Mizzou

[ozark trout fisher]

So Mizzou did what it had to do and moved to 3-0 with a big road win over Indiana. No, Indiana is not a juggernaut. But right now going on the road and taking care of business without the outcome ever being in too much doubt is a big deal and a cause for celebration.

So now it's time to look ahead. Never look past an opponent after a nice win and Arkansas State has some talent. They have not put it together all that much this season. You'd think Missouri would win this one without too much trouble, but stranger things have happened.

If that happens it's on the road to Vandy in one of those season-defining games. Win that and you are talking about a stretch ahead where Missouri can claim its spot in the SEC race. Lose and Missouri still has a good chance at a bowl game but it will be scratching and clawing to get into the 8 win range and a bowl is no lock.

Then there is that three game stretch: Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. If Missouri is 5-0 entering that as we hope for, I think I would be pretty satisfied with taking one of those games. Florida still looks like the best chance, but none of those games is completely unwinnable. If Missouri can get out of that stretch with two losses we will be on the path to a special season.

But first, don't look past Arkansas State. Please.

[Quillback]

Yep be on the lookout for those Red Coyotes, oops excuse me, Red Wolves.

[Guest]

Yep be on the lookout for those Red Coyotes, oops excuse me, Red Wolves.

they were indians last time I was there

[Quillback]

My cousin was the mascot while he was there and they were still the Indians. That was 25 or so years ago that he went to school there. Needless to say he is a HUGE Arkansas State fan.

[Smalliebigs]

No offense OTF but, you are like most Mizzou fans....absolutely out of touch with reality.....Missouri football sucks and Gary Pinkle is the main reason. Their recruiting sucks and they are going to get stomped by some average teams in the SEC and might loose to A state. Come down off of your high horse and smell the coffee......Missouri sucks, why you guys think they are good I will never know. They can't even wrap good talent in St.louis and Kansas City......if you can't seal the borders of your own state you stand no chance of being a top flight college football team. I met Maty Mauk who I thought had some talent and he was the biggest drunk I have ever met and told us he no aspirations to hit the field....he just wanted all the butt that came with being the back up.....Missouri sucks for football.

[Jerry Rapp]

MIzzou is giving the Rams a run for the worst team in the state tonight.

[Justin Spencer]

Won't be pretty when conference play begins I'm afraid.

[stlfisher]

Mizzou pulls away when they needed too. They looked flat, but the season starts next week. I wouldn't worry about this game too much. Mizzou was very vanilla on offense and defense. We will find out how they stack up starting next sat.

[Al Agnew]

Well, they came out flat, probably overlooking ARST. But they took care of business from about midway through the third quarter, which is what a decent team should do against lesser competition.

Smalliebigs...they beat two SEC teams last year when they REALLY sucked, due mainly to an injured quarterback and a decimated O-line, and very well could have won two other SEC games. The SEC is the best football conference in the land, but they aren't all the gods of football. There are about three teams in the SEC that Mizzou can't beat on their best day, but they only play one of them this year. There are about three more teams that they have to play their best game and have some luck to win. And there are a number of teams that they can beat with a good game. In other words, Mizzou should be a middle tier SEC team, maybe on the low side of middle, but not the doormats.

Sure, they have weaknesses this year...the defensive secondary being the biggest. But they have some offensive weapons. Their biggest weakness in the SEC is depth.

Pinkel hasn't shown himself to be a really good game coach, and I'm not impressed with Steckel's defensive abilities. But I think your rap on their recruiting isn't realistic. Missouri comes into the SEC at a big disadvantage in recruiting. They no longer have the kind of Texas pipeline they did in the Big 12, and they have to build relationships in SEC land, which I think they are doing. It will take time. But you have to be realistic. The losing season last year, and the lack of notoriety as a top notch team except for a two or three year stretch, means they aren't going to be able to go out and get every 4 and 5 star athlete they want. Only the top teams can really consistently recruit top talent, that's just the way it is. And that includes getting the top Missouri talent. If a kid is being pursued by LSU and Bama and a bunch of other big name schools, I don't care where he's from, unless he has some really close ties to Mizzou, he's not going to choose Mizzou most of the time. Not only that, but if you're a Missouri kid, are you really wanting to spend the winters in Columbia or in Florida, Georgia, or Alabama, where the college chicks are in bikinis until December?

So Pinkel and company have made a living finding the lesser rated kids and the under the radar kids, and attempting to develop them. They've had some success at it. To take it to the next level, it doesn't take better recruiters--I don't care how good a recruiter you are, you still aren't going to get the top athletes to come to Mizzou until you build up the pipelines AND have success on the field. What has to happen is that you get a couple of the Green-Beckhams, the 5 star wonder boys, and your 2 and 3 stars develop into a great team at the same time, and you have success in the SEC. And then you have something to build upon and kids start looking at Mizzou as a viable option.

[stlfisher]

No offense OTF but, you are like most Mizzou fans....absolutely out of touch with reality.....Missouri football sucks and Gary Pinkle is the main reason. Their recruiting sucks and they are going to get stomped by some average teams in the SEC and might loose to A state. Come down off of your high horse and smell the coffee......Missouri sucks, why you guys think they are good I will never know. They can't even wrap good talent in St.louis and Kansas City......if you can't seal the borders of your own state you stand no chance of being a top flight college football team. I met Maty Mauk who I thought had some talent and he was the biggest drunk I have ever met and told us he no aspirations to hit the field....he just wanted all the butt that came with being the back up.....Missouri sucks for football.

All college kids are drunks. I understand your frustration with MU football, but lets not drive of the cliff because a 22 point win wasn't crisp enough. we are 4-0 for the first time in along time...I will take that. Georgia is the only team that I think is a gauranteed loss. I think we go 4-4 the rest of the way.