There are a lot of people talking about Missouri beating Alabama and the impact it would make.
My quick take here is that I think the most important thing for Missouri to do is to show they can beat Alabama, even if they don’t beat Alabama.
For the sake of the season, a loss to Alabama would not
sink the Tigers playoff hopes. There are still so many games left to play and the collective result of those games are far more important than any one result. The obvious point here is that beating Alabama is the ideal outcome. Missouri should do everything they can to beat Alabama because it will only advance their end goals. I’m simply stating that their end goals do not end if they lost to Alabama.
One thing that needs to happen is they need to, at the very least, play a competitive game with Alabama.
Last year the season was derailed a bit when Mizzou went to Texas A&M and got trucked, and then had the same happen when they went to Tuscaloosa. Since joining the SEC, Missouri hasn’t been competitive with Alabama any time they’ve been on the same field.
If the goal is to get to the Playoff, Mizzou doesn’t need to beat Alabama to do that. But they have to be competitive to prove that the rest of the season could still lead to a playoff berth.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
As we ramp up for Alabama, yesterday was a BIG day for posting! Let’s get the Football stuff first:
- Nate previewed the Alabama game the only way he can:
Alabama allows a great success rate when opponents throw the ball, sure, but they are in the bottom 100 of defenses in terms of yards per rush allowed and yards per successful rush allowed, all of which should make Kirby Moore’s eyes triple in size like a cartoon wolf. Bama’s secondary gives up small completions and then doesn’t allowed any YAC (nor explosive passes, somehow) so running the ball and grinding them into dust is the best approach here. Let’s set the goal for a 41% success rate on the ground.
The Alabama defensive front versus Ahmad Hardy is the matchup we’re all watching closely.
- Nathan’s best bets dropped as well and he says take the Tigers:
In what is the biggest game in Columbia since the Tigers faced the Aggies in 2013 with the SEC East Championship on the line, Mizzou is coming in fresh with two weeks to game plan for Alabama. The Tide are coming off back-to-back games (at Georgia and vs. Vanderbilt) that took a lot out of the team physically and mentally. This one has all the makings of a back-and-forth one possession game, so give me the home team to cover in such a scenario.
As a non-bettor, the one area that makes me the most nervous is the idea of betting on a team I cheer for. However, I’m with Nathan on the Vols-Hogs game, smash the over.
- True was back with his What’s the TREND, and I imagine it’s hard to do this on a bye week but he nailed it anyway, on Cayden Green:
Although it is not ideal for Green to be questionable headed into arguably one of Mizzou’s biggest matchups of the season, having the name back in the rotation is definitely a good start. When Green went out, people were panicking, now the Tigers are 5-0 and all is well. Maybe Jayven Richardson is the real deal.
I doubt we see Green on the field this week. There’s simply too much football to play and with the playoff there is no one game that’s more important than the season.
Total count: ReliaQuest (2), Mayo (2), Gator (2), Citrus (1), Texas (1), Music City (1)
It’s pretty simple. A win over Alabama would turn the College Football Playoff possibility into the expectation. Statement Saturday looms for Mizzou.
Yes what I said above about no one game is still true, if you beat Alabama I think that puts everyone on notice.
- Finally, with the Tide coming into town, Sammy talked to Roll Bama Roll about the upcoming game:
SS: Alabama comes in as a 3.5-point favorite in this one. How do you see this game playing out on Saturday? Have a final score prediction?
BT: I think neither team gets a whole lot of defensive stops, but it’ll also be somewhat low scoring due to both offenses chewing up so much clock. It’ll feel like a barn burner, but end up like 33-27 or something like that. The last two weeks have given me enough confidence to predict Alabama, I think, but week 1 Bama still probably lurks in there somewhere. And a rushing offense as dangerous as Missouri’s gives me nightmares.
I can see this game going any one of 100 different ways. Brent’s prediction sounds pretty plausible. I just hope it’s a good game (and Mizzou wins).
NON FOOTBALL STUFF
SEC Basketball Preview SZN is officially underway with my Preview of the team I picked last in the league, LSU:
I thought I knew what LSU was doing last year. From what you could tell at least, they were attempting to go against the grain and grow the program organically with young talent.
That’s a bold move in the day and age of instant fixes via the transfer portal. Why would you recruit and develop talented youngsters who might have a higher upside after some initial growing pains, when you could just buy a higher floor older player and be only marginally better?
Granted it didn’t work for LSU last season. But the good news is it’s a new season and all of their highly recruited players from last years class are gone, and in their place is a shiny new portal haul.
We’re heavy into the Preview Stuff here and on Rock M+, as DataMizzou took a look at Trent Pierce for a preview:
In this episode, Matt provides an in-depth analysis of Missouri’s Trent Pierce. He discusses Pierce’s performance from the previous season, highlighting his potential for growth, particularly in terms of offensive assertiveness and defensive skills. The conversation emphasizes the importance of confidence in Pierce’s game and sets expectations for his role in the upcoming season
SOFTBALL CROOTIN’ is big timing these days as their 2027 class is coming together already:
Larissa Anderson and the Missouri Tigers continue to make strong moves in bettering the future of Mizzou Softball, which is good considering the on-field performance wasn’t to par last season. With Anderson potentially on the hot seat this season, this certainly helps her chances of continuing as Mizzou’s coach.
MBB 2027 RECRUITING: Matt Harris dove into the film and data on prime target King Gibson, a 5-star guard:
When Scottie Adkinson committed to Missouri in early July, it brought an early resolution to the main storyline for the 2027 recruiting cycle. It also gave rise to a potentially more intriguing query: How do you complement Adkinson?
On paper, the Tigers still require another ball-handler. Yet the nature of that search has changed. Chase Branham committed to Indiana in September, and, for now, Jimmy McKinney III has slipped toward the back of 247Sports’ composite top 150. So, finding the other piece for a potential tandem means scanning beyond the state’s borders.
One option resides in North Carolina: King Gibson.
Rated No. 12 in the composite index, Gibson, who is 6-4 and 185 pounds, picked up an offer from the Tigers in mid-June and spoke glowingly about coach Dennis Gates in pieces during the July period. Suiting with Team United on the Nike EYBL circuit, Gibson affirmed his lofty status with a productive grassroots campaign at the 16U level and during the Nike Elite 100 camp.
Subscribe if you haven’t already to read more. Honestly just for the hoops content and what Matt and Matt are doing is really cool.
Forums Talk
Some really interesting stuff over on RM+: I dropped some notes on the forthcoming SEC Previews:
I won’t mess around with delaying what the rankings will be, each team is released in order of what my projected order of finish ends up, based upon the game-by-game pick ’em we do each year. But there’s plenty of discussion with the Matts and we three usually end up close to the same page if not right on it.
There was also some chatter about a few forthcoming commitments heading towards Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers.
Rock M Radio: BTBS BAMA PREVIEW
If you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel you know that we had multiple good shows this week, more than just BTBS. But the Trent Pierce video, and I talked to Rocco Miller about non-conference scheduling.
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