COMPETING IN THE SEC: NOW THE FUN BEGINS FOR MIZZOU

For University of Missouri football fans, the future is now.

A year ago the gauntlet to look elsewhere for the university to contend athletically was thrown down when the University of Texas made noises about getting out of the Big 12.  Naturally, when the Longhorns start the rumor mill, everyone else in the Big 12 conference gets nervous because Texas wields a mighty powerful stick with the national TV networks.

After seeing Colorado and Nebraska bail, the Big 12 pieced together a fragile alliance with its remaining members until Texas and, to an extent, Oklahoma made noises about seeking greener pastures.  While those two universities were mollified with subsequent peace offerings, Mizzou and Texas A&M had seen and heard enough.  They bolted for the Southeastern Conference, with league play scheduled to begin in 2012.

Guess what?  That time is now upon us, and Mizzou finds itself squaring off Saturday night against the University of Georgia.  Welcome to a particularly fierce and legendary conference, Tigers.

Mizzou takes the field on Saturday against one of several SEC teams already ranked in the Top 25 in the Associated Press college football poll.  The list is sobering:  Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Auburn on the list or nearby.  Of course, Missouri and Texas A&M are given a few sympathy votes as well, but can the Tigers really compete on the gridiron with so many fearsome foes?

Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel wisely has refrained from making many major comments about how the Tigers will fare in the SEC this year, customarily focusing on one game at a time.  That’s both prudent and understandable, as he navigates the uncertain turbulence that awaits Mizzou in this formidable situation.

Realistically, what can Mizzou hope to do this season?  A final slate of 7-5, I think, would mark a successful debut for the Tigers in this vaunted valley of college football titans.  Already with a home field victory against Southeast Louisiana, the Tigers hopefully can defeat Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Kentucky at Faurot Field in Columbia.  Their chances of victory on their home turf against Alabama, Georgia and Arizona State are likely more problematic.

Likewise, on the road one would help they can defeat the University of Central Florida and perhaps Tennessee or Texas A&M.  It might be more of a stretch to snare a win against Florida or South Carolina on their home turf, though.

So, a record of 7-5 seems reachable, and maybe the Tigers can even get beyond that.  Or, going the other way, they could end up with a final slate of something like 4-8 or worse.  Ouch!

All the advance hoopla is finished, though, and all the expectations are now coming face to face with reality.  Let the conference games begin!

Evan Makovsky
HOST, THE E-MAK SHOW
Weekdays 6AM-9AM Central
KXFN 1380 AM St. Louis, MO

http://twitter.com/followemak
www.emakshow.com
www.sportsradio1380.com

"Like" the E-Mak Show on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-E-Mak-Show/144217308970555