State of the Union: Missouri
4 comments so far
January 26, 2007 by
The fifth in a twelve-part series on the state of the Big 12
Many believe that it's now or never for head coach Gary Pinkel at Missouri. After starting the 2006 season a perfect 6-0 and then a solid 7-1 after a close loss to Texas A&M in College Station, the Tigers lost four of five including an inexcusable 21-16 loss in Ames to Iowa State. Pinkel's teams have lost at least five games in each of his six seasons as head coach and have yet to win the Big 12 North. Missouri has what should be the strongest natural geographic recruitng base in the Big 12 North and yet continues to pull in middle-of-the pack classes.Sooner rather than later, Missouri fans will be expecting more.
With Nebraska and Texas A&M both travelling to Columbia along with Iowa State and Texas Tech, the Tigers are in the ideal position to win the North. They'd have to take care of business on the road at Colorado, Kansas, and Kansas State, but those three teams all lost handliy to Missouri in 2006. The Tigers can afford a loss at Oklahoma, but might need to win the other seven conference games to be Big 12 North champs. No game is bigger than Nebraska's visit on October 6. The Huskers haven't won in Columbia since 2001. If Nebraska marches out of Columbia with a victory, it may very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back for Pinkel.
Given Missouri's current position in the Big 12 North, firing Pinkel might be a mistake. The Tigers can still beat teams like Kansas, Iowa State and for the time being, Colorado. They'll likely also give KSU and Nebraska all they can handle. They can beat teams like Baylor and Texas Tech and maybe A&M in the South, which means a 4-4, 5-3, or even a 6-2 conference record most years is a real possibility. That might be enough to sneak into a championship game. A game where anything can happen. Considering the Tigers haven't won their conference since the 1960's, they might not want to mess with a formula that gives them a chance (though admittedly, not a great one).
Maybe a better coach could do a better job. I'm just not sure who that might be or if they'd be willing to go to Missouri. The Tigers would need to figure out who that is BEFORE firing Pinkel. If the Tigers take a step backward by transitioning to a new coach, they make it that much easier for teams like Colorado to catch up and maybe surpass Mizzou.
The stakes are high and things shouldn't be boring for Missouri in 2007. Stay tuned.
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darren Jan 26 07
Steve,
I'm *blown away* by these concise, frank, and (in my opinion) very accurate portrayals of the Big 12 teams this far. This series of articles is just great.
We may be blogging "colleagues", but I'm also a fan. Great work.
doombob Jan 26 07
I live in the Kansas City metro area, and the sports radio talk show hosts here have said that Missouri will win the North hands down next year. They went on to say that Nebraska MAY potentially have a itsy bitsy chance of winning the North - and they're the only other contender. I think October 6 is important, but won't decide who wins the North.
gregory Jan 27 07
Missouri is intriguing. Has been for years, now. Pinkel's been there six years, already?
Such a "tweener" program. Not terribly bad, (I like Smith, I didn't think he should have been fired) not really good. No league title since the 60? I know it's true, but even K st. has a conference title.
Nice QB, but Nebraska needs to beat a good Missouri team in Columbia. I think "we" will!
Mark Jan 30 07
Doombob, what programs do you listen to in KC? No one in KC says Mizzou will win the North over Nebraska. In fact, the exact opposite of what you say is true. They say that Nebraska should win but that Mizzou has a itsy bitsy chance. Sheesh. Stop viewing the world through your jaded Huskervision.