Ah Missouri, or Mizzou to the fans. You are to the SEC what the Tennessee Titans are to the NFL, with slightly more success. You're the team that every forgets when listing teams, then goes, "Oh yeah, and Missouri I guess." And yet, you've won the SEC East twice, which is both an achievement for the school, and a horrific indictment of that half of the conference. But none of that matters if Mizzou can pull off the ultimate upset one day, and win the SEC outright. South Carolina has never done it. Arkansas, Vandy, and A&M have never done it. Hell, in the few years you've been here you already have more East titles than Kentucky, Vandy, and South Carolina have had EVER. So when I kid you, Mizzou, know I do it with more respect than I have for any of those other schools.
Last year was a bad year for Missouri by almost any standard. They finished 5-7 overall, missing out on a bowl game, and went 1-7 in the conference. That's a precipitous fall from grace considering they were playing in the Georgia Dome for the title in years prior. Well for one thing, the leading QB Maty Mauk got suspended mid-season, and then subsequently dismissed from the team after the season was over. Considering that Mauk had 4000 yards and was a big part of the two prior East titles, that was a killer blow. Freshman Drew Lock attempted to step in mid-season against South Carolina, and did well to lead them to a victory. Then everyone remember that South Carolina was the worst team in the league. For the rest of Lock's starts, he got smashed in the face losing everything except a token victory against BYU.
Thankfully, Missouri is one of the few programs where I don't have to talk about a QB controversy. There's a 95% chance that now sophomore Drew Lock starts the season. I would expect growth this season out of Lock, who was sort of thrown into the deep end last year with no real safety net. As a result, he looked out of sorts, threw 8 picks to 4 TDs, and completed less than 50% of his passes. Will Lock get better? Honestly, if he got worse he'd get benched mid-year. I can't tell how much of Lock's problems were just freshman jitters, and how much of it is simply a lack of talent. However, when you can't score more than 3 points on Vandy? I have serious questions about your ability to lead a team at all. Lock will have a ton to prove in 2016 if Missouri wants to ride behind him as their lead QB.
In the skills department, Ish Witter and Russell Hansbrough were the two leaders in rushing yards last season and while Witter will return for this season, Hansbrough is gone to the NFL. The weird thing about Missouri's offense is that despite the QB issues, they don't run a lot. Their run/pass split was almost 50/50 with about a 20 play difference in favor of the rush. And with RB Trevon Walters getting dismissed from the team, it's basically Ish and a bunch of other dudes. Oh but wait, don't forget about graduate and JUCO transfers this year like Alex Ross, who will be looking to get some reps at RB as well. They are doing everything they can to overhaul this offense because it was so bad in 2015.
On the WR side nobody had a great year because Locke was the QB, but even so J'Mon Moore, Nate Brown, and Wesley Leftwich were the top targets. Leftwich went to the NFL but didn't get drafted to my knowledge. That leaves the WR duties to leaders Moore and Brown, who should provide a good 1-2 punch is Lock can improve his accuracy, along with graduate transfer Chris Black from Alabama.
The real strength of Missouri was their defense last year. In fact, Mizzou was 5th in the nation in points allowed, which should really highlight exactly how horrific their offense was. If Missouri could have scored on average 21 points a game? They probably have a 10 win season. Instead, they were the 2nd worst offense in America at 127th on the year. So what happened to all the defensive talent from 2015?
Mizzou lost All SEC Linebacker Kentrell Brothers to the NFL, who totalled the most tackles in all of FBS with 152 on the season, along with their starting guard and center from the offensive line. That means most of the defensive talent from Missouri is still intact for 2016, which should scare the hell out of any offense. Also, due to their head coach retiring now their former defensive coordinator Barry Odom to run the program. If anything, I expect the defense to get stronger.
Then there's the offensive line. Good lord the line. They graduated or promoted everybody of consequence to the NFL, and there's absolutely no real experience anywhere on this offensive line. The year could be a complete mess in the trenches specifically due to this issue. I always say the SEC is won in the trenches, and if that's truly the case Mizzouri will be stellar on defense again, and then destroyed on offense as they struggle to get into field goal range.
Honestly, besides the defense there are WAY too many questions on this Missouri team. They don't know if they have a real QB, they don't know anything about their offensive line, and they are trying to supplement their skill positions with transfer players. It's all setting up for a massive disappointment unless a lot of younger players really step it up and overperform, or the defense turns into the 2015 Broncos and scores 14 points a game off turnovers. It might happen. It probably won't. But I do think they can squeeze out a bowl eligible season thanks to a favorable schedule.
MISSOURI PREDICTION: 6-6
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