TrueMizzou

If the sideline and off-the-field issues had been absent, would you have been okay with Bo keeping his job based on the team's performance? Conversely, if Bo was contending for conference and national titles, would those issues have mattered to you? Good luck in your search... I and a lot of other Missouri/Big-8 fans will be watching with keen interest. I wouldn't mind seeing Nebraska wreck the Big-10. I like the people and I like your state. TrueMizzou

Yes, Mizzou has won the East again. I don't know what implications that might have for Nebraska in the Big 10, but here's my take on why it's turned out this way for Mizzou... The SEC is a good conference with several good teams and one really good team, Alabama. That said, it's not as good as the pundits say it is, and not nearly as good as SEC fans believe it is. On the flip side Mizzou is better than they thought it would be. MU's record has highlighted both these realities and it has provoked a lot of hatred and hostility among the old guard. They thought that by allowing MU to join the conference, they would get another Vandy, just with 6 million TV sets. The Indiana loss was awful, but it's worth noting that Marcus Golden was out for that game, and the Hoosiers still had their starting QB at the time (I think they're on their 2nd or 3rd stringer now, and have been for a while). The horrible IU everyone has seen the past few weeks isn't the one MU faced. The ugly truth is Mizzou looked past IU and got punked for it. Even if MU wins the SEC title, it's going to pay for that loss when bowl season rolls around, and that is appropriate. It was a terrible, terrible loss. The loss to Georgia was on Mauk. The kid threw six picks and our defense was gassed by the 3rd quarter. Mauk single-handedly lost that game. Painful lesson for him. Mizzou is competing in the SEC, but it's not doing it as a Big-12 team. It's doing it with an offense that favors the run, and betting that our defense will take us where we hope to go. Did any of you watch today's game? We started slow, but by the 3rd quarter our DL was in command and by the 4th quarter or OL was dominating. Remind you of anyone? Maybe Big-8 era NU? The main difference being you guys did that from the opening kickoff. Pinkel is getting better. Game day is his weak spot. Always has been, always will be. His genius lies in the system he has put in place to develop players and the metric he uses to recruit for it. I don't think it overlaps much with Rivals or the conventional ranking systems. He uses his own criteria and you can't argue with the results. By the time they're juniors and seniors, 2 and 3-star recruits are performing at 4 and 5-star level. In recent years many of them have gone on to the NFL. Pinkel also develops them between the ears. More than anything, this year's team has poise and is mentally tough. They just don't panic when things aren't going well. That was evident again tonight. Mizzou will never be Bama or ever field a team as dominant as the '95 Huskers, but it's on to something. I think our D gives us a puncher's chance in Atlanta, but we'll need to do everything else right. Anything can happen. That is why they play the games, and that's why I'm booking a trip to Atlanta. Best of luck to you going forward...

Well it's been four years since we last faced each other, and much has happened since then. I thought I would check in, share some of my thoughts on our SEC experience, and collect some of yours regarding the B1G. What do you think of it so far? Given the dynamics that existed in the Big-12, do you think leaving was the right move? Do you feel you're being accorded an appropriate amount of respect by the other B1G fan bases? What do you think of the football that's played there? And how does it compare to what we had in the Big-8 & Big-12? With respect to Mizzou, I'm largely ambivalent. While I'm thankful we were able to get away from the Texas cancer, I hate the fact it was necessary. The Longhorns were homeless, the Big-8 took them in, and they ended up burning down our house. If we only knew... I miss the Big-8 in a huge way, but also recognize there is no way it would survive in today's landscape of mega-conferences with billion-dollar TV contracts. It would have imploded or been taken apart sooner or later. I'm pleased to be in the SEC, but have been shocked at the hostility of many of their fans. Mizzou has never been a dominant power, and we likely never will be, so I have a difficult time understanding the hate and venom that gets thrown our way on places like SECRant. We're no threat to the Bamas and LSUs of the world. Strangely enough, a lot of it is based on the Yankee/Midwest/Northerner thing, and has very little to do with football. And Southerners wonder why the rest of the country think they're backward. At first we were thrilled to be in the SEC, and football-wise we still are. But a lot of my fellow Tiger fans are starting to see the dynamics of the situation for what they are: When Mizzou wins an SEC game, all it means is that the other team sucks, has injuries, etc. When Mizzou loses, it only confirms that we suck. Our home loss to Indiana was devastating in that regard (thank you Coach Pinkel). It's a lose-lose situation. Truth be told, I think the old guard SEC types are threatened by any success Mizzou has; it upsets the perception they have of themselves. Whatever. We're there, we're not going anywhere, and we're taking our share of the revenue. As we finish our third season in the conference, I believe that Mizzou is a little better than some of the bubbas thought we were, and that the SEC isn't as good as they like to think it is. I still think it's the best conference, but the distance between it and the others isn't that great. Michigan State would definitely challenge, and perhaps 'the' OSU if they consistently played the way they did Saturday night. MU's success thus far has helped to expose that fact (along with mind-numbing games like LSU-Bama - two anemic offenses battling solid defenses), and I take some pride in it. At any rate, we'll continue to take scalps when we can and hang them in our solidly Midwestern tipi. I'm not all embarrassed to say that I miss seeing you on our schedule. Yes there was hate, but it was hate borne of respect for a hard-hitting program supported by fans who know their football. For all their self-professed fanaticism, SEC fans seem to want to talk about everything BUT football. I wish their board was like this one. Here's hoping we meet in a bowl game one day. That would be awesome. Best of luck to you guys... TrueMizzou

Great game by your guys tonite. They had plenty of opportunities to give up but hung in there. Anybody who has a 28-point run in the 4th after going dry for the first 3 quarters deserves the W. Increased mental toughness was the biggest difference I saw in your team. Lots of guts shown in a hostile environment, under some very poor conditions. You're definitely a different team from last year. Congratulations. Oh... And cream KU.

Great game by your guys tonite. They had plenty of opportunities to give up but hung in there. Anybody who has a 28-point run in the 4th after going dry for the first 3 quarters deserves the W. Increased mental toughness was the biggest difference I saw in your team. Lots of guts shown in a hostile environment, under some very poor conditions. You're definitely a different team from last year. Congratulations. Oh... And cream KU.

Good luck fellas. This Mizzou fan will be watching here in Papillion and pulling for your boys. Make the Big 12 proud...

Living here in Nebraska, the 'other' high point of the sports calendar for me (apart from college football) is the College World Series. Man that is fun. It's like March Madness, the state fair, and the World Series all rolled into one, with a bunch of tanned coeds thrown in for good measure. I talk it up to every non-Nebraskan I meet. That said, the period from January to June is a bleak one...

Big 12 is now 1-1 without looking good in either game. I really thought the Pokes were going to put on a show. One thing I will say is that Zac Robinson is one tough son of a gun. He took a beating out there. All in all the game was a bummer though. I hope the rest of our teams can turn it up a notch (or 10)...

I was kind of digging the little chiquita above them and to their left (viewer's right). Low-cut shirt and some nice cleavage coupled with lots of jumping up and down. Play it on T-Vo...

Well it looks like my Tigers pulled a victory out of a very ugly, stomach-churning game in San Antonio. Northwestern's obviously a better team than a lot of people gave them credit for being; they looked downright uppity out there. As far as Mizzou is concerned, well, we all know what that reality is... But nevertheless, a win is a win is a win, so I'll take it. Time for OSU, KU (I'll have to hold my nose when I root for those guys), and BIG RED to take care of business these next few games. I like how you match up against the Tigers. Clemson has suffered from mental weakness this season, and that's an area where you've shown a lot of growth. I know I've busted on Pelini in the past, but he deserves all the credit for making that happen. A couple drawn-out, grinding drives matched by some physical D (a la the Osborne era), may be all that's required to make them close up shop. Whatever happens, I'll be pulling for you guys to bring it home for the Big 12. Go Huskers!!!

We can all drink to that. Go Big 12!!!

Husker Nation- Well I've just returned from the beatdown in KC and thought I should check in with my new 'friends.' If I'm going to razz you when times are good, then I have to be here when times are tough. Especially when times are tough. Here are my conclusions for this season: - Let's say the '95 Huskers were an 'A+' team. The '08 Tigers have shown themselves to be a 'C+/B-' team in a 'C' division. - Mental toughness is in short supply, on both sides of the ball (especially on D). Unfortunately, Daniel also suffers from it. An argument can be made in both directions as to whether or not he should bear an additional amount of responsibility for the damage it does, given that he's the QB. I think he does, especially when I consider his cocky disposition, but have met with some vehement opposition on the Post-Dispatch's Mizzou board. It doesn't bother me. As a Mizzou fan, I have no problem accepting reality as I see it, and that's the reality I see. - Gary Pinkel has grown our program and for that I am thankful. I'll never forget what it's like to be lost in the wilderness, nor will I ever think our school is too good for a 9-3 season. However if he wants to take the next step, an element of ruthlessness will need to be brought into play. This will involve benching players (even star players) who don't prepare/perform, firing defensive coordinators who fail miserably, and running up scores in pursuit of BCS rankings. For me the real point of interest during these next couple seasons will be the adjustments Pinkel chooses to make (or not make). Given his often stubborn nature, personal loyalty (not always a bad thing) and glacial, deliberative approach to things, I'm not feeling very optimistic. Whatever happens, I'll be there. I'll always be there. In closing, I think the drop-off from this season to next may not be as great as I thought it might be. I say that not because we have a bumper crop of great new starters waiting in the wings (although I gotta admit I'm absolutely dying to see what Gabbert will do once he gets the baton), but because this year's team didn't come anywhere close to being what I thought it could be. Losing isn't by any means an unforgivable offense, but underachieving is. Especially when it results from lack of heart and/or focus. I really hoped that we'd do a better job of representing the North. Maybe next year. Maybe not. Good luck in your bowl game.

I think the pink ones are quite becoming...

I'm right here, getting ready for the Big 12 championship game. You remember what that is, don't you? I figured you would, knowing how much the past means to you. You can have it, I'd rather look to the future. I'm no bandwagon fan either. I've been going to Mizzou games since I was six, graduated from there, and live in BugeaterLand only because I'm here on military orders. I'm happy to serve you by the way. Oh, and one final thing: 52-17 Anything else?

*Yawn*