It’s a good time to switch your focus from the holidays to Mizzou Football.
If you’re looking for any kind of preview of the game, well Nate has you in two forms. Part 1 is a deep dive into Virginia including many jokes, then Part 2 is the normal preview. Your How to Watch is here!
I like this matchup, there is no real Mizzou vs Virginia rivalry in any sport. Missouri has only played Virginia five times in Men’s basketball, with no matchups in the last 20 years. As an athletics program, Virginia is one of those schools you kind of know about and they’re always there but they’re rarely
elite. Not too dissimiliar from Mizzou, actually. I’m much more familiar with them as a basketball program, thanks to Tony Bennett’s tenure there. And of course I know about them historically thanks to guys like Ralph Sampson and Corey Alexander.
I have no idea what to expect with the game. But I’m thankful to just have a football game to watch.
Especially considering how miserable Missouri Basketball has been in recent weeks.
Anyway, this is short and sweet, get excited everyone:
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
Everything was pretty quiet yesterday, with it being Christmas and everything. I hope everyone had a great holiday yesterday, whether you celebrate or not it’s still a federally mandated day off of work which is nice, right?
It was football heavy, and Nathan Hurst heavy, too! Nathan gave you 10 reasons to care about the Gator Bowl:
1. Going for 30
The Gator Bowl is a chance to put a clean, historic number on what has already been one of the most successful stretches in program history. A victory would give Mizzou 30 wins over a three year span, a benchmark that has only accomplished once-ish in Tiger history. Gary Pinkel won 30 games in three years from 2006-2008 and again from 2007-2009, though the ’07 and ‘08 years did the heavy lifting. For fans who lived through the 80s and 90s, 30 wins should matter. It is a reminder that this era has produced sustained winning, not just one memorable run.
This was my favorite reason, because I think we’ve gotten a little spoiled the last few years with how competitive Missouri has been, and it’s a nice reminder how rare this sort of run has been for the Tigers. No reason to stop now, right?
Nathan also dropped his best bets for the Bowl matchups of the week, and he says don’t bet on the Tigers:
This one may seem like a bit of copium, but I’m not feeling super confident in the Tigers’ chances in the Gator Bowl. If this was the regular season and both teams were playing with their full compliment of players, I’d pick Mizzou. But without Pribula, three of the team’s top pass catchers and the leading tackler, as well as the status of both leading pass rushers up in the air… this one sounds like it might not go Mizzou’s way. I think the Tigers are able to run the ball effectively enough to stay in the game and maybe even win a close one, but 4.5 points is too many to feel good about taking the good guys here.
I say never bet on your team one way or the other. But if you do you always bet on them to cover. Don’t listen to me.
Then Matthew wrote about how Matt Zollers is hoping to deliver for Eli Drinkwitz and Tiger nation:
Zollers has been no stranger to stepping in when needed this season, starting the season third on the depth chart before seeing notable action in three SEC games.
“Obviously, going into the season starting at third string, you don’t expect to be playing,” he said after the team’s 49-27 win over Mississippi State, “but take the opportunity and just go with it.”
There’s some hope Zollers will put together enough of a run in the Gator Bowl to plant his stake as the QB1 for next season. That would clear up a lot of consternation around the position with the portal gearing up to take off come January.
Speaking of the portal, True dropped a salient update on the Transfer Portal post yesterday.
Rock M Radio: Still mad about Braggin’ Rights
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