When Missouri came into the league back in 2012, questions arose about just how it would fit in with the big, bad SEC.

It didn’t have the championships.

It didn’t have the big stadium.

It didn’t have the star players.

The media all but dismissed the Tigers as a bottom-tier SEC team before they even played a single game in the conference.

Yet, none of that really mattered to Missouri.

No respect

In their first season, the Tigers did about as well as anyone imagined. They finished 5-7 with a 2-6 conference record on their way to fulfilling everyone’s expectations for a team that “didn’t belong.”

Fast forward to 2013, similar expectations forced Missouri into irrelevance before the season even began. No one gave them a chance. But then, football was actually played and the Tigers proved everyone wrong. En route to a 12-2 record, Missouri not only beat some of the SEC’s biggest programs — Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M — but they did it convincingly. Not to mention, they throttled Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.

So just when everyone had Missouri pegged as an easy win for their respective teams, the Tigers flipped the script and won the SEC East.

Now in the midst of its third season in the SEC, Missouri continues to fight for respect within its own conference, which was evident at the 2014 SEC Media Days.

“I don’t really care,” head coach Gary Pinkel said. “When I became the head football coach at Missouri, I wanted to be respected in the Big 12, and now it’s the SEC, and nationally. I just want to be respected.”

“I feel like we’re there, but I don’t feel like we’re at the top yet,” said defensive end Markus Golden. “I don’t feel like everybody respects us. But everybody has a different opinion. We just want to go out there. We’re not going to be satisfied with last year.”

Heading into this season, Missouri was once again overlooked as South Carolina and Georgia were the favorites to win the SEC East once again. The Tigers had another opportunity to prove everyone wrong and potentially gain the conference-wide respect they desired, but not only has this season’s slow start hindered that, it’s also forced others to question just what exactly this Missouri program is all about.

Lack of identity

Part of the mysteriousness of Missouri — and likely why they don’t get enough respect around the SEC — is the lack of identity.

The one constant fans have seen out of them in the last few seasons is dominating defensive ends. In 2013, Michael Sam and Kony Ealy grabbed the headlines. And this year, that distinction is given to Shane Ray and Markus Golden, the best pass rush duo in the conference.

Missouri’s SEC expansion counterpart, Texas A&M, has already established its own identity. Thanks to a larger-than-life personality in Johnny Manziel and head coach Kevin Sumlin, the Aggies are constantly one of the most explosive offenses in the SEC and the fan base become almost of legend, thanks to the Midnight Yell and the 12th Man mantra.

Pinkel often talks about how his players are “Missouri Made,” touting how his coaching staff routinely develops lesser talented players into solid contributions for the team.

“In the last seven years, even with our crummy season in 2012, we’re the eighth-winningest BCS program in the country for those five years,” Pinkel said. “If you took our recruiting, I think our so-called rating, I’d say we’re between 28 and 32 average.

“All I’m going to say about that, I think our recruiting process is different. I think we have a system that we believe in. I think our player development program is second to none. We’re doing a lot of good things.”

And what Pinkel said is true. Missouri is often forced with taking lower-level prospects and turning them into solid football players. However, this season has been somewhat of a struggle with sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk not progressing as well as expected.

Missouri also came into the conference confident in its spread offense and its ability to put up points. But since 2012, the Tigers have been inside the top-10 in total offense once and have averaged more than 30 points per game only once as well. This season is perhaps the worst its been with Mauk and the offensive line struggling as much as they have. Their currently the conference’s 12th best offense averaging only 357.8 yards per game and 28.8 points per game.

Defensively, not a whole lot stands out outside of the defensive ends they’ve had over the last few seasons as they don’t typically have the big names like Alabama, LSU, Florida or Ole Miss. They’ve been 10th in the SEC in total defense every season so far, including 2014.

Coaching-wise, Pinkel, who is now in his 14th year as head coach at Missouri, doesn’t have the big personality that other coaches in the SEC have. He doesn’t have the public persona of a Nick Saban or the quiet confidence of a Mark Richt. He isn’t a “Coach Boom” or the HBC. No, he’s just Gary Pinkel, and that’s OK.

All the while he’s led Missouri to some of its most successful seasons in program history, which he does underneath everyone’s radar, seemingly unnoticed. He’s continually doing about as much as anyone in the conference, but with far less public attention.

Missouri also lacks those marquee rivalry games that are so big in the SEC. The program’s biggest rival, Kansas, sits at the bottom of the Big 12 and with Missouri’s move to the SEC, it’s a matchup that won’t be played again for quite some time. And there’s not enough history between Missouri and other SEC schools yet to have an established rivalry, something that of course will eventually develop over time.

So for now Missouri continues search for its place in the SEC. That’s not necessarily a negative thing, either. The Tigers have excelled at playing its best when no one expects them to and that certainly can continue. Eventually, Missouri will find its identity in the nation’s best conference and perhaps it’ll be this season or the next, but for now, fans will keep asking the question…

Who is Missouri, really?