Mizzou football 2010

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Gabbert's kinda unique in that his performance on the field does pretty much nothing to move his draft stock in either direction because of the spread. Teams have said they didn't even bother looking at Daniel's college tape when they were evaluating him. Blaine obviously has all the tools to be a great NFL QB, but I have no idea how he's viewed by the league at this point. It was something most fans were pretty cognizant of prior to the season, and like many I think his draft status is more closely tied to the NFL CBA than anything.

[JL21]

The dude has a cannon, he's accurate, he's fast. Sorry, Daniel couldn't touch Gabbert in anything but charisma and leadership.

And yards per game and completion percentage and QB rating and... While we're on the topic of Gabbert's speed, Daniel racked up a boatload more yard with his legs as well. I think you've got it flipped around. Other than raw talent, Gabbert can't touch Daniel in anything. Or at least, he hasn't to date. That's no knock on the guy. All I'm basically saying is that he's not quite as good at the college level as the best player in Mizzou football history.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Not sure if the Big XII is automatically the 2nd best conference. Big Ten and Pac 10 are right there with them.

Meh. I don't think there's a big enough difference between the three to overcome the lack of a championship game at the end. Even if the Big X is a little better, the fact that MI State won't be forced to go play OSU/Wisconsin again is a pretty big differece from Mizzou having to go play OU again.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Yep, Brad Smith was a stud.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Sagarin has the conferences ranked thusly so far:

Pac-10 - 81.95
Big 12 - 79.24
SEC - 78.12
Big 10 - 76.28

[Hungary Jack]

Not sure if the Big XII is automatically the 2nd best conference. Big Ten and Pac 10 are right there with them.

Yeah. Illinois gave Missouri all they wanted, and they are an also-ran in the Big Ten. I realize that comparison is not conclusive by a long stretch. But I think it shows that the Big Ten is at least right there with the Big XII.

I wouldn't sell Illinois short. They won't win the B10, but they hung in against Ohio State and MSU with a freshman QB. Their defense is quite good, they can run, and have had very good special teams play. They have a very good shot at going 6-2 in the B10 and going to a major bowl.

Oh, I'm not selling them short. I think they're a very good team. But even at that, they will finish somewhere near the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

I just think it's difficult to say conclusively that one conference is better than another at this point.

IL has remaining conference games with Purdue, at Michigan, Minnesota, and Northwestern (at Wrigley!). They could very well go 6-2 in the B10 (though I hope Northwestern beats them) and it shouldn't surprise anyone.

But to your point, I'd have to put OSU, MSU, I-o-uh, and Wisky ahead of IL right now.

[Socnorb11]

Not sure if the Big XII is automatically the 2nd best conference. Big Ten and Pac 10 are right there with them.

Meh. I don't think there's a big enough difference between the three to overcome the lack of a championship game at the end. Even if the Big X is a little better, the fact that MI State won't be forced to go play OSU/Wisconsin again is a pretty big differece from Mizzou having to go play OU again.

I agree that playing a conference championship game is an advantage to the Big XII winner.

I think Popeye and I were only disputing your statement that it is a fact that the SEC and Big XII are the best conferences. An argument could be made for other conferences (and already has been made). That may be your opinion, but that doesn't make it a factual statement.

[Socnorb11]

IL has remaining conference games with Purdue, at Michigan, Minnesota, and Northwestern (at Wrigley!). They could very well go 6-2 in the B10 (though I hope Northwestern beats them) and it shouldn't surprise anyone.

But to your point, I'd have to put OSU, MSU, I-o-uh, and Wisky ahead of IL right now.

I also think OSU, MSU, Iowa, and Wisconsin will end up at the top of the division. Michigan, Illinois, and Northwestern are at the next level. Indiana, Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota are tick below that level, in my opinion.

So Illinois looks middle-of-the-pack. But we'll see how it unfolds.

[ThatGuy]

It's just incredible to me (and I know I'm like the millionth person to talk about this) that we can throw things like the Big XII championship game and a BCS bowl game around with straight faces with regards to Mizzou's football team. I mean, I remember watching Texas throttle Mizzou in Columbia in 2005 (final score of 51-20), I remember worrying about playing Colorado in Boulder because Mizzou could never win there, I remember the huge losing streak against Nebraska (and making fun of my Cornhusker friends when it was broken), and I remember just rooting for Mizzou to make it to ANY bowl game at all. Gary Pinkel has had his ups and downs, and I know he probably still has a ton of critics, but the program has basically been transformed under his watch. I saw some Oklahoma fans making fun of Missouri fans because the win on Saturday was one of the biggest in program history, but this is the kind of stuff that's necessary to transition from being a perennial fringe player to a perennial contender. Heck, I saw Texas fans salivating over the "well-oiled machine" that is Mizzou's offense, wishing that their team could be coached in a similar fashion. How crazy is that? I almost can't believe that the team I've watched with trepidation and a great deal of pain for almost my entire life has become a team that is envied and admired by the college football greats. Granted, if they lose to Nebraska on Saturday, that will throw a pretty big wrench in the season, but comparing the Mizzou of today to the Mizzou of five years ago is like comparing apples and oranges at this point. It's not a sure thing that this success will be sustained, but I give major props to Pinkel and his staff for helping to shatter the glass ceiling that has hovered above the football program for a long time. It's great to see the Tigers going places they've never been, and it's been a ton of fun to watch.

[/waxing philosophical]

Can't wait for this weekend.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Not sure if the Big XII is automatically the 2nd best conference. Big Ten and Pac 10 are right there with them.

Meh. I don't think there's a big enough difference between the three to overcome the lack of a championship game at the end. Even if the Big X is a little better, the fact that MI State won't be forced to go play OSU/Wisconsin again is a pretty big differece from Mizzou having to go play OU again.

I agree that playing a conference championship game is an advantage to the Big XII winner.

I think Popeye and I were only disputing your statement that it is a fact that the SEC and Big XII are the best conferences. An argument could be made for other conferences (and already has been made). That may be your opinion, but that doesn't make it a factual statement.

I don't think saying the SEC is best is a far fetched opinion. The BigXII, BigX and PacX are all debateable though, I agree. Regardless, even if the BigX is just a little tougher than the BigXII, the fact that the champion, if undefeated, will have to play the 2nd best team twice sets it apart. Of course everyone can argue til their blue in the face, but the way it's set up the champ game in the Big XII and SEC set the winners apart and even 1 loss teams (like Alabama if that's the case) will be put ahead of no loss teams like boise and TCU. And, that's the way it should be, imo. I don't know how you can argue that the conference that has produced the champion the last 4 years hasn't proven they deserve a 1-loss team in there.