Big 12 North Preview - Missouri Tigers

So here we go with Nebraska’s big competition for the Big 12 North title this year. Of all the years that Mizzou has had a shot and earning their first division title in conference history, this is their best shot. The Tigers are the sexy pick in the North to take the title and face either Texas or Oklahoma for the Big 12 championship in San Antonio, Texas in December and a shot and playing in the Fiesta Bowl. Could Missouri conceivably go the distance and make their first BCS bowl game in school history? I’ll take you through the reasons why they could, and ultimately the reasons why they won’t.

First things first, coaching. Head coach Gary Pinkel will be coaching for his seventh season in Columbia, Missouri. During that time he has coached the team to a 37-and-35 record mainly on the back of former quarterback Brad Smith and now junior quarterback Chase Daniel. Missouri is a team of black and white. When they eliminate their mistakes they can hang with almost any team in the country, and I really mean that. When they paint themselves into a corner with horrible mistakes, they couldn’t even defeat conference cellar-dweller Iowa State last season. One problem that I think contributes to this, is coach Pinkel himself. Last seasons loss to the Cyclones pointed out something very telling. He would not admit defeat because of a bad call by the officials in Ames, Iowa. Rather than chalking up the loss to a learning experience and coaching his team to put teams away they are clearly better than early in the game, he paraded around to the media and his team that their record was 8-and-3 rather than 7-and-4 after the loss. This to me shows an inability as a head coach to own a mistake and turn it into an opportunity. This is something that separates solid coaches from great coaches and a trait of a team that is not as well coached as it could be.

Quarterback Chase Daniel was the biggest question mark on offense going into last season with super-quarterback Brad Smith heading into the NFL Draft. Daniel stepped in and took the reigns and the Tiger offense kept on rolling. Daniel not only seems to have the raw ability and know how of the game, he also seems to encompass the “it” factor that it takes to be a successful quarterback on the national level and gain some attention outside the conference. Daniel now owns three important single-season records after the 2006 season with 28 touchdown passes, 3,527 passing yards and 3,906 total yards from scrimmage all passing Smith in his first season at the helm of Dave Christiansen’s offense. Junior Chase Patton is the clear number two on the team after leading some inspired play in spring camp and in the Tiger’s spring game. Redshirt freshmen Dominick Grooms is another dual-threat QB who will compete with peer JP Tillman who is more of a pocket passer, something the Tiger offense is not accustomed to.

Here come the mistakes. One of the big problems that plagued the Tigers last fall was their inability to hold on to the ball. Their fast start and record setting pace was negated in the thick of conference play by 26 turnovers and 15 fumbles. That being said, leading Big 12 rusher senior Tony Temple returns to the fold for one more season in the backfield. Temple rushed for over 1,000 yards and crossed the goal line seven times, including a brilliant Sun Bowl performance with 194 yards and two scores. As if having the leading rusher in the conference wasn’t enough, the Tigers come to the table with plenty of depth should the sometimes butterfinger-ish and fragile Temple be sidelined. Junior Jimmy Jackson will reprise his role as the backup to Temple, however he will receive a lot of pressure from senior Marcus Woods who has shown he is a legitimate threat in the backfield during camps this past spring and fall. Junior Earl Goldsmith who missed a lot of time last season due to broken hand will more than likely see more playing time should he remain healthy.

To round out this potentially juggernaut offense, the receiving core will feature a lot of returning talent that should prove explosive. Daniel will have plenty of options out of the spread and none more important than senior Will Franklin and junior Tommy Saunders. Franklin and Saunders amassed 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in 2006. Of course the combined performance of these two returning receivers will impact the Tigers offense, however the big story may be the young talent that made waves last year. Sophomores Danario Alexander and Jared Perry will compete for the third slot as they are cashing in on successful appearances last season and improving by leaps and bounds in spring and fall ball. Of course, in the offense the team runs and never huddling and shuffling in and out personnel you’re going to need more than just a few solid guys to catch all those passes. Redshirt freshman Jeremy Maclin was going to be one of the players to fill that void as one of Mizzou’s top 2006 recruits. However he missed the season due to an ACL injury that same summer. Maclin will be another speedster off the line running a 4.4 40 yard dash. Senior Greg Bracey, Jason Ray and juniors Lucas Null, Adam Casey and sophomores Blake May, Chris Gares and redshirt freshmen Forrest Shock will all see playing time. Phew, that is a ton of receivers to list and talk about. All fast, most have good hands and all will be fresh when rotated in and out of the game as dangerous threats in the take no prisoner’s offense the Tigers run.

Just when you thought I was done with guys that will catch the ball, Missouri comes at you with the best tight end tandem in the country. No pair is more productive. Hard to believe? Well, believe this. They combined for 111 receptions, 1149 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. These two are big, strong and can catch like the best receivers on the team. You’re going to have to come in with a good defense that is ready and conditioned to battle this team with all of their options on offense.

The one weakness is going to be the five that protect the man that will make the Mizzou attack go. Right tackle Joel Clinger is now a free agent signee with the New York Giants and Mike Cook was lost to graduation. Reserves David Lazaroff and Louis Pintola also exited Faurot Field after the 2006 campaign. The line will be anchored by Rimington Award candidate senior center Adam Spieker who will more than likely be planning to play on Sundays at this time next year. Senior tackle Tyler Luellen has been bitten by the injury bug in his three years on campus, however he has been healthy since spring drills and hopes to play the entire season playing Daniels’ blind side. The other player on the line who has great expectations is sophomore and right guard Kurtis Gregory who can move and tips the scales at over 300 pounds. There are some holes on the line, but with the veteran leadership and experience that the second tier linemen have they should be able to come together before the season starts.

Ok, so here is the big issue with the Tigers and will be the biggest question mark coming out of fall camp. The defense is mostly young, untested and has a history of bending and breaking. Starting defensive bookends will be juniors Stryker Sulak and Tommy Chavis. Both have some playing time but nothing substantial that will leave offensive line coaches quaking in their boots. Chavis played in all 13 games however was fairly unimpressive coming out of the ’06 season with 16 tackles. At nose tackle senior Lorenzo Williams will try to stop the run and plug up gaps with his 6’1” 295 pound frame. He finished last season with 53 tackles and six sacks.

Maybe one of the biggest blows to the Mizzou defense was behind the line in the linebacker core. Junior Brock Christopher will move from outside back to the interior linebacking position and led the Tigers in tackles from the strong side with 87. Weak side will see sophomore Sean Witherspoon taking over for departed first-team All-Big12 Marcus Bacon. With some solid experienced help, the defensive coaching staff is primed to unveil a pair of true freshmen linebackers. Michael Keck was a Parade All-American and a top prospect in the state of Missouri. Luke Lambert, also hailing from the same state, was a top-10 pick out of Missouri and racked up 148 tackles his senior season at Harrisonville leading them to their third state title in four years. Beyond the mentioned players, there isn’t much left to write home about. The Tigers are desperate to fill in holes and are even moving players from different positions where they are deep to play defense.

It doesn’t get much better for the Tigers when you view the depleted secondary. Half the starters are gone and the players that will step up have little to no playing experience. The bright spot is the two returning defensive backs. Senior Darnell Terrell started 13 games and earned an honorable mention on the Big 12 All-Conference team. Sophomore Hardy Ricks finished up the year with 40 tackles in eight starts. He’s more of a safety type of back and loves to tackle and hit receivers in the mouth off the line. At free safety junior William Moore will now start presumably for the entire season. He filled in last season and posted 51 tackles and most notably returned an interception for a touchdown down in Lubbock, Texas against Texas Tech. There is a bit of a battle at the strong safety slot and the top candidate comes with a funny nickname. Cornelius “Pig” Brown is transferring in from Reedley (Ca) Community College. Brown was injury prone in his tenure at Reedley, so if he goes down this position will likely have a bullseye on it from opposing offensive coordinators.

Yes, this is the year that the Tigers have their best shot to unseat the Huskers off the top of the North. Missouri has to answer some questions first. Can they maintain the momentum they started with last year? Can they get off to the same start to begin with? They get Nebraska themselves on a sliver platter this season. The Huskers travel down to Columbia, a setting they haven’t won in since 2001 and the Tigers get a bye week to prepare for Callahan and company. However, if the Huskers somehow manage to beat the Trojans in mid-September it should provide the Huskers with enough confidence and momentum to carry the Missouri-Nebraska bell out of town. Missouri has a history of faltering in the midst of conference play and that is the next task that Pinkel and his staff are charged with. No doubt, the October 6^th showdown will be circled by many a college football analyst, media member and coach. Where does this leave Missouri if they can’t win the North? Only time will tell. However I think Pinkel’s job will be safe through at least 2008, provided he at least meets expectations and brings a Big 12 North title or better to Columbia.

2006 Overall record: 8-5
2006 Conference record: 4-4
Offensive returning starters: 8
Defensive returning starters: 5

Offense: A-
Defense: C
Special Teams: B-
Overall: B

2007 Prediction: 8-4(5-3 Big 12)
2007 Big 12 North Ranking: 2nd

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