Mizzou Vs. Florida

[ozark trout fisher]

I agree.

TN is a good team with a so so defense. I think in Columbia MU will win, but I think TN will make it a game. Unless Franklin comes back healthy I don't see them beating MS and A&M. A&M might be more than then Mizzou's defense can handle.

Barring a real setback it would be surprising if we didn't have Franklin back for Miss. and A&M. Based on the apparent progress at this point I'd be mildly surprised if he isn't back against Kentucky.Though I by no means think he will start, I wouldn't be shocked if he plays a (hopefully not needed) relief role against Tennessee if we are trailing or in a close game. The best situation is to have Maty Mauk start and finish the game if Franklin isn't 100%, but one hopes that Franklin is available in case of that situation, particularly if the run game struggles to help out Mauk.

Whether he is able to play like he did earlier in the year (and avoid reinjury) is a different question that I don't think any of us could answer. It might be until the bowl game before he is truly back to his 2013 self.

[joeD]

Gary Pinkel was born to lose. If he wasn't, then explain all those losses. especially against ranked teams.

South Carolina was just another sad notch in Pinkel's futility belt.

You are what your record says you are. Get over it.

[Al Agnew]

Pinkel's record against ranked teams is no worse than MOST teams' record against ranked teams. They're ranked because they're pretty good. Still asking what his record is against teams ranked higher, and ranked lower, than Mizzou at the time they played, and how IT compares with other good teams.

On the other hand, Mizzou does seem to lay an egg just about when you get the most excited about them under Pinkel. Perhaps he chokes in the biggest games, or perhaps the stars just don't align.

I think they beat TN handily, something like 35-20. It could be a bigger spread than that, since TN is averaging 13 ppg on the road in conference play, and giving up 45 ppg on the road, and that's before the latest replacement qb. But Mizzou is a little short on backs, and Mauk hasn't proven yet that he can guide the offense with the same octane that Franklin was.

After that, there's just no telling. Will Mauk improve in his weakest areas? Will Franklin return healthy? Will there be more injuries? Will DGB bounce back from the subpar effort last week? Will the backs get healthy? Will the defense stiffen? Will the coordinators stop going conservative with leads and keep the pedal down?

Mizzou at it's best, with a 100% Franklin and all the other weapons, can beat every team left on the schedule, though they probably couldn't beat Bama in the CCG. But last week's Mizzou would have a lot of trouble with MS and TAM.

[ozark trout fisher]

Al, what you say about Pinkel laying an egg at key time rings true to a certain extent. I had the same emotion last Saturday. But here's my thought: every single game seems huge when you are undefeated midway through the season and supposedly contending for a title. Most likely, you are going to lose eventually, and that is probably going to come in what seems like a huge game. Having a good team in the first place is what sets the stage for the so called "big game" in the first place. When you're bad there are no big games to lose-games against ranked teams are just expected blowouts and a competitive performance in a loss is a pleasant surprise instead of a letdown.

In other words, at the outset of the season I thought Carolina was going to beat us by two touchdowns or so. By game 8 a 3 point loss in 2OT was a heartbreaking result. In a backwards kind of way it could almost be considered a sign of progress as to how the program is viewed.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I agree about Pinkel, but he's not alone. Stoops at OK has been accused of the same problem, not being able to finish the most important game.

I wasn't saying Mizzou can't beat any of the remaining teams, but I think the fact that MS and A&M are both serious threats they may not be able to keep up the intensity and beat both. They aren't alone, all teams have a problem with this.

[joeD]

In professional football, basketball, baseball, and, (geez Mom I guess) ahem, hockey, there are many teams who have legitimate shots at winning the championship. Not so with college football and basketball. The pool of realistic contenders is quite small, and, year to year, pretty much the same. The media likes to shove the "unpredictability" of college sports down our throats, when, the reality is directly opposite.

Our national urge to always have a "winner" has corrupted the college sporting experience. Some colleges have decided to become "Google" and dominate a sport or two without regard to anything else resembling an "education."

I'll lay off Coach Pinkel. He is a obviously a good coach and a decent man. There should be no shame in having a winning program, regardless of a "national" title. That is the concern of the national media and a minority of overzealous fans.

Truthfully though, who cares? College sports is for bettors and Las Vegas.

[Al Agnew]

Joe, I agree with you on one thing for sure...the "pool" of legitimate NC contenders is small, and dominated by a few teams year after year. Those schools can remain on or near the top for years, as long as their coaching situation is fairly stable. The rich get richer applies to college sports, because the "rich", the perennial NC contenders, tend to get their pick of top recruits. Any top high school athlete is at least going to pay close attention when the Alabamas (in football) and Kentuckys (in basketball) come calling. Everybody else is left taking the leftovers and rejects of the top schools.

So it always makes me shake my head when fans of, say, Mizzou gripe that they aren't recruiting the 5 star kids and they're never going to win a national championship unless they start recruiting better talent. Hey, there's only one national champion a year, only 2-4 teams that really have a legitimate chance at the NC each year, and only 10-20 teams that even come close to competing for that chance. And those teams don't really change much from year to year. If it was easy to recruit 5 star kids and compete for the NC, there are about 200 schools that would be doing it.

For a school like Mizzou, really the best you can hope for is that enough of your 2 star and 3 star and little recruited kids can be developed into great players at the same time, and form a team that is greater than the sum of its parts for a period of two or three years, a team that can actually catch lightning in a bottle and get really close the NC one year. After that, the top talent begins to pay attention, and if you're lucky and you're good recruiters you MIGHT be able to keep the momentum going, and actually break into that small elite group that are perennial NC contenders.

[moguy1973]

Big game tonight...Nationally televised on ESPN...

GO MIZ.......!

[Wayne SW/MO]

Yeah that will be a good, as will FSU/Miami, FL/GA, OSU/TT. So many games, so little time. All of them important, other than FL/GA, but it will be a good matchup.