The Missouri Tigers were back-to-back SEC East champions entering the 2015 SEC season. The program appeared to be in great shape. It had already proven so much more than many in the SEC expected when the school left the Big 12 to make the conference switch. Coach Gary Pinkel had won a lot of fresh respect in the SEC, which doubted Missouri’s ability to hang with the big dogs.
Then everything came crashing down. Pinkel ran into health problems. Missouri football players were caught up in campus protests. Football became less important, and Missouri became less powerful on the field. Barry Odom succeeded Pinkel in 2016 and is still trying to rebuild the program he has. Can the Tigers take an important step forward in 2017, as a bridge to 2018 and a period when this program can once again expect to contend for championships?
How Did They End 2016
The Tigers could not keep up with Tennessee’s offense in a track-meet-style shootout, but then they erased a first-half deficit to rally and defeat Arkansas, a result which boosted hopes for the 2017 season. Many will wonder if that game was more of a reflection of Missouri rising or Arkansas sliding into mediocrity, but in some ways, that means nothing. What matters is that Mizzou needs to use that game as a launching pad. If it can, this season could exceed expectations.
Offseason Changes
John Gibson and Arrion Penton are out at cornerback. They were largely dependable players, and what really hurts Missouri is that last season was not the best season for SEC quarterbacks. Passers throughout the conference struggled to be consistent. It was a great year to be a cornerback because the quality of each team’s passing game generally lagged behind the standards set in other conferences. This year, though, quarterbacks should be better. This will force cornerbacks to have to be at their best, and this pair of departures means Missouri must be at least a little worried about its situation.
Team X-Factor
Gibson’s and Penton’s replacements at corner, Christian Holmes and Logan Cheadle, naturally become very important players for the reasons outlined above in the offseason changes section. Jacob Eason of Georgia, Kyle Shurmur of Vanderbilt, Stephen Johnson of Kentucky, Jake Bentley of South Carolina, and Malik Zaire of Florida could all produce breakout seasons. If most of them do, Missouri has to be fortified and strong in its secondary. Holmes and Cheadle will carry a lot of the burden and responsibility for making the Tigers tough enough to thwart (or at least contain) other top passing games in the conference.
What To Expect From The Tigers This Year
Missouri is still fighting an uphill battle. The SEC East was not very good last year, and Missouri could not make a bowl game. The East should be slightly to moderately better this season. Missouri will have to improve just to remain in place, let alone win more games than it did a year ago.
Record Last 5 Seasons
2016: 4-8
2015: 5-7
2014: 11-3
2013: 12-2
2012: 5-7
Schedule and Outlook
The good news is that the Tigers start their season with four consecutive home games. The bad news is that they aren’t the easiest foursome. They probably won’t have too many problems with Missouri State in their opener and beating Purdue two weeks later should be fine. But they’ll also host South Carolina and Auburn. Those will be measuring stick type of games. The challenge is that if they don’t get off to a good start, the back end of their schedule is loaded with road games. That becomes quite challenging. Five of their final eight games this season are all on the road.
Missouri will play Auburn and Arkansas in its two non-division SEC games. That pair of contests will likely be losses. Missouri will then struggle in the SEC East. Missouri will win seven games only if it can go 4-0 out of conference, and even then, that’s unlikely. Six wins seems like the ceiling for this team, and five wins is the most likely outcome.
Regular Season Win Total Prediction: Under 6.5
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