Mizzou Looked Pretty Bad Today

[Wayne SW/MO]

Missouri moved for the money, not the fans.

They made some good runs in an above average conference, but never consistently.

They also recruit too heavily in Texas where they get mostly what the schools in TX and OK don't want.

The Mizzou administration doesn't put that much emphasis on sports, except for the money they can bring in.

If you thought Mizzou would do better the first year in the SEC after a mediocre one in the Big 12, you don't understand college football.

They got what is probably the best receiver to come out of high school in a very long time and they had best find a QB and an offense to take advantage of it. A lot of very successful teams have wrapped an offense around a star receiver, but with an above average QB and receiving corp.

[ozark trout fisher]

Yesterday just reinforced what most of us already suspected-that top to bottom, Missouri's overall talent this year isn't enough to hang with upper crust SEC teams. We saw it late against Georgia and it was even more clear against South Carolina. But at the same time, both are top 10 teams, perhaps even national title contenders. So a couple of big losses shouldn't be a season ending thing. I still have confidence in Gary Pinkel to make this work, and honestly I still have confidence in Franklin (although that opinion probably isn't too widely shared anymore.) Franklin was very good towards the end of last year and that didn't just disappear. But he's got to put together a really good game soon or his job will be in some danger.

The important thing for Missouri this year is to pick up the wins where they can get them and just forget about the remaining games against Alabama and Florida, because they won't be pretty. UCF, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Syracuse, and A&M are still winnable games. Missouri won't win all of them but go 4-2 and they're bowl eligible. In my mind that's a successful season.

Next week at Central Florida will be huge. They played Ohio State tight and should be tough at home. A loss there would likely close the door on any bowl hopes for Missouri.

[ozark trout fisher]

It was a somewhat promising performance @UCF. UCF is a Conference USA team but probably the best team in that conference and one that gave Ohio State some trouble. So it's a win that's a bit more impressive than it looks at first. Franklin was solid, in my opinion definitely good enough that he should get the nod next week against Vanderbilt. DGB caught his first TD as well (which also happened to be Franklin's longest career touchdown pass.) I know he's a freshman, but given our inability of late to get a spark going on offense, I think he needs to be involved whenever possible.

The defense really struggled against the run. That will be bad news against pretty much any SEC opponent...they almost all have 3-4 really good backs. But on the bright side, Missouri's D has shown to be really tough in goal-line situations. That stop at the end of the first half may have helped to turn the game.

In my opinion, UCF is pretty close in overall talent to a couple SEC teams we will play this year (Kentucky and Vanderbilt.) I think Missouri will have a battle on their hands in both games, but I do think Missouri can get those wins. That would make the final home game against Syracuse a must win for getting into a bowl. I'm not sure Missouri can beat any of their other opponents (Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, or Texas A&M.) 6 wins, including 2 in the SEC, in my mind is the most likely scenario this year. The difficulty of the SEC is part of it, but I think the chemistry on this team is lacking a bit when compared to previous years when we cracked 10 wins. Pinkel should in no way be on the hot seat after this season no matter what, but going forward, he does have to find a way to get that back, or Missouri will continue to struggle in the SEC.