Back in November 2000, mere months after surviving the Y2K phenomenon, Coach Mark Richt interviewed for the position of head football coach at the University of Missouri. CMR was not offered the position, but ended up taking the Georgia job shortly after. Some would say things worked out just fine for dad. Gary Pinkel was picked to lead the Missouri program, and honestly he had a hell of a run. Maybe it's not always a zero-sum game!
Thirteen years after Richt interviewed for the Missouri job, Pinkel and his Tigers faced off against CMR and the Dawgs in Athens. The 2013 season was Missouri's second season in the SEC (the first did not go particularly well). Few expected the Tigers to pull off the upset that day, but in hindsight the Tigers had a deep roster (particularly on defense). Missouri knocked off the Dawgs by a score of 41-26, in what was the first and only time in 11 meetings that Missouri defeated UGA. We didn't know it at the time, but the Dawgs were already past their peak with CMR at the helm. Coincidentally, Missouri was about to reach its own peak. The Tigers won the SEC East in both 2013 and 2014, before beginning a steady decline that has accelerated over the past few seasons. Missouri has not finished a season with a winning record since 2018, and is facing an uphill battle to get there in 2022.
My one and only trip to Columbia, MO (discussed extensively in last year's post) was a thriller. I highly recommend making a trip there. Our friend AO will be making his first trip to Faurot Field (or, as it is more commonly know, the house that Chase Daniel built). We wish you luck sir!
Dtru's nickels
After week 4, Bill Connelly's SP+ has Missouri ranked 58th overall (67th offensive and 48th defensive).
Missouri is ranked 31st overall in the 247 Sports College Football Team Talent Composite
QB Brady Cook's favorite target this season has been sophomore WR Dominic Lovett. Missouri also has true freshman freakshow Luther Burden, the top rated receiver in the 2021 247 Sports Composite recruiting rankings. Burden chose Missouri over the Dawgs last year. He is listed as questionable for Saturday.
Nathaniel Peat and Cody Schrader are the leading rushers for the Tigers this season. Brady Cook also has some mobility, but is not a major threat to break off explosive runs. Unfortunately for the Tigers, starting RT Zeke Powell suffered a season ending injury during the Auburn game last week. The Missouri OL was going to be over-matched either way, but this will make things even more difficult for the Tigers on Saturday. On a side note, I'm sorry Cody but Brendan Douglas has already set a pretty high bar for Caucasian running backs at Faurot Field!! You have a lot to live up to!
5. I watched most of the Auburn-Missouri game last week, which ended in miserable fashion for Mizzou. The Tigers missed a game-winning 26-yard FG with 3 seconds left in the game. Still, Missouri had a golden chance to win the game in overtime. Nathaniel Peat looked like he would walk into the end zone to seal the victory, but Peat lost control of the ball just as he was about to reach over the goal line and Auburn recovered his fumble. Pain!
UGA is currently a 29 point favorite against Missouri. This might be the biggest number I have taken for an SEC road game, but I think the Dawgs cover. I can't see Missouri scoring more than 10 points, and defensively the Tigers don't have the same caliber players in the front 7 that we became accustomed to seeing when they were competing for SEC East titles. Go dawgs!
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