Welcome to Four Down Territory which is a spin-off of Ten Thoughts.
So, I’ll give you three thoughts on Missouri football or college football in general. Then, the last thought will be whatever I want it to be.
1. I’ll be our SEC Media Days representative in Nashville. This will be my third straight appearance at this event and it’s always cool. Well, except last year when my car broke down on the way to Atlanta. That wasn’t cool. Don't worry I got a new one once I got back home.
Anyway, I’m ready to talk about this year’s team and the 2023 season in a more matter-of-fact type of way. For the last six to seven months, it’s been a lot of preview work. Which isn’t bad, but nothing beats covering the season.
Speaking of the season, let's take a look at Mizzou’s schedule and how I see it going down as of July 12. Obviously, a lot can change by the time the season starts.
South Dakota (H) Win
MTSU (H) Win
K-State (H) Loss
Memphis (N) Win
Vandy (A) Win
LSU (H) Loss
Kentucky (A) Loss
South Carolina (H) Win
Georgia (A) Loss
Tennessee (H) Loss
Florida (H) Win
Arkansas (A) Win
Well, the scores versus South Dakota and MTSU should look a lot like the scores from last season versus Louisiana Tech (52-24) and New Mexico State (45-14). There’s not much room for close contests 一 let alone losses 一 versus non-Power 5 teams when you’re in the SEC. You’ve got to save that for the conference games.
Moving on to Kansas State. I think it’s a winnable game but I’ll mark it down as a loss for now until I know who Mizzou's quarterback is and how they played entering this game.
The Wildcats lost a lot of key pieces on their defense, including defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who was drafted in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs, and 6-foot-4 cornerback Julius Brents, who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round. Not to mention, they also lost starting quarterback Adrian Martinez, All-American running back Deuce Vaughn and their No. 1 wide receiver Malik Knowles.
Chris Klieman has proven to be a good coach. So, I’m sure the reinforcements are in tow despite losing so many key plays.
This game should be much better than in 2022.
For more info on Kansas State's roster: Checking out the comp: Kansas State
Vandy should be a win but it won’t be an easy win.
Checking out the comp: Vandy
LSU is going to be a nine or 10 win team at worse to me, and one of those wins will probably include Mizzou.
Checking out the comp: LSU
Kentucky is a swing game and Mizzou could very well win that. But the Wildcats have former North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary entering the fray and he was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation two seasons ago. Former Vandy running back Ray Davis is replacing Chris Rodriguez Jr., so I think they’ll be okay and then they have some incoming offensive linemen who should help up front.
Checking out the comp: Kentucky
South Carolina is a swing game as well and based on the fact that Eli Drinkwitz is 3-0 versus them is enough for me to choose them.
Checking out the comp: South Carolina
It’s one thing for the Tigers to have a close game versus Georgia at home. Having a close game on the road will be much harder. Kirby Smart is going to have a receipt ready for the team that played his Bulldogs better than any team last season.
Checking out the comp: Georgia
Tennessee appeared to be Mizzou’s boogeyman the last couple of seasons having outscored the Tigers 128-48. I can’t imagine another historically bad loss, but it's hard for me to come up with a win based on recent history and the Vols trending upward.
Checking out the comp: Tennessee
Florida is a swing game but it’s on the lower end of swing games. I feel like they’ll be floating around 5-7 or 6-6 this season. This game will be a blackout game for Mizzou and it’ll be mid-November with some chilly weather. Also, this game will be sandwiched between clashes with LSU and FSU for the Gators.
Checking out the comp: Florida
When I think of a swing game and what it means for Mizzou the definition (at least for this season) is Arkansas. Mizzou has won six of the last seven in this matchup and the Razorbacks lost a lot of talent, including their starting center, two starting receivers, and their two best defensive players.
Checking out the comp: Arkansas
This is the regular season finale so by the time this game happens we’ll know more than enough about each team, but for these predictions, I’ll side with Mizzou taking one on the road.
So, officially I’m at 7-5, but also I could see 8-4 and 6-6. If last season showed me anything it’s expect the unexpected (think Auburn and Kentucky games).
2. I’ll leave for SEC Media Days on Sunday, but more importantly, a project I’ve been working on for a while will be published that day. It’s been 10 years since the Tigers won their first SEC East crown and went to the SEC Championship in year two of being in the league.
I don't want to spoil too much of the project, but I’ve talked to a handful of your favorite players from that team. I was 14 when that team did their thing and I vaguely remember the team, but I wasn’t following them like you guys were obviously. So, I had to do some homework, but it was fun. I think the most fun I had was talking about and to one of the key unsung heroes of the team (hint: he wasn’t a player).
3. The three Tiger players that’ll be with Drinkwitz will be cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, defensive tackle Darius Robinson and left tackle Javon Foster.
It’s a solid group and Robinson and Foster were on my list of probable attendees. Abrams-Draine isn’t necessarily the most talkative but based on his play he certainly deserves to be there. All three are NFL-caliber players and will have to carry their position groups.
Abrams-Draine carrying the cornerbacks is a little more tongue in cheek because Ennis Rakestraw is also an NFL-caliber player and you could argue he had a better season than his tag team partner. I'm interested to know how much more they'll be relied upon due to the uncertainty at EDGE.
With the defensive ends being the only worrisome part about the defense, it's possible Robinson might start at defensive end and still play defensive tackle sometimes. He may end up starting at his normal position and playing some EDGE when need be, but regardless he’s going to need to have a big year. He’s going to have to be as important, if not more than Isaiah McGuire was to the defensive line last year.
Foster may be the most important starter sans whoever the starting quarterback is. The offensive line is already in flux and he’s far and away the best lineman on the team. Mizzou feels better about its offensive line bench depth, but the one player who can’t go down is Foster.
4. Well, if you didn’t know I’m a big WWE, WNBA and boxing fan. So, if I can use this space to talk about that I will. Of course, as the season gets closer this will probably be something about football more times than not, but if you’ve followed my work through the offseason I’ve done a number of different football-related articles. So, I think I’ve talked about just about everything there is to talk about for right now.
So, it’s important to note I’m a WWE guy. I’m not really into AEW although I’ll read about it. I’ll keep it short. I love the Bloodline storyline and I don’t know if I want Cody Rhodes to “finish the story” anymore versus Roman Reigns. Maybe it should be Solo (w/Paul Heyman) or Jey Uso (down the line not at SummerSlam). I’m interested to see how Triple H gets to Wrestlemania storyline-wise.
The WNBA is fantastic and I’m fully invested. I’ll watch any game at any time and I feel like I could tell someone just as much about this league as the NBA. I've been a casual fan of the WNBA for years, but it wasn't appointment viewing. Now, I will watch every game and I bought the league pass which was a one-time payment of $25 I think. Maybe it was $20. I've never bought a league pass for any sport ever. Part of that is because the prices are insane and the other part is I can only watch one game at a time. Since the WNBA only has 12 teams and they only play about 40 games (up this year from 33 games in past seasons), it's much more manageable for me to watch most games.
I got a fantasy team with my friends all that good stuff. In fact, I’ve got Sophie Cunningham on my team.
As far as boxing, this has been the best year of boxing since I can remember. Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko was probably my favorite fight. Yes, Lomachenko got robbed. Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez was good. The next big fight is Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue on July 25 and the one after that on July 29, Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford, is the equivalent to Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fighting each other, but closer to their primes. I’ve got Inoue and Crawford winning their respective fights.
So, I’ll give you three thoughts on Missouri football or college football in general. Then, the last thought will be whatever I want it to be.
1. I’ll be our SEC Media Days representative in Nashville. This will be my third straight appearance at this event and it’s always cool. Well, except last year when my car broke down on the way to Atlanta. That wasn’t cool. Don't worry I got a new one once I got back home.
Anyway, I’m ready to talk about this year’s team and the 2023 season in a more matter-of-fact type of way. For the last six to seven months, it’s been a lot of preview work. Which isn’t bad, but nothing beats covering the season.
Speaking of the season, let's take a look at Mizzou’s schedule and how I see it going down as of July 12. Obviously, a lot can change by the time the season starts.
South Dakota (H) Win
MTSU (H) Win
K-State (H) Loss
Memphis (N) Win
Vandy (A) Win
LSU (H) Loss
Kentucky (A) Loss
South Carolina (H) Win
Georgia (A) Loss
Tennessee (H) Loss
Florida (H) Win
Arkansas (A) Win
Well, the scores versus South Dakota and MTSU should look a lot like the scores from last season versus Louisiana Tech (52-24) and New Mexico State (45-14). There’s not much room for close contests 一 let alone losses 一 versus non-Power 5 teams when you’re in the SEC. You’ve got to save that for the conference games.
Moving on to Kansas State. I think it’s a winnable game but I’ll mark it down as a loss for now until I know who Mizzou's quarterback is and how they played entering this game.
The Wildcats lost a lot of key pieces on their defense, including defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who was drafted in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs, and 6-foot-4 cornerback Julius Brents, who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round. Not to mention, they also lost starting quarterback Adrian Martinez, All-American running back Deuce Vaughn and their No. 1 wide receiver Malik Knowles.
Chris Klieman has proven to be a good coach. So, I’m sure the reinforcements are in tow despite losing so many key plays.
This game should be much better than in 2022.
For more info on Kansas State's roster: Checking out the comp: Kansas State
Vandy should be a win but it won’t be an easy win.
Checking out the comp: Vandy
LSU is going to be a nine or 10 win team at worse to me, and one of those wins will probably include Mizzou.
Checking out the comp: LSU
Kentucky is a swing game and Mizzou could very well win that. But the Wildcats have former North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary entering the fray and he was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation two seasons ago. Former Vandy running back Ray Davis is replacing Chris Rodriguez Jr., so I think they’ll be okay and then they have some incoming offensive linemen who should help up front.
Checking out the comp: Kentucky
South Carolina is a swing game as well and based on the fact that Eli Drinkwitz is 3-0 versus them is enough for me to choose them.
Checking out the comp: South Carolina
It’s one thing for the Tigers to have a close game versus Georgia at home. Having a close game on the road will be much harder. Kirby Smart is going to have a receipt ready for the team that played his Bulldogs better than any team last season.
Checking out the comp: Georgia
Tennessee appeared to be Mizzou’s boogeyman the last couple of seasons having outscored the Tigers 128-48. I can’t imagine another historically bad loss, but it's hard for me to come up with a win based on recent history and the Vols trending upward.
Checking out the comp: Tennessee
Florida is a swing game but it’s on the lower end of swing games. I feel like they’ll be floating around 5-7 or 6-6 this season. This game will be a blackout game for Mizzou and it’ll be mid-November with some chilly weather. Also, this game will be sandwiched between clashes with LSU and FSU for the Gators.
Checking out the comp: Florida
When I think of a swing game and what it means for Mizzou the definition (at least for this season) is Arkansas. Mizzou has won six of the last seven in this matchup and the Razorbacks lost a lot of talent, including their starting center, two starting receivers, and their two best defensive players.
Checking out the comp: Arkansas
This is the regular season finale so by the time this game happens we’ll know more than enough about each team, but for these predictions, I’ll side with Mizzou taking one on the road.
So, officially I’m at 7-5, but also I could see 8-4 and 6-6. If last season showed me anything it’s expect the unexpected (think Auburn and Kentucky games).
2. I’ll leave for SEC Media Days on Sunday, but more importantly, a project I’ve been working on for a while will be published that day. It’s been 10 years since the Tigers won their first SEC East crown and went to the SEC Championship in year two of being in the league.
I don't want to spoil too much of the project, but I’ve talked to a handful of your favorite players from that team. I was 14 when that team did their thing and I vaguely remember the team, but I wasn’t following them like you guys were obviously. So, I had to do some homework, but it was fun. I think the most fun I had was talking about and to one of the key unsung heroes of the team (hint: he wasn’t a player).
3. The three Tiger players that’ll be with Drinkwitz will be cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, defensive tackle Darius Robinson and left tackle Javon Foster.
It’s a solid group and Robinson and Foster were on my list of probable attendees. Abrams-Draine isn’t necessarily the most talkative but based on his play he certainly deserves to be there. All three are NFL-caliber players and will have to carry their position groups.
Abrams-Draine carrying the cornerbacks is a little more tongue in cheek because Ennis Rakestraw is also an NFL-caliber player and you could argue he had a better season than his tag team partner. I'm interested to know how much more they'll be relied upon due to the uncertainty at EDGE.
With the defensive ends being the only worrisome part about the defense, it's possible Robinson might start at defensive end and still play defensive tackle sometimes. He may end up starting at his normal position and playing some EDGE when need be, but regardless he’s going to need to have a big year. He’s going to have to be as important, if not more than Isaiah McGuire was to the defensive line last year.
Foster may be the most important starter sans whoever the starting quarterback is. The offensive line is already in flux and he’s far and away the best lineman on the team. Mizzou feels better about its offensive line bench depth, but the one player who can’t go down is Foster.
4. Well, if you didn’t know I’m a big WWE, WNBA and boxing fan. So, if I can use this space to talk about that I will. Of course, as the season gets closer this will probably be something about football more times than not, but if you’ve followed my work through the offseason I’ve done a number of different football-related articles. So, I think I’ve talked about just about everything there is to talk about for right now.
So, it’s important to note I’m a WWE guy. I’m not really into AEW although I’ll read about it. I’ll keep it short. I love the Bloodline storyline and I don’t know if I want Cody Rhodes to “finish the story” anymore versus Roman Reigns. Maybe it should be Solo (w/Paul Heyman) or Jey Uso (down the line not at SummerSlam). I’m interested to see how Triple H gets to Wrestlemania storyline-wise.
The WNBA is fantastic and I’m fully invested. I’ll watch any game at any time and I feel like I could tell someone just as much about this league as the NBA. I've been a casual fan of the WNBA for years, but it wasn't appointment viewing. Now, I will watch every game and I bought the league pass which was a one-time payment of $25 I think. Maybe it was $20. I've never bought a league pass for any sport ever. Part of that is because the prices are insane and the other part is I can only watch one game at a time. Since the WNBA only has 12 teams and they only play about 40 games (up this year from 33 games in past seasons), it's much more manageable for me to watch most games.
I got a fantasy team with my friends all that good stuff. In fact, I’ve got Sophie Cunningham on my team.
As far as boxing, this has been the best year of boxing since I can remember. Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko was probably my favorite fight. Yes, Lomachenko got robbed. Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez was good. The next big fight is Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue on July 25 and the one after that on July 29, Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford, is the equivalent to Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fighting each other, but closer to their primes. I’ve got Inoue and Crawford winning their respective fights.
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