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The next time we do this, it will be game week for Mizzou and we will already have a handful of college football games in the books. The season is here not a week too soon.
1) I'm conflicted on how to approach this season. Since the dawn of the playoff era, that's all that's mattered in college football. Even before the season starts, it's all about "Which teams are going to make the playoff?" That's only going to be amplified with 12 teams making it instead of four. That's the lens through which we're going to view absolutely everything for the next four months.
On one hand, I get it. That's the point. If they keep score, you want to win. If they hand out trophies, you want to be holding it. Even though it's unrealistic for the majority of them, 134 teams will kick off at some point in the next 12 days and every one of them has the goal to be holding that trophy in mid-January. Missouri is no exception.
In that regard, everything we write about, everything you guys post about, every miniscule detail of this season is going to be couched as whether it helps or hurts Missouri's chances to make the College Football Playoff. And that's a good thing. You are fans of a one of the probably 30-40 teams for whom that is a realistic goal.
On the other hand, I hope it doesn't taint the journey. For decades, we've all watched college football rabidly every single week. And the vast majority of us (certainly all on this board) have gone into almost every season understanding there was very little chance our favorite team was winning a championship. But that didn't mean you didn't enjoy the hell out of the season. It's always been the difference between college and pro sports to me. In the pros, if you don't make the playoffs, it's a failed season. If you don't win a title, you fell short. But in college, that's never been a realistic goal for most programs. Sure, you want to get there. Every now and then things line up perfectly and you even have a shot. But the beauty of college sports has always been the journey. It's the rivalries and the traditions and the every week intensity. I do hope that part of it's not completely lost simply because a championship is now more accessible. Don't get me wrong, you all want Missouri to win the whole thing this year. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just saying we shouldn't let that completely overshadow the journey for the next four months. Whatever the ultimate destination, don't get so caught up in the ending you miss the ride.
2) I don't know if I've made an official prediction yet, so I guess let's go ahead and do that. I'm picking Mizzou to be one of those 12 teams. I look at this schedule and I think Missouri should win ten games. I don't know exactly which two will be losses. I'd guess Alabama is one. I think there will be another one somewhere along the way. Whether it's A&M, Auburn, Oklahoma or a surprise, I don't know. I just think there will be one. But this team has a veteran quarterback, one of the best players in college football, a ton of experience on offense and did well enough plugging the holes left on defense that I think any step back will be small rather than giant. I think Mizzou will be favored in ten games. I think if you win ten games in the SEC, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor to make the playoff. It's not a 100% guarantee. To guarantee a playoff, Missouri needs to win 11. But 10-2 would get the Tigers in a lot more than it wouldn't. And that's where I'm picking Mizzou to end up.
3) Last week, I went through and picked every single SEC game on the schedule. Here's what I came up with:
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