SEC Nation is coming to Columbia (the west one) for Saturday’s Mizzou-South Carolina game

I’ve got a rundown of Missouri’s Saturday offensive exploits coming up later in the day, but for now, here are five other subplots from both last Saturday and this coming Saturday to note:

1. Stec’s bittersweet homecoming

Steckel mentioned his displeasure with his team’s fundamentals on defense, but he seemed to forget about that dissatisfaction each time he squeezed an old friends hand after the game.

That was most evident when he shared a long embrace with cheer coach Suzy Thompson.

His exit from Faurot Field proved Saturday’s game was more than a homecoming for Steckel.

It was a family reunion.

“It is amazing how this game gives you relationships forever,” Steckel said. “Just to have the players hug you and tell you they love you, and I love the hell out of them, it means the world to me.”

2. 2007

The Tigers from that breakthrough squad, who won the program’s first conference division title since 1969, enjoyed dinner together with former coach Gary Pinkel on Friday.

“I told all those guys last night that I don’t know if they understand the impact they had on Mizzou football,” Pinkel said. “... That set the stage for the future.”

Not going to lie: I felt like the 2007 tribute was pretty rushed, and that was frustrating. They had to speed through it because both bands were playing at halftime, but that was a massive missed opportunity for a series of loud ovations.

3. Harvey

The plan to fly the flag was set in motion early in the week. As teams and athletic programs have spent the previous several days to support the flooding victims, a Mizzou fan on a popular message board site brought up the idea. Gabe DeArmond, who runs the PowerMizzou.com message board where the post was originated, forwarded the idea to Mizzou Athletics. Coach Odom heard the idea and thought it was a great way to spread awareness. Mizzou SID Chad Moller then reached out to the fan, who wishes to remain anonymous, graciously purchased and donated the Texas flags to Mizzou. Moller then worked with cheer coach Suzy Thompson to secure the flag on a pole, and the rest is history as Moore took the field to a thunderous applause from the Memorial Stadium crowd.

4. Mizzou Network highlights and interviews

5. SEC Nation is coming to town

The Mizzou Football program and local community will be front and center next week on the SEC Network as its popular traveling pregame show – SEC Nation – will set up shop in Columbia, Mo., next week to feature Mizzou's Sept. 9 game against South Carolina.

The show will originate from Mizzou's scenic Francis Quadrangle on the University of Missouri campus, beginning at 9 a.m. (central time) Saturday. Fans are encouraged to come out and show their support for Mizzou.

SEC Nation is in its fourth season, and will be making its third appearance at Mizzou, after previous appearances in 2014 (vs. Kentucky) and 2015 (vs. Mississippi State). Laura Rutledge hosts the show, navigating the Saturday morning conversations with analysts Tim Tebow, Marcus Spears and Paul Finebaum, along with reporter Lauren Sisler.

Can’t say I’ve watched even one second of this show, but they seem to be trying pretty hard to make it a fun, engaging experience. And it does further emphasize just how big this Saturday’s game really is for Mizzou’s 2017 campaign.

More Links:

• Well, considering he RT’d this himself, I’m guessing it’s true: Ben Askren will retire from MMA fighting after a November title defense.

• Eight top-10 finishes? Yeah, that’ll do, Mizzou Cross Country.
• It was another pretty blah weekend for a young Mizzou Volleyball team. The Tigers needed four sets to beat Sacramento State to start the Boise State Invitational, then stole a set before succumbing to No. 10 BYU. And on Saturday against host BSU, the Tigers took a sweep.
• Meanwhile, it was an unsuccessful, if not incredibly discouraging weekend for Mizzou Soccer. The Tigers went 0-2, but the first loss was a competitive, physical, 2-0 home loss to defending national champion USC. The second was a 2-1 overtime loss at TCU. Mizzou is 2-3 as it embarks on a rugged early schedule, but if the Tigers maintain their confidence, the schedule should allow for some wins soon. At least, after the coming trip to Northwestern.

• Mizzou Men’s Golf is looking for its sixth straight Turning Stone-Tiger Intercollegiate title. Let’s just say that building a 40-stroke lead after day one is a pretty good way to go about that.
• Mizzou Wrestling is out of season right now, but the Tigers are finding a pretty good way to occupy their time: