Stewart Mandel took his shot at predicting the SEC standings for the 2024. It is not so much that he poor mouthed the Missouri Tigers, he basically ignored their existence. Here is a link to the story ... https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5698922/2024/08/14/sec-college-football-standings-predictions/

Not digging too deep into the mind of Stewy, but I would assume that he gives Missouri the nod in the following games ... Murray State, Buffalo, Vanderbilt, UMass, Arkansas, Mississippi State. Then figures Missouri only wins two of the remaining six games against Boston College, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina. From there I would guess that South Carolina could be counted as a win as will Boston College. Leaving Missouri with losses to Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

As the saying goes ... that's why they play the games.

It is that time of the year again! Welcome to the 2024 season of the NCAA Top 25 Survivor Pool.

This year there are early games on August 24th with Florida State and SMU and a late game 1 with FSU on Monday the 2nd. None of those games are listed and obviously not pickable. The first week we will be using the CBS preseason top 25, AP after that. Good luck!

Survivor Pool Champions:
2015- @mizzouboy714
2016- @Zeus0331
2017- @TigerScott2369
2018- @Mizzou1998
2019- @cash register
2020-Covid
2021- @howard roarke
2022- @tigrman4
2023- @tsmbt

Rules:

1. No edits or picks will be accepted after Thursday August 29th at 7 PM. A late pick or edit past the deadline and you will be eliminated. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. Have to pick against the spread (ATS).
3. This will be top 25 games only. Meaning it has to feature a game with a top 25 team, but you may pick either team against the spread.
4. I will post the lines you must pick against. If the line changes, it does not matter. You are picking against the original lines I post and they will not change once posted (unless I make an obvious error of course. In which case, I will tag you as soon as possible letting you know the line has changed).
5. A push = survive.
6. Feel free to ride the same team all year. No restrictions on how many times you may choose a team.
7. Every week I'll post the survivors and who got eliminated.

Tiebreaker Rules
1. If all remaining survivors make a bad pick, the person with the closest pick wins.
2. If 2 or more people share the closest pick, those people will move on as survivors.

Lines:
#14 Clemson at #1 Georgia (-13.5)
Akron at #2 Ohio State (-50.5)
Idaho at #3 Oregon (-43.5)
Colorado State at #4 Texas (-35.5)
Western Kentucky at #5 Alabama (-31.5)
Furman at #6 Ole Miss (-42.5)
#8 Notre Dame (-4.5) at #23 Texas A&M
#9 Penn State (-9.5) at West Virginia
USC at #10 LSU (-6.5)
Fresno State at #12 Michigan (-22)
Temple at #13 Oklahoma (-41.5)
New Mexico at #15 Arizona (-30.5)
Chattanooga at #16 Tennessee (-30.5)
#17 Miami (-2.5) at Florida
Weber State at #18 Washington (-28)
Houston Christion at #22 SMU (-27.5)
W Carolina at #24 NC State (-41.5)
South Dakota St at #25 Oklahoma State (-9)

Not too bad...

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Not a good night for Matt Zollers

$500 for parking pass.

2-0 Spartans with two turnovers in the 1st quarter against Tom Herman and Florida Atlantic. I am watching prescription-strength Big Ten football unfold right now.

I assume OU is gliding to an easy win. Joe C finally gets his evening home game, good for him.

The TCU-Stanford kickoff must be the latest an ACC team has had to date.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri Department of Athletics has extended the contract of Tigers head softball coach Larissa Anderson through 2028, Director of Athletics Laird Veatch announced Friday.

"We are extremely pleased to extend Larissa Anderson's contract as the leader of our softball program," Veatch said. "Under her guidance, our team has consistently demonstrated excellence on the field and in the classroom. Larissa embodies values we hold dear at Mizzou, including passion, integrity and a relentless drive for success. We are confident that with her continued leadership, Mizzou Softball will reach even greater heights in the years to come."

"I am thrilled to accept this contract extension through 2028," Anderson said. "I am deeply grateful to President Choi, Athletics Director Laird Veatch, and Deputy AD Marcy Girton for the continued belief in and support of our program.

"This commitment reflects my deep belief in the direction of our program and the incredible potential of our players. Together, we're building something special, and I'm excited to continue this journey with our team."

Anderson most recently led the Tigers to a top-10 finish, an NCAA Super Regional appearance and the team's second Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship appearance in three seasons. The Tigers totaled 48 wins in 2024, their highest total in the program's SEC era and fourth-most in program history.

Entering her seventh season at the helm of Mizzou, Anderson has amassed a 217-115 record with five NCAA Regional appearances and a pair of Super Regionals. She has led the Tigers to 35 or more wins each season at Mizzou — in all but the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

"Leading Mizzou Softball has been an honor, and the love I have for what we've accomplished here is immeasurable," Anderson added. "The dedication of our players and the unwavering support from their families have been crucial to our success, and the vibrant atmosphere we've cultivated reflects our collective hard work. I take immense pride in our players, the culture we are fostering, and the exceptional environment we've built in our stadium."

A trio of Tigers earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region this past spring while 13 student-athletes secured Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for earning a 3.5 GPA and above.

Mizzou also led the country in 2024 with a total NCAA postseason attendance of 21,624. Overall, the Tigers ranked fourth nationally for average attendance at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

Column is on the front. @JHamilton23 is working on a full notebook and will have a grade card in the morning. I'll do ten thoughts and snap counts tomorrow. Some quick thoughts:

*Tonight wasn't good enough. Play like this 11 more times, you're going to end up 3-9ish. Fortunately, that doesn't matter. They played well enough to beat who they played tonight. But it's by far the worst team they'll see.

*What you wanted and what I wanted was proof that this team was better than last year. We didn't get it. That doesn't mean it isn't better than last year. It just means that we're going to have to wait longer to find out.

*Brady Cook is the QB. You can get pissed off about that if you want. you can think it's wrong. You can decide it means the season is over and Missouri can only win X number of games. Or you can get on board and say he's the best we got, let's ride and see where it takes us. You do whichever one you want to. But one of them is going to lead you to a lot of anger over the next three months. The second at least offers the chance you might enjoy the season.

*Luther Burden made NFL wide receiver plays tonight. Not gadget guy plays. Not toss him the ball and see if he can make tacklers look stupid plays. Legit go up and get the ball in traffic and take a hit catches. Best he's played and it's not close.

*Mekhi Miller is a starter on this team. There's not a doubt in my mind. It should happen next week.

*Snap counts should make me mad in this game because so many guys played. That's what should happen after FCS games. It didn't. Missouri didn't put this one away enough to play everyone on the roster. To not see the entire backup OL and the two young running backs, all the young wide receivers is a failure.

*Harrison Mevis is officially a concern. Every kick you have to watch because you don't have confidence anymore.

*I'd have Jordon Harris and Brett Norfleet as the top two tight ends all year and live with whatever growing pains that means.

*Dominant performance by the defense for the most part despite playing without a starting LB and starting safety. No complaints on that side of the ball other than a letdown once the game was decided.

*Marvin Burks is going to be a dude.

*Is Kristian Williams the best player on Missouri's defense?

*I'm going to say this about 10 more times this year: What happened tonight doesn't tell us what will happen the rest of the season. This could be the worst game Mizzou plays or it could be the best game. It probably won't be either. Projecting the rest of the season is an exercise in futility.

*Shoutout to @MizzouRah21 and Yuengling for an awesome tailgate and for sponsoring all our game day coverage.

*Shoutout to Dennis Gates for staying at the tailgate for an hour and I think talking to every single person there and taking a ton of pictures.

*1 down, hopefully 12 more to go. You're not going to get better coverage anywhere. Win, lose or draw, we appreciate you guys being here and sharing your thoughts. Tell a friend they're missing out if they don't join the fray.

…on the back of the QB’s helmets? Noticed it on Cook’s helmet and it’s on the back of both QB’s helmets in the OU/Temple game. Looks like it says “C2P”.

Instant Reaction

Live Show

Postgame video

[USER=57342]@JHamilton23[/USER] is working on a complete notebook. We'll have grades and snap counts some time tomorrow (hopefully in the morning)

QUICK THOUGHTS

Preseason week one is over. The good news for Mizzou is it counts as a regular season game. This game was over quickly. Probably at 7-0, almost certainly at 14-0 and definitely after Toriano Pride's pick six that made it 21-0. There was no world in which Murray State could compete.

I'm not going to overstate what it means but I'm not going to ignore it. We've seen teams like this come into Faurot and fare much better. First shutout in five years. Complete domination in the first six minutes before a lull and a parade of reserves. A lot to like, but just enough for Eli Drinkwitz to point out on film to keep his team grounded.

OFFENSE

I understand there's some concern. Brady Cook missed some throws. He wasn't perfect. If I'm grading it, it's a B game. He was accurate on the short stuff, didn't put the ball in harm's way, made a couple plays with his legs when he had to. We've seen him better. I promised I wouldn't overreact after what I did following the MTSU game last year and I won't. Missouri won 51-0. There are some things to correct, but overall, solid performance.

The running game gave you a lot to like. Marcus Carroll and Nate Noel both looked good. Both are quick, both have some moves. I didn't have any concerns about the running game coming in and I don't have any coming out.

Breakout players: Josh Manning and Kewan Lacy. LOTS to like from both

DEFENSE

Dominant. I don't know how to put into context how impressive it is to allow 85 total yards and 1.6 per play. Murray State's longest play of the night was nine yards. That's exceptional and I don't care if you're playing the Boonville JV. Zion Young and Chris McClellan made plays up front. Corey Flagg is a lot better player than I think he got credit for in portal season. Khalil Jacobs can fly and Marvin Burks is going to injure someone this season. Oh, yeah, Toriano Pride had a pick six. And Corey Batoon put it all together with a million new faces and very little blitzing or exotic looks (which you shouldn't need to use against this team).

Missouri played TEN freshmen and Phillip Roche on Murray State's last drive and didn't give anything up. The Racers ran one play in Mizzou territory all night long.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Blake Craig made all nine kicks. None were especially long, but I don't care. First game action, overwhelmingly positive and something to build on.

As far as our coverage, it's week one back for us as well. We're working out some kinks. Think we'll have a good system with Jarod doing live in game stuff and me offering immediate reaction before we hit postgame. Think the postgame show will be excellent with integrating the voicemails. Had 300 people online live tonight near midnight and that's going to increase as the games get better and don't end at 11 pm. Appreciate all of you being a part of it. Have Shyam Punnachalil as a new producer on the live shows, Connor McLain back shooting videos for us, Kylie Daniel taking photos and Nathan McClellan doing graphics. Gonna be a hell of a season. Let's go for the ride together.

Tons more to come in the next two days, we'll do another live show Monday night and flip the page to Mizzou vs Buffalo Tuesday morning.

…but hellava take @boilertiger05 …hellava take…

Defense gives up 85 yards.

Four tickets in Section 124 row 53 with seatbacks. Parking pass in Lot X. Selling all together for $180. Email me at rmjv27@gmail.com if interested or message me.

I just want to get this out of the way before the game starts. The expectations for this team are way out of control. We replaced like 80% of the defense and lost extremely important pieces.

There is a reason Baker hit the road when he had his chance and we will see why probably starting tonight.

The story tomorrow will be should we be concerned about the fact that Murray State was able to move the ball. The answer to that question is yes. The defense is not going to be good. Best case scenario is top 60.

We all liked Dave Matter and his writing for the Post. But I think Eli Hoff has stepped in admirably. Really good writer. He wrote a really good article on Drink today.
The growth of Drink

Just concerned and haven’t seen anything?? Hoping he’s okay! Awesome young man!!

Great game and what a crowd!!

Mookies' alligator arms? Looked scared as sht he was gonna get crushed. I know I was surprised to see this with someone of his experience. They had fun with it on the SEC network.