Pourover: Never let anyone else define who you are

Missouri wide reciever Caleb Goodie Sr. (2) catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Austin Simmons to put the Tigers up 17-10 in the first half of a game against Florida on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. | Dan Murphy / Rock M There was a lot of noise this week about Missouri

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What is the story about?

There was a lot of noise this week about Missouri Football. About Eli Drinkwitz. A lot of noise.

I’m guessing things will be a lot quieter this week.

The discourse around sports is something. Last week my take was simple, it felt like Missouri was in control of the game at Mississippi State heading into the 4th quarter, and they fell flat. The SEC is a tough league. You can never get too high or too low, or it will come back to get you.

Mississippi State was riding a huge high last week after beating

the Tigers. They deserved the win, they played better in the 4th quarter and won a big game for the first time in a long time. Tip your cap. But this week they were hosting Alabama and the Crimson Tide beat the stuffing out of MSU.

Florida has been in a tough spot for a while. They haven’t won many big games, and then Ole Miss rolled into town with a top 5 ranking and the Gators put it on them, winning 52-28.

Florida beat a team hungover after their own big emotional win. Ole Miss, who were over the moon after beating LSU, the new home of their former coach, and much of the staff and a few players. I don’t need to remind you of the off the field drama surrounding Ole Miss and LSU. But you see the cycle and it begins to look a bit like the snake eating its own tail. You can never get too high, or too low.

Alabama had all the reason in the world to look past MSU, a team they’d beaten 16 straight times. They also have Georgia coming up this week, for a top 10 matchup. But they locked in, played their game as best they can, and now they move on.

Missouri needs to do the same.

This was as complete of a dismantling of an opponent that I can remember from a Mizzou Football team. This felt similar to the 36-7 beatdown of a 14th ranked Tennessee Volunteer team in 2023. There was also a 50-17 whipping of Tennessee in 2018, but they were unranked at the time. Mizzou also beat Florida and Tennessee in back to back weeks by a combined 62 points (they also beat Vandy by 28 the next week also). So it’s not altogether unprecedented.

The truth is we don’t really know how good this Florida team is. They were vaulted into the top 10 following their home win over another top 10 team. But how good, really, is Ole Miss? We’re just now at the part of the season where the cream begins to rise to the top. And I don’t know exactly how good this Missouri team is going to end up being, but they seem pretty capable, at least, of being a damn good football team. But the schedule is treacherous.

I’m not convinced the Gators are one of the country’s best teams. They’re better than they’ve been, and I think Sumrall is a good hire who will do good things there if they’re patient with him. But the top 10 ranking felt reactionary.

A side note, I don’t envy AP poll voters early in the season. Everyone is going to be mad at your vote, and the early season results can be wild and all over the place. It takes time for things to even out, but I think we’re just now beginning to understand who is and isn’t at the top of the sport.

I said it last week, and I’ll say it again this week: Missouri is a good football team. How good they can be will only be impacted by how they play next week, and how much they can avoid letting the chatter affect how they approach the work this week.

It’s easy to forget that on the other side of the field is a well compensated and, often, competent football team trying to win the game. Next week Missouri will face a Texas A&M team who whipped their ass last year. A&M had playoff expectations coming into the season but lost back to back games, in ugly fashion, to Kentucky and LSU. But they had a ‘get right’ game against Arkansas. I expect a very ready Texas A&M team.

Missouri decided not to let their last result define their season. You don’t want this win over Florida to define your season either. Go beat the Aggies. Define your season by how you play each and every week, and never let anyone else define who you are.