Last season many fans, pundits and pigskin prognosticators picked the Mizzou Tigers football team to finish in the basement of the almighty SEC. After all, following a nice, successful run in the Big 12 under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, the Tigers stumbled to a 5-7 record in 2012, its first season in the SEC. Last season, the Tigers took the nation by surprise by knocking off perennial powerhouses such as Georgia and Florida en route to an SEC Eastern Division title. The team finished 12-2 and ended the season as the No. 5 team in the nation. You might think the Tigers would’ve won some national respect, but Michael Sam’s 40 time, not so fast.
As the Tigers prepare for Saturday’s season opener versus the FCS-level South Dakota State Jackrabbits, they’ll share a common underdog status with their overmatched opponents. The Tigers will certainly be favored heavily against what essentially amounts to a JV squad, but the team is once again entering a season without the respect it deserves.
The Associated Press pollsters showed the Tigers a little love, picking them 24th in the preseason poll. ESPN on the other hand is picking the Tigers to only win seven games this season. Presuming the Tigers make a bowl appearance, that would mean the team would finish with a 7-6 record. The staggering drop is likely due to the significant loss of talent via graduating seniors, the NFL Draft and, um….other reasons.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room first. Dorial Green-Beckham, aka DGB, was given the boot in the offseason after several run-ins with the law. Green-Beckham was the Tigers first true five-star recruit in ages and was primed to have a monster season as the No. 1 guy. Sadly, the 6-foot-6, 235 pound phenom caught as many charges in the courtroom as he did touchdowns on the football field. His loss will hurt, as will those of James Franklin (QB), L’Damian Washington (WR), Marcus Lucas (WR), Justin Britt (OT), Michael Sam (DE), Kony Early (DE) and E.J. Gaines (CB). Upon further review, that’s one heck of a loss of talent, especially considering most of those guys will suit up on Sundays.
The silver lining is that the Missouri football program is as deep as it’s ever been. While Franklin was always underappreciated as a tough and talented competitor, sophomore QB Marty Mauk has the skills to be better. Think Johnny Manziel minus the money sign and entourage. Maybe that’s overreaching, but Mauk is at least the best QB since Chase Daniel called the signals in Columbia.
Josey was the main guy in the backfield, but Mizzou employed and running back by committee approach and not because everybody sucked. On the contrary, Josey, Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansbrough each averaged at least six yards per carry in 2013. With the latter two returning alongside most of the offensive line, the Tigers ground game shouldn’t miss a beat.
Wide receiver is the position hit hardest by far and the biggest question mark coming into the season. Then again, Mizzou has become a machine at churning out productive receivers. Washington, Lucas, Green-Beckham, Justin Gage, Will Franklin, Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker all put up great numbers in Pinkel’s spread offense. There’s no reason to think that train will stop rolling, it’s just unknown whether Bud Sasser, Darius White or Jimmie Hunt will emerge as the top dog.
Defensively the Tigers will be fine as long as they stay away from Tre Mason (now with the St. Louis Rams). Cornerback will be a position of concern, but that could be mitigated by strong play by the linebackers and defensive line. Despite the loss of two defensive ends to the NFL, the Tiger D should still make opposing QBs restless due to the return of senior Markus Golden. Despite playing behind Kony and Sam, Golden finished with more tackles than both and racked up 6.5 sacks. In 2014, look for the explosive end to be just as or more disruptive than Sam, who was the Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC.
My biggest concern for the defense is the coaching. Last season in the SEC Championship Game, Auburn gouged the Tigers for 545 yards on the ground and Pinkel never pulled his team from the disastrously ineffective three-man front. Pinkel has a reputation for being stubborn but he must be willing to add a fourth man to the defensive line when his team is being punished by opposing backs and offensive lines. Otherwise every team will take the ground and pound approach to the Tigers.
All in all, the Tigers are primed for another very good season. Another SEC East title may be hard to repeat with all the turnover. Still, I expect the Tigers to finish 10-3 or 9-4 this season and prove once and for all that Mizzou not only belongs in the SEC, but can compete with the elite year in and year out.
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