Of course I am as excited as heck for this weekends game, which wins us the SEC east with a victory (unless we lose the rest of our games and Tennessee somehow beats Alabama and wins out or other sure signs of the end of the world come to pass. ) Let us hope Clowney is a no-show. I think Maty Mauk and Henry Josey should go off against that USC defense if Clowney doesn't have the game of his life. Dylan Thompson is a good back up, but he isn't Connor Shaw. I'm nervous, but give me 34-20.

I mean, Iowa State and KSU both lost to FCS (1AA) teams. That is 20% of your league right there, which is a bad sign and usually means you are on par with a mid-major conference. As shaky as some SEC teams are, it's hard to even imagine Kentucky or Vanderbilt doing that. And don't forget Kansas which has lost to a species of grain two years in a row (Rice.) Furthermore, SEC teams do not attempt fake field goals on 4th and 13 from their own side of the field. (No, that has nothing to do with the SEC vs. Big 12 debate or BCS titles, but if Kansas is gonna set me up for something that easy I'm not gonna pass it up either.) And yes, this is coming from someone who was upset we left the Big 12. But the behavior of UT and OU lately has been enough to sour me on the conference pretty quickly and send me wholeheartedly to the SEC bandwagon-no regrets anymore. I believe a higher up at Texas recently said that a good season at Missouri was worse than a bad one at Texas. Which is a bit hard to defend right now.

I agree, but I don't think Baylor and Mizzou are all that comparable at the moment. You simply can't compare Georgia and Florida with Baylor's two best opponents (KSU and Iowa State) who are two of the weakest major conference teams in all of football, plus they still have Kansas coming up. Heck, even Vandy would presumably knock most of the Big 12 around with ease. That conference is 2012 Big Ten kinda bad. Baylor played no one in the non-conference and their best conference opponent is.......Oklahoma, who can't get by a bad Texas team? They shouldn't be a factor even at 12-0. You'd do just as well to throw Fresno State in the national title game should they go undefeated. The Pac 12 and the ACC with Florida State are the only conferences (in my opinion) outside of the SEC that should even get a look when they are considering who is going to play for the title. The Big Ten and Big 12 are just downright bad. But for Missouri, none of this should matter. Go 12-0, win in Atlanta, and you're in. It should be that simple.

Nearly all the so called "experts" have us moved up to the Sugar Bowl as the SEC runner up in their bowl predictions. Of course I'd prefer the NC but I could certainly live with that. A few weeks ago everyone was saying Music City Bowl or Shreveport, so that's a pretty nice step up. Short of the NC though, I'd actually prefer the Cotton Bowl, where we could have the chance of playing a former Big 12 rival. I know it's not technically BCS, but is it really any different playing the #14 team in the Cotton Bowl than playing the #9 team in the Sugar? Plus our opponent would probably Oklahoma or Texas,either of which I think we would beat fairly easily.

Mizzou also #5 in the BCS Standings, behind Alabama, FSU, Oregon, and Ohio State. Right now the title game would be Alabama vs. Florida State which would be a good one.....would have to lean towards FSU though.

I think the rule is needed but I agree that it needs to be refined. Some astronomical percentage of these calls are getting overturned, but still resulting in that 15 yard penalty that is so devastating. I think they are reluctant to go down the slippery slope of overturning penalties, but I agree they should make an exception here. That said: if it has the intended result of limiting brain damage and other issues, despite ALL of the issues it causes fans and players, it is very much worth it. I don't know whether that effect will come about or not. Likely it will take dealing with the rule for a couple years so we can see whether it's effective. By the way, after seeing a replay of the call early in the Florida game, objectively that was an easy call (and the right one.) Many are a lot more vague than that or just downright incorrect.