Gary Pinkel always says, “Those who win in November will be remembered.”

But yet again, that infamous November Missouri magic didn’t carry over into December and the Missouri Tigers lost out on another opportunity to gain respect within the conference, leaving Atlanta with a second-place finish.

Any other team in the SEC that goes 10-2 in the regular season would be heralded as one of the top teams in the nation.

But not Missouri.

The Tigers found themselves clawing for respect nationally. Just ask the College Football Playoff committee, which ranked Missouri behind three three-loss teams and two spots behind the Georgia Bulldogs, which finished second in the SEC East.

Like it or not, Missouri is forced to do more. To finally gain complete conference respect, they didn’t even need to win. A close game would do it.

But the Tigers failed to prove their detractors wrong for the second straight season.

In two SEC championship appearances, Missouri — a team known for its stout defenses in the regular season — has given up a combined 101 points and 1,181 total yards of offense. And as great as Gary Pinkel is at maximizing talent, he’s yet to carry that success into the conference championship.

There were times tonight that Missouri pushed Alabama. Quarterback Maty Mauk delivered some pinpoint deep balls downfield and took advantage of an average Alabama secondary.

The vaunted Missouri defensive line plowed through those five-star Alabama offensive lineman on a few plays, showing off that great speed and athleticism from Markus Golden and others. But it wasn’t nearly enough to compete with the class of the SEC.

Alabama overwhelmed the Tigers en route to the 42-13 win, beating Missouri with a smart and physical game plan.

That isn’t to say Missouri doesn’t deserve respect. What the Tigers and Pinkel did this season is impressive.

Winning three straight “must win” games in November to clinch the SEC East title, shaking off devastating losses to Indiana and Georgia to finish the season on a six-game winning streak and developing one of the top defensive units in the SEC.

But with another disappointing SEC Championship appearance, the Tigers are again relegated back to irrelevancy in the eyes of Missouri detractors and much of the SEC. Fair or not, it’s just how it is for one of the SEC’s newest teams.

And while wins in November are significant, until Missouri learns that it’s the win in December that gets you remembered, the Tigers will stay right where they are — fighting for respect.