Mizzou Football

[ozark trout fisher]

At this point, we're basically a little over a month and a half away from the start of college football. And honestly, I can't think of a time when Missouri has had a more important season. Things can go one of three ways at this point. The first way, and what I'm hoping for, is that Missouri proves that last year was just the result of a tough transition to a new conference and a whole lot of injuries. The schedule looks a lot softer this season (There are no teams like Arizona State or Syracuse out of conference, and Alabama is replaced by Ole Miss) and an 8-win season is well within range if the offensive line and quarterback position can hold up even a little bit better. 8-4 or 9-3 would give Pinkel his job security back and our bad first season would be almost completely forgotten. The other possibility is that Missouri completely bottoms out, goes 5-7 again (which given our schedule this year, would be MUCH worse than our 5-7 record last year) and Pinkel almost certainly gets fired.

But here's what I think happens, and I'm not at all sure how I feel about it. Missouri wins all four non-conference games, grabs 2 or 3 wins in the SEC against the likes of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Vandy, and finishes 6-6 or 7-5. That probably brings Pinkel back for one more season. But I also think a season like that is the best way to to cut off any optimism in this program, as Pinkel would probably still be on the hot seat. An 8-9 win season would be great, but failing that, I guess I'd just rather bottom out, and start the coaching search/rebuilding process right away instead of delaying it for another year. I really like Pinkel, but with a veteran team coming back, I think the benchmark should be to go at least 4-4 in conference play, nothing less should be acceptable. Tennessee and Kentucky should be wins, Vandy and Ole Miss are winnable, and we should have several opportunities to pull an upset or two against a highly ranked team at home. Is that too high of a standard? I just refuse to accept that Missouri should be a bottom feeder after consistently challenging for division titles in the Big 12. I know it's different here, and I don't expect division/conference titles in the SEC but I'd like to at least win as many conference games as we lose. I was more than happy to give him a pass for last season but now it's time to be competitive. If injuries are truly awful again, I might be okay with 6-6 or 7-5. But barring that.......

[jpb2187]

Mizzou had a hard enough time in the Big 12. They aren't going anywhere in the SEC.

[OzarksRiverman]

Hate to say it, but they're gonna be bottom-feeders for years to come.

[ozark trout fisher]

Well.......The one good thing about a tough season is you get to see who are actually fans and who just follows the team when they're good. There is nothing wrong with the latter group of people, but there is something satisfying about continuing to cheer really hard for a team even when they're down.

There is one major difference between us and most SEC schools/states. Ole Miss fans get excited for football every year, even though they're awful more often that not in the past decade. Kentucky is a basketball school and won two games last year and packed 50,000 in the stands for it's spring football game, nearly three times Missouri's crowd for the same thing. Auburn had even more than that coming off a 3-9 season. In Missouri, many will just forget about the Tigers and cheer for the Chiefs or Rams whenever things aren't going well. The one thing is, we can't really complain about poor football until our fan support is up to par with the rest of the schools in our conference. We're expanding our stadium but will we even fill the seats we have now? It's just got to be better if we want to be competitive in the SEC. Big time recruits usually don't like playing in front of empty seats.

[On The Fly 6]

Mizzou had a hard enough time in the Big 12. They aren't going anywhere in the SEC.

My thoughts exactly. As long as you do better than Arkansas, Vandy, and Kentucky, it won't be too bad of a season.

[Quillback]

Ole Miss has a decent team this year, I think they'll be a challenge for Mizzou. But looking at Mizzou's schedule, they definitely have a shot at a 7 or 8 win season.

[Feathers and Fins]

What makes a College team is the FANS, even as bad as Arkansas was last year they still had the fans in the stands ( well at least to start the games ) SEC football is not something Mizz understand in all aspects, I watched them last year and they just don't get it in any aspect from the play to the fans to the excitement factor. Im not knocking Mizz because I really believe it is in the school powers that be!

A&M Got it they filled the stands, the days leading up to games were full of excitement and the team rose to the level of the SEC. Many schools across the Nation and Fans outside the SEC do not get the SEC. I try to explain to people the SEC is about so much more than just your team its about TEAM, then Other teams that help your team in the win lose then about the league and finally about the South.

Ever notice when another conference is out of a Bowl or the other teams is out of contention the fans loose interest yet in the SEC the same situation the Fans pull for the SEC TEAM still in it. That is what makes the SEC not only a powerhouse for football but also money and recruits. If Mizz doesn't get it they will NEVER get the recruits or become a force in the SEC. It all starts with the fans and that starts at the school officials creating the hype creating the excitement and getting the fans in the game.

[ozark trout fisher]

What makes a College team is the FANS, even as bad as Arkansas was last year they still had the fans in the stands ( well at least to start the games ) SEC football is not something Mizz understand in all aspects, I watched them last year and they just don't get it in any aspect from the play to the fans to the excitement factor. Im not knocking Mizz because I really believe it is in the school powers that be!

A&M Got it they filled the stands, the days leading up to games were full of excitement and the team rose to the level of the SEC. Many schools across the Nation and Fans outside the SEC do not get the SEC. I try to explain to people the SEC is about so much more than just your team its about TEAM, then Other teams that help your team in the win lose then about the league and finally about the South.

Ever notice when another conference is out of a Bowl or the other teams is out of contention the fans loose interest yet in the SEC the same situation the Fans pull for the SEC TEAM still in it. That is what makes the SEC not only a powerhouse for football but also money and recruits. If Mizz doesn't get it they will NEVER get the recruits or become a force in the SEC. It all starts with the fans and that starts at the school officials creating the hype creating the excitement and getting the fans in the game.

Missouri does did draw great crowds last season.....but that was the first in the SEC. it will be telling if we can keep that up, even if things don't go well. The spring game attendance didn't scream fan enthusiasm. I expect good crowds early on......but if we start to struggle interest could be lost rather quickly. Take care of business and start 4-0 (VERY likely with this schedule) and the stands should be full all season long. Mizzou basketball fans will fill the arena even when our team is only mediocre (why we basically never lose at home in that sport) but it can definitely go down if we start losing in football. Many of our fans just start looking forward to basketball season as soon as football starts struggling.

With that said I cheer for Mizzou about as hard whether they're 2-10 or 10-2. We do have a core of really good fans that don't jump ship as soon as things get rough. There are two kinds of fans......those who live in Central MO, graduated, or otherwise have a connection to the school, and will always cheer really hard.....and people with no connection across the state that only care when the team is good, and just start cheering for the Rams or Chiefs as soon as things aren't perfect. Honestly I'm fine if the fairweather fans just get off the bandwagon now and stay it, but I know they'll come back as soon as we start getting back into bowl games. The problem in my opinion is the popularity of pro sports. Until college sports are considered #1 here we can't compete with schools in states like Alabama and Mississippi where their SEC team is the only game in town.

[On The Fly 6]

Last season we bought tickets for the Razorback game against Kentucky early in the season. By the time the game rolled around, people were giving tickets away. The stands weren't full by any means, and even the tailgating was sub par. I live in Fayettevile so I'm use to all the fan pandemonium, but last season was rather weak. I'm by no means a Hog fan, but they lost a lot of their support and it was noticeable.

[Feathers and Fins]

On the fly; you aint kidding I know season ticket holders who were giving them away. I think Coach B will change a great many things around, but if he cant produce the Hill is not going to be a friendly place for him or someone else. We had to get rid of BP no doubt about it but what he got was worse than anything I have ever seen in sports.