| 23 October 2009
Well, this is the one game that Mizzou fans have had circled as a 'Dammit. Who scheduled this one?' game. Do the Tigers have a shot? Yes, they do.
- Let's start this off saying that Texas is good. There is no way they aren't a top four team in any sort of poll. It will take a lot of breaks to go Mizzou's way.
- One of those breaks I'm talking about looks possible. Colt McCoy hasn't been Colt McCoy of '08. Shit, not even close. He's thrown 7 picks so far this year, and with a bum thumb on his throwing hand, this could affect the snap and throw. Sure, it'd be nice if Colt was sans thumb, but he's still got the chubby digit.
- Texas' running backs are beat up. Tre Newton hasn't played in their last two games with a concussion, and Vondrell McGee didn't play much with a blown up shoulder last week against Oklahoma.
- While on the subject of injuries, Will Ebner is back for Mizzou. Dude was all over the field against Nebraska, and then injured his knee. A little clean up surgery and he's back two weeks later. Crazy. I dare you to call him a puss.
- Mizzou won't be able to rely on the running game. Texas has the best front the Tigers have played all year. The OLine is going to have to play the game of their lives to even keep Blaine Gabbert from hitting the ground. DWash showed signs of breaking out against Okie State last week, but the Pokes line and backers aren't Texas. Comparing Okie State's D to Texas' is like comparing Totino's dollar pizzas to some Pizza Hut deep dish.
- Blaine Gabbert cannot make mistakes. Zero. We've shot ourselves in the foot time after time in the last couple of games. Against a Texas team, this can't happen. He can't even have a pass that could possibly be picked.
- Our wideouts do match up well. Blaine has to spread the ball around instead of kicking the tires on DaNario Alexander every pass. DA is a hell of a receiver, but he can't be the only one to get the ball. Hopefully somebody put Jared Perry's face on a milk carton because he's been missing the past few weeks in the passing game. Wes Kemp got a couple of looks last week as well. Both of them, plus Andrew Jones or Beau Brinkley at TE need the ball.
- Texas has the #1 scoring offense in the conference. Ouch. They are averaging 42 points a game. The good news is they only scored 16 against Oklahoma last week. Bad news: We aren't Oklahoma.
- Mizzou's D actually does well against the pass. They are going to have to with Jordan Shipley and Dan Buckner. Shipley has quietly made himself a contender for the stiff-arm trophy: 50 catches, 605yds, but only three to the house.
- If the Tiger D plays like they did for the first three quarters of the Nebraska game and the 2nd half of the Okie State game, the Tigers have a shot. If they don't, we are fucked. Can't go down by 24 in the first half again. I'll take only 9 points as they did in the 2nd half last week though.
- If I hear that damn "I've Been Working on the Railroad" Texas fight song, I'm going to punch a baby.
The Tigers have the talent to win this game. The Horns obviously have the experience and are a damn good team, but add in a bit of a home field advantage for the Tigers mixed with some solid talent, an upset could happen. I forget the exact numbers and I'm as lazy as you are, but Peter Bean from Burnt Orange Nation (Texas site) threw out a stat last year about Texas not losing after the Red River Rivalry in x-amount of years, and 'x' was a pretty large number. Just a strange stat. Let's be honest- the Horns should win this one. But, if everything goes right for the Tigers (fumbles, picks, not killing ourselves), Mizzou will have a shot. 28-27 Mizzou wins if everything goes their way. We need solid play calling, which means THROW THE DAMN BALL. Get DWash involved in the passing game. Nobody will be able to run for the Tigers against the Horns. Capitalize on Texas mistakes and punts as well.
I was there for the '05 game where Mizzou played #2 ranked Texas with a far suckier team than they have now. The Tigers ran with them, and actually had the lead for awhile. A missed XP by Adam Crossett was right in front of Sleez and I, and it was over...and we were still winning. Vince Young had something like a 50yd run on the next drive, and they won the BCS Title. The '09 edition of the Tigers can't fuck up. That is the bottom line.
Watch the game HERE, listen HERE, or hit Rock M Nation's live thread HERE.
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