Introducing...The Greatest Win in Mizzou Football History!
by Bill C. on Jul 15, 2009 9:00 AM CDT
in Mizzou History
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The next Rock M Nation tournament is upon us! It's time to determine the greatest win in Mizzou history. Defining "great" can be tricky. It could be the most dramatic, the most exciting, or maybe the one that advanced the program the furthest. However you define "great," vote accordingly.
The brackets are unveiled below. There are four regions: the 2000s Region, the 1976-2000 Region, the 1963-1975 Region, and the Pre-1963 Region. As mentioned before, they are skewed a bit toward recent events. But that's part of the fun, right? No seeds here--the games were "seeded" in each region from newest to oldest, with the caveat that games from the same season couldn't face off in round one.
So without further adieu, let's get rolling. Time to unveil the Greatest Win bracket!
Greatest Win in Mizzou History Bracket
2000s Region
Up first tomorrow: 2003 MU-NU vs 2007 MU-Arkansas. You see four games from 2007 made the region--there was just no eliminating any of them. The region is filled out by Mizzou's first win over Nebraska in 25 years, Mizzou's first road win over Nebraska in 30 years, and two potentially unsung games from a 7-5 season (2005)...without which 2007 might have happened much differently.
1976-2000 Region
Yes, that's right, there's a gap in this bracket from 1978 to 1996. Sounds about right. While this region features no "asserting potential national title status" wins, it's full of a couple of fun home wins over KU, one of the most purely dramatic Mizzou games ever (OSU 1997), Mizzou's first bowl win in over 15 years (WVU 1998), and a whole bunch of mid-1970s upsets. What's your definition of "great"? This could be the least predictable region.
1963-1975 Region
This region encapsulates Mizzou's assertion of power through the mid- and late-1960s and their early-1970s collapse and rebirth. Statement wins and big bowl wins abound here, including a couple of nice Bear Bryant embarrassments. Mizzou almost positioned themselves for a national title opportunity in 1969, but there are plenty of big-time wins from one of Mizzou's most consistently successful (sans 1971) eras.
Pre-1963 Region
From the beginning of Don Faurot's tenure to the beginning of Dan Devine's, this region features Mizzou's first, true surge into national consciousness in the late-1930s, their wartime greatness, their 1950s fade, and Dan Devine's first great team. If we were not weighting this in favor of recent events, this span of time really could have taken up half of the 32-entry bracket. Want to know what made some of these wins so great? Stay tuned!
Thoughts? Biggest snub? Darkhorse favorite? The voting starts tomorrow.
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First round seems like a gimme in the 2000s
but I don’t know how I feel admitting that 2 of the 4 best victories in Pinkel’s era have come against Nebraska.
For me, this is how that one plays out:
Game 1 – 2003 over Nebraska (though it’s close, and this is the only matchup in which I attended both games)
Game 2 – 2008 over Nebraska
Game 3 – 2005 over South Carolina
Game 4 – 2007 over kansas
Game 17 – 2003 Nebraska (again, it’s close, but that 2003 game was magical)
Game 18 – 2007 over kansas (would love to give that Indy Bowl win more of a chance, but…)
Game 27 – 2007 over kansas
On that night in 2003, I didn’t think it would ever be topped. Standing at midfield being hugged by random Mizzou players (and getting tackled by Thomson Omboga), then being grabbed by The Boy fulfilling the promise we’d made at the Spring game that year that…IF IT HAPPENED…we’d meet at midfield and make “snow angels” on the logo, it was a sports moment I couldn’t match. I compared it to Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. I compared it to Derrick Thomas’ 7 sacks against Seattle. I compared it to the Montana vs Elway MNF game in 1994. I compared it to the 1997 KC vs DEN game where Stoyo hit a 50+ yard FG at the buzzer to win the game, and thus the division. I compared it to Mizzou’s upset of then undefeated and #1 kansas in 2OT at the Hearnes Center in 1997. They all fell short. I was POSITIVE that I would never have another night, especially in person, at a sporting event that could top this one.
Since then, I’ve had 1: a FRIGID night at Arrowhead in 2007. The stakes have never been higher, the stage had never been larger, and the result has never been sweeter. The only things that can possibly usurp this one, for me, will be a Mizzou National Championship and maybe a USA World Cup. And even then, if I’m not in person, it’s not going to be quite as special.
Biggest snub?
I don’t see the word “football” anywhere in the title of the tournament (or in the entire article, for that matter). So are we jus tto assume there are no possible Greatest Wins in Mizzou History in basketball or baseball … or any other sport?
Once you get the football done, you need to do another bracket for basketball. And then for “Other” sports, with a final face-off bracket.
I think it's implied
That this is for football only, since we are ever so suddenly sneaking up on the gridiron season.
I believe as hardcourt time nears, the Mighty Men of RMN will most likely rehash this again.
Although, I must take this opportunity to point out I am not affiliated with the managers, editors, or authors of RMN, as I am merely a constant companion to the site. And, I dare say, I cannot speak on their behalf, at risk of being expelled from said RMN and being forced to joing Rock Chalk Talk as punishment.
"Wherever you go, there you are" - Buckaroo Bonzai
Biggest Omission
The 1960 Oklahoma game. Mizzou destroyed OU 41-19 in Norman, the second highest offensive output of the year. That was the game that sent MU to their first ever #1 ranking, and it would take another 47 years to get back. While OU was down that year, they were the kings of the conference. OU had won the conference outright the previous 12 years. They had beaten Mizzou 15 years straight. None of the players on the team were even alive the last time Mizzou had won in Norman. That game was the final regular season win in the greatest season in Mizzou history.
Honestly, I thought I had that one in there...
…but I must have overruled it in the end because OU only went 3-6-1 that year…so it ended up being more like our ending the streak against KSU in 2006 (yes, we ended the streak…no, they weren’t the same KSU that they had been for most of the streak) than anything else. That’s a strike against it, but you’re right…being that we moved to #1 afterward, it certainly warrants consideration. But I don’t want to change the bracket again, so I think I’m set. :-)
Rock M Nation
Thrust nunchuk upward!
Don't blame you for not wanting to change the bracket
If you read what Devine has to say about it in “Simply Devine” though, you’ll get a sense for how big that game was.
I did. :-)
Actually, that reminds me of something I wanted to mention…Google Books has a relatively lengthy portion of this book available for reading, and I highly recommend reading the Mizzou portion. Lots of good insight in there…I really probably should have put that one in there—it’s closer to being the “biggest” win of 1960 than the Penn State game was, but oh well I guess.
Rock M Nation
Thrust nunchuk upward!
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