Game Day Schedule:
Fan Primer ⤵️@davidnail at #Mizzou Tailgate Concert Series highlights pregame activities Saturday vs. Auburn #MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/yzoH4YQv5F
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) September 20, 2017
David Nail is in town, so enjoy a free concert before the game.
Another week, another dope hype video:
Saturday Trailer#MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/v1b51wF0K1
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) September 21, 2017
“Run This Town,” is such a great song, y’all.
So Fresh and So Clean, Clean:
ALL. GOLD. #MIZ #ShowMe @MizzouEq pic.twitter.com/EFFeTDEcZc
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) September 22, 2017
.@jmon_moore with the @SEC Graduate Patch this week #MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/lsKWTQchJ5
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) September 22, 2017
This is probably my favorite look Mizzou does. Especially if they break out the matte helmets.
What the “experts” are saying:
- Earlier this week, Bill talked about Auburn’s inconsistent offense and how Mizzou could take advantage.
- Our friends at College and Magnolia doled out their preview with a heaping helping of fun GIFs and a pretty lopsided prediction. On a non-game note, their Columbia primer is superb.
- SEC Country, well... they’re not giving the black-and-gold much hope.
- The KC Star isn’t either.
And now, back for another round...
1. The big question on everyone's mind after last week's disaster is, "How hot is Barry Odom's seat?" It's rare that a coach doesn't get a third year, but Saturday was a rare type of loss. What's your opinion on Odom's job stability right now?
Chris Bohkay - It's burning up! But I don't see a change midseason as there's really no reason to. There's no one else on the staff that should be a head coach or would be for Mizzou going forward, so keep Odom there and then Kim Anderson him in November. Also, I don't know where the three year rule came from, but if someone is bad at their job or failing, then like Seinfeld said, you rip the band-aid right off instead of tearing slowly. Odom is not Sterk's guy, so if he wants to go in another direction, he shouldn't wait for the arbitrary year three thing that gets mentioned so often.
Mitch Hill - I'm sure it's a little warm, but during basketball season last year, Jim Sterk did say that it was not his style to let coaches go during a season. With that being said, however, that loss was bad and the optics were less than ideal. The team needs to show fight and competency against Auburn this week or I think that seat will be too hot to handle. I do think Odom is the right guy, but things need to take a turn to positive town soon.
Josh Matejka - In the words of internet soothsayer @trillballins, “well,, it hard to say...” But in all reality, it’s got to be pretty warm at this point. I think if Odom ends up pulling 4-5 wins out of this schedule - an unlikely feat though it may be - he’ll get a guaranteed 3rd year. But at this point there’s been nothing to point to that suggests this team will turn it around. Anything less than 6 wins gives Sterk the option to act; anything less than 4 makes it a probability, in my opinion.
switzy227 - TBD. I don't think 3 games is sufficient to say with much confidence. Certainly the arrow is pointing down, but...maybe if this question shows up again after the end of October, I'll feel better about giving a real answer.
jaeger - While I don't see a midseason firing as very likely, Odom is in move it or lose it mode now. He has to get serious improvement out of this football team if he's going to have any chance to save his job. A bowl game would do it, but finding 5 more wins on this schedule is tough. Saving his job without getting to a bowl will probably require at least one big upset win, and I don't just mean an upset, since we'll be underdogs against everyone but Idaho and maybe UConn going forward. I mean toppling a legit ranked team. Options for that kind of win on the schedule appear to be Florida, Georgia, and Auburn. I can't imagine 4 or fewer wins keeps him on staff at Mizzou.
AlaTiger - He won't be fired mid-season for on the field performance. If he goes all CJK5H (allegedly), then sure. Beyond that? It depends on how well the team plays. The record doesn't matter as much as how the team plays.
dcrockett17 - I'd rate his stability as midpoint of the scale, being kind. The thing to remember is that Missouri isn't the kind of program to blithely churn through coaches. The school needs some stability. The season is long and Missouri on paper has the arsenal to at least luck into some wins through legit improvements and trap games. The big indicator on how fireable Odom is in the offseason for me will be recruiting, even under the optimistic scenario of an on-field turnaround. I think we can forget about at least some of the biggest name recruits, and still have a salvageable class. I don't know that Mizzou can withstand a bottomed out recruiting disaster though--not with so much local talent at stake. That kind of wound can be 5-6 years healing.
Sam Snelling - There's a lot of football left to play. It will come down to how much he loses the team. If he doesn't and they hold it together, even if they miss a bowl, I think he gets year 3. But if the rails come off, it's hard to see even the most patient of AD's thinking it's right to carry on.
2. The already-infamous mark of Saturday's game was that picture of a single fan sitting in the student section, surrounded by empty bleachers. Attendance will likely be a problem moving forward, so how would you motivate fans to come back - aside from winning games?
Bohkay - I don't think there's anything really to be done, because people want to spend their time on a winner, or a team with a chance and that does not appear to be the case with the current state of the roster or the past two games. However, the ability to gloat that you were there when, over the bandwagon fans in your life, sounds nice, no? Plus it's better than anything else that you could do with a Saturday afternoon/evening, be real.
Mitch - Do you support your school? Yes? Okay, great. Go to the games. I know it is not great/fun to watch a mediocre product, but the team still needs support. If you have tickets/paid for season tickets, don't waste them. Go to the games! It's always darkest just before the dawn. (Sorry, I watched "The Dark Knight" this week and that quote just holds so much meaning right now). BUT, as the question states, if you win games, people tend to come on back.
Matejka - I think the answer is simpler than people would be willing to admit; just be competitive. Mizzou could end this season 3-9, but if the rest of these games are hard-fought and come down to at least the 4th quarter, I think you’ll start to see fans trickle back in. The numbers won’t be where the athletic department might want, but they’re sure to be better than the desert we’ll see this weekend.
switzy227 - Institute the Arthur Blank concessions strategy immediately with accompanying widespread advertisement.
jaeger - I like the cheaper concessions idea, but I think the real answer is beer.
AlaTiger - This isn't minor league baseball. There is no viable other way.
dcrockett17 - Thing with college ball is that most of the non-performance incentives to attend are already baked into initial ticket sales. The fan base is already yours. You don't have to win them. You just have to not lose them. I think this fan base could tolerate some losses, but we anticipated they'd be exciting shootouts. They've been boring punt fests. Once you violate expectations in a way that drives the partisans away, only one road leads back to the top of the mountain. Gotta win.
Sam - Better weather would help a lot honestly. Last weekend was brutally hot and the kick happened at the hottest part of the day. But in the end, the team has to play an entertaining style of football and win games. If they play awful and look awful losing, nobody is gonna turn out for that.
3. If the heat is on Barry Odom, it also has to be on Drew Lock, who still hasn't shown he can lead his team to a win against a good opponent. Auburn's as good a place as any to start: what does Lock have to do Saturday to get back in fans' good graces?
Bohkay - Complete passes and stop making really boneheaded throws that everyone knows is going to sink the team quick. Get back to basics, and take it one pass at a time.
Mitch - Drew Lock's seat should be hot. There's a lot of evidence that shows he struggles mightily against good teams. He needs to be the quarterback everyone expected him to be. You have seen the flashes and the talent; it just goes away anytime he is faced with adversity, and he goes back to the bad habits that make fans mad. Personally, I would love to see Lock go through his reads and progressions against Auburn. I see him bail out on the play too often when that first read isn't there. Go through the progressions and zip that ball in there like we all know you can. If he does that against Auburn, and plays well in the process, that will be a great start to righting the ship. Oh, and also, no interceptions. Please.
Matejka - For someone who just last week told a rival blog I thought Lock was as talented as any QB in the country, I’ve packed my things and am ready to get off the Drew Lock hype train. At this point in his career, Lock should be a steady, dependable player that keeps games from spiraling out of control. He doesn’t need to be perfect, but his interceptions shouldn’t come from obviously bad plays. At this point, he’s still doing the same things we would expect from a first-time starter. If he suddenly stops doing those things, I’ll stick around for a while longer.
switzy227 - I think he needs to make the types of plays that people associate with a winning QB. That may be a tough 5 yard scramble for a 1st down, a well-thrown deep ball, or some well-executed play-action. A lot of that is certainly on the play calling, but seeing him take possession of the offense would be great.
jaeger - Lock has to look like the QB we think he can be. He has to complete a competent number of passes and move the ball, which means that sideline passes that get gobbled up aren't going to do it. Hit downfield, or at least across the middle of the field.
AlaTiger - No stare downs leading to interceptions would be a nice start.
dcrockett17 - I've been as critical of Lock as basically anybody. Last year he was an inaccurate passer, period. He had some drops, but his throws were liable to end up anywhere: short, long, wide, whatever. He's been far from perfect this season, but improvements are obvious. You still get panic throws and stare downs. But he's mostly putting the ball where he wants. The drops on the other hand aren't improving. They are drive-killing.
One thing that has me pulling out my proverbial hair is that Huepel is a "We do what we do" coordinator. I respect that - if the team is actually good at the thing it professes to "do." What Mizzou professes to do is beat teams with perimeter talent. The fact of the matter is that there is little to suggest that Mizzou is competent at this. Frankly, the WRs just aren't that good. This has been aptly demonstrated against comparable opponents. I don't wanna hear about your talent when you've barely better than even odds to catch uncontested passes and are absolutely overmatched on contested passes. Moore isn't the only culprit, but that INT in the 4th quarter is about as bad a play as I've ever seen at the position.
By contrast, to date, Huepel is criminally underutilizing the TEs and RBs in the passing game. I cannot understand why the WR unit remains the absolute centerpiece of the offense when the TEs convert and all the backs catch. I'm just saying that a more balanced attack that doesn't allow defenses to force the passing game entirely out of the middle of the field to outside the numbers would be most welcome. (To be clear, I saw that balance from Huepel at both OU and USU.)
Sam - Lock has all the talent and can make all the throws but he seems to rarely come up with the right play at the right time. He has to find a way to lead extended drives and make plays when there aren't plays to be made. To be elite you have to be able to carry a team and make things work. He hasn't shown he can do that yet.
4. Pick 'em!
Bohkay - Mizzou loses again, 35 - 10 Auburn and we just can't move through this slow march to November fast enough.
Mitch - When I was thinking about the score, I thought about the Monstars in Space Jam when they are running the score up and it flips to the scoreboard being a little one-sided. BUT, since I have to pick a score, I'll go with Auburn 31 Mizzou 14, and that pains me to write.
Matejka - I don’t think Mizzou will play as poorly as these past two weeks, and Auburn is in a weirdly vulnerable spot right now. However, they’re also too good to be Mizzou’s pick-me-up. Auburn 30, Mizzou 13
switzy227 - Auburn big. Let's say 38-14.
jaeger - I've never seen a Mizzou team look as dejected and disconnected as this one did on Saturday. I'll believe they're rebounding when it happens, and Auburn, despite a little roster upheaval, is probably too good to rebound against. 27-3 Auburn.
AlaTiger - Pain
dcrockett17 - I don't predict, but given the nature of the struggles vs MoSt it's hard to be optimistic about the chances vs the fighting Mahlzans.
Hopeful? Definitely. Optimistic? Nuh uh.
Sam - Bruce Pearl has taken the recruiting to a new level but the Tigers don't defend, I'd expect a high scoring affair. I'm a homer so I'll take Mizzou in a barnburner 94-88.