When the Defense Roars: Missouri Tigers Dynasty

[Kcordloh]

Missouri nabs #12 recruiting class

The Missouri Tigers topped off their 12-1 2012 football season where they finished #2 in the nation on the final coaches and AP polls with a successful recruitment period.

The Tigers signed one five star recruit, eight four stars, eight three stars, and they picked up four two stars they might be sleeper superstars.

The key offensive signing is Matthew Smith, a 6'4 207lb 5* WR from Grove City Ohio. He is not super good at anything, but solid at everything with really good hands.

The key defensive signing is 4* Mike Lawrence from Hiawatha Kansas. The 6'7 279lb DT is quick off the line and excellence at tackling and shedding blocks. His pursuit and speed is lacking though.

[Kcordloh]

Big East most likely to lose AQ bid after 2013 season

The Big East is likely to lose their AQ status after the 2013 season ends, due to poor performance in numbers and rankings. Thanks to the addition of Houston and Tulsa, the MWC has moved into a firm #6 position in conference rank, slightly behind the ACC and way ahead of the Big East.

The Big East must hope for a banner year, possibly even a national championship, in order to keep their AQ bid.

[Kcordloh]

Tigers chosen as #1 in pre-season Coaches Poll

For the first time ever, the #1 choice in the pre-season coaches poll is the Missouri Tigers.

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Aug 1, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	--	Missouri	0	0
2	--	Michigan	0	0
3	--	Illinois	0	0
4	--	LSU	0	0
5	--	Georgia	0	0
6	--	Notre Dame	0	0
7	--	Oregon	0	0
8	--	Oregon State	0	0
9	--	Auburn	0	0
10	--	Utah	0	0
11	--	Boise State	0	0
12	--	Iowa	0	0
13	--	Virginia Tech	0	0
14	--	Kansas	0	0
15	--	TCU	0	0
16	--	Oklahoma State	0	0
17	--	UCF	0	0
18	--	Texas Tech	0	0
19	--	Penn State	0	0
20	--	Wisconsin	0	0
21	--	Oklahoma	0	0
22	--	Stanford	0	0
23	--	NC State	0	0
24	--	USC	0	0
25	--	Florida State	0	0

[Kcordloh]

Missouri Tigers will be tested early and often

Missouri Tigers 2013 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Aug 24	at #5 Georgia	Won, 37-14
Aug 31	at Arkansas	Won, 24-23
Sep 7	vs #11 Boise State	Won, 49-28
Sep 21	at #2 Michigan	Won, 38-7
Sep 28	vs Texas	Won, 23-20 4OT
Oct 19	vs #16 Oklahoma State	Won, 9-7
Oct 26	vs #21 Oklahoma	Won, 42-0
Nov 2	vs Baylor	Won, 21-10
Nov 9	at Iowa State	Won, 45-7
Nov 16	at Kansas State	Won, 38-35
Nov 23	at #14 Kansas	Lost, 31-28
Nov 30	vs #18 Texas Tech	Won, 82-21

With the schedule the Missouri Tigers have they will know if they are for real or not by the end of September. They open with four very tough games, against two top 5 teams and one potentially top 10 team. Arkansas is also very tough, this will be a rough stretch.

Already people are eying August 24th and September 21st as resume dates for someone to show why they should be playing for the crystal football next January.

[Kcordloh]

Thank you for the kind words. It was a good game, but I cannot believe how well the Tigers handled the Ducks. It was a bad, or good year depending on view point, to choose to play Georgia and Michigan. #2 and #5! Plus the Boise game... Not to mention pre-season I have 4 ranked conference opponents, and 2 more are in the top 35.

I will have schedule analysis posted sometime this weekend, then it's off for my national title I hope!

[Kcordloh]

Breaking down the Missouri Tigers schedule

In 2011 the Missouri Tigers went 12-0 in the regular season but were not chosen to participate in the BCS National Championship due to a "weaker" schedule then the Big 10 and Pac-12 champions.

In 2012 the Missouri Tigers went 11-1 in the regular season, but were overlooked as 12-1 Illinois was chosen to face undefeated Boise State for the national championship instead. Again the reason was scheduling, Missouri had a weaker schedule and is from a weaker conference.

Enter 2013. The Tigers are playing 7 ranked opponents. They have the most difficult schedule in the nation, and are playing at Georgia and at Michigan, both top 5 teams in the nation in rankings, and both really difficult places to win at.

Biggest Test:
Opening the season at #5 Georgia is going to give the Tigers a really good baseline. The Bulldogs are coming off a fairly successful season, and have a lot of returning starters. #2 Michigan might be a little better, but this is definitely the opening test.

Gut-check game:
At #2 Michigan. If Missouri and Michigan are both still undefeated it will be the first time #1 has played #2 in the regular season since 2007. If you include conference championships it has been since 2009 when #1 Florida and #2 Alabama played for the SEC Title.
The Wolverines are back, and the road to the national championship is going through Ann Arbor this year. If Missouri loses early but wins this game it will be their ticket back in.

Most difficult stretch:
How about the entire year? Even if Missouri was unranked, with this schedule if they go 12-0 they are going to the national championship, they have to.

Thanks to key bye weeks, Missouri plays difficult stretches but not long unbreakable ones. The most difficult has to be at #5 Georgia, at Arkansas, and hosting #11 Boise State. Athens and Fayetteville are always hostile and the Broncos have a habit of ruining the party for teams they go visit at the start of the year.

Trap game/s
Iowa State went 1-11 last year. If the Tigers roll into Ames 8-0 and #1 in the nation, odds are they won't be taking the Cyclones seriously. Odds are the Cyclones won't pull it off, but remember last year where they were one minute away from winning the game.

Going to Waco, TX is never easy. Especially when Baylor is projected 7th in the Big XII and the Tigers are projected to go to the BCS National Championship. The Bears will be playing hard this year, look for them to torch the Tigers secondary and it could be the lone blemish on the Tigers resume in 2013

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview | August 24, 2013
	@
#1 Missouri Tigers (0-0, Away)		#5 Georgia Bulldogs (0-0, Home)
Game Notes The Missouri Tigers have been one of the most consistently over-looked football teams the last five years. The Georgia Bulldogs are ranked #5 in the nation, and are one solid win away from being #1 in the nation. If the Bulldogs go undefeated they will play for the national title, an undefeated SEC Champion still carries a lot of weight in college football. The Tigers are in a year of change defensively and offensive. James Franklin's last season could be his best, but the Tigers defense has lost some key players. the depth chart has yet to be published.

[Kcordloh]

Tigers Depth Chart announced. A lot of youth starting

Missouri Tigers Depth Chart - 2013
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	L'Damian Washington (SR/RS)	Jimmy Thomas (FR/RS)	Wes Leftwich (SO/RS)
TE	Eric Waters (SR)	Sean Smith (SO)	William Carter (FR/RS)
LT	Michael Boddie (JR)	Steve McNamara (SO)	Nick Demian (JR/RS)
LG	Max Copeland (SR/RS)	Justin Britt (SR/RS)	Nick Demian (JR/RS)
C	Mitch Morse (JR/RS)	Justin Britt (SR/RS)	Nick Demian (JR/RS)
RG	Mark Hill (SR/RS)	Nick Demian (JR/RS)	Justin Britt (SR/RS)
RT	Bobby Wade (SO)	George Williams (SO)	Taylor Chappell (JR)
WR	Marcus Lucas (SR)	Matthew Smith (FR)
QB	James Franklin (SR)	Ashton Glaser (SR/RS)	E. Torres (FR)
FB	Eric Morrison (SO)	Ben Mays (FR/RS)
HB	Henry Josey (SR)	Greg White (SR/RS)	David Steele (FR)
Base 3-3-5 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Larry Harris (SO)	Kony Ealy (JR/RS)	Michael Sam (SR/RS)
NT	Gerrard Johnson (SO/RS)	George White (SR)	Marques Smith (FR/RS)	Greg Carter (SO)
RDE	Brayden Burnett (SR/RS)	Kony Ealy (JR/RS)	Michael Sam (SR/RS)
LOLB	Darvin Ruise (JR/RS)	Jayson George (FR)	Brandon Durrant (SO/RS)
MLB	Matt Wilson (SO)	Darren Mackey (FR/RS)	Greg Nelson (SO)	Jayson George (FR)
ROLB	Andrew Wilson (SR/RS)	Michael Brennan (JR/RS)	Jayson George (FR)
CB	D.J. Washington (SO)	Cortland Browning (SO/RS)
SS	Ben Moore (SO)	Jeremy Vincent (FR/RS)	Luke Walters (FR)
FS	Tavon Bolden (SR)	Matt White (SO/RS)	Ian Simon (SO/RS)
SS	Jeremy Vincent (FR/RS)	Luke Walters (FR)
CB	Corey Graham (SO)	Carl Jones (FR)	Andy Roach (FR)
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Chris O'Connor (SO)	Ray Woods (FR)
P	Ray Woods (FR)	Chris O'Connor (SO)

With the depth chart announced all anyone can notice is all the youth playing key positions. If the Tigers are halfway decent on defense this year they will truly be unstoppable in 2014/2015..


The #5 Georgia Bulldogs are waiting with open arms!