Several weeks ago, I predicted Mizzou’s football team would have a rebound year during its second SEC season. Of course, my idea of a rebound year was watching the SEC sophomores go from a terrible season to an OK one. I even went as far to say, “While the Tigers have virtually no chance of competing for a conference championship in the uber-stacked SEC, a rebound year of seven or eight wins is not out of the question.” After the disastrous, injury-plagued 5-7 season just a year ago, most Tigers fans would have been satisfied with those results. Not anymore.
In what can only be described as an epic turnaround, Gary Pinkel’s Tigers have served me with a hearty helping of charbroiled crow. Even after my portion, there’s still plenty to go around. Conference media selected the Tigers to finish sixth out of seven teams in the SEC East. Fans of rival teams claimed the Tigers would never win the East, much less the entire conference. Yet with a blistering 7-0 start, including two straight victories over ranked teams, the Tigers sit firmly in the driver’s seat to reach Atlanta for a shot at the SEC title.
Just think about it. Two weeks ago, the Tigers snuck into the Top 25 as the 25th-ranked team after a 5-0 start. Many were skeptical, because there were no ranked teams on the Mizzou hit list. After comfortable wins against the No. 7 and No. 22 teams in the past two weeks, Pinkel’s team has vaulted up to a No. 5 ranking in the AP and coaches’ polls and is finally getting the national respect it deserves. The BCS poll, the one that actually selects the teams who play for the national championship, have the Tigers ranked No. 4.
Many thought the success of the Tigers would depend on the health of senior starting quarterback James Franklin. After bouncing in and out of the lineup last season with a laundry list of injuries, Franklin looked like a completely different player this season. In just six games, he passed his yardage and touchdown totals from a year ago. He looked like the accurate, poised and tough leader everyone expected him to be after a solid sophomore season.
Then, in the midst of the upset at Georgia, Franklin separated his shoulder and it was apparent he’d miss significant time. Heads hung low across Tiger Nation. Sure, redshirt freshman Marty Mauk was a highly touted recruit and was being groomed as next year’s starter, but many wondered if he can play now, as the leader of a ranked team, against another ranked team, in the big, bad SEC.
Mauk did what Missouri has done all season and silenced all doubters by throwing for 295 yards and a TD in his debut. He also rushed for a TD and helped his team rack up 500 yards against a stout Florida defense.
Why has Missouri been so good?
For starters, the defense has played lights out, particularly late in the games. The only time Mizzou has given up more than seven points in the fourth quarter this season was when Indiana put up 14 in garbage time during a 45-28 blowout.
Offensively, the team boasts a dynamic three-headed monster at running back with Henry Josey, Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy. Each back is averaging more than 6 yards per carry. The amazing depth in the backfield allows the Tigers to always have a well-rested runner in the game.
On the outsides, another talented trio helps stretch the field. The wide receiving corps looks more like a college frontcourt with L’Damian Washington measuring in at 6’4”, Marcus Murphy at 6’5” and Dorial Green-Beckham at 6’6”. Each receiver has tremendous athleticism, making it almost unfair for the QBs to just toss a jumpball to whichever receiver is matched up against the 5’9” guy on defense.
Now, before we get ahead of ourselves and start preparing a display case for the Coaches’ Trophy in downtown Columbia, let’s remember that we’ve seen this before. In 2007, the Tigers ascended all the way to the top spot in the rankings after an 11-1 start. Then a 38-17 drubbing at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners, the same team that delivered the first loss, sent the team spiraling downward from a spot in the national title game to the Cotton Bowl, a non-BCS game.
This week, the Tigers will host the No. 21 South Carolina Gamecocks. The visitors should be revved up after a disappointing loss last week to Tennessee. This will be another test for Mauk, the defense and Missouri’s previously mediocre football karma. A third consecutive win against a ranked SEC opponent would propel the Tigers to a level even its brief 2007 top ranking couldn’t reach – legitimacy. Anything else is gravy.
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