Ad Disclosure
At least 2015 started off well for Mizzou athletics.
The SEC East champion Tigers beat Minnesota 33-17 on New Year’s Day in the Citrus Bowl to finish 11-3 and No. 14 in the AP Poll.
From there, it was all downhill.
Here is a list of off-field Mizzou stuff that has happened in the past calendar year. I might've missed something. pic.twitter.com/MqeyYZ2WjH
— Brandon Foster (@BFoster91) January 21, 2016
The basketball team floundered on and off the court as former Mizzou star Kim Anderson tried to sort through the mess left by Frank Haith. The wrestling team, ranked No. 1 in the nation, finished fourth in the NCAA Championships. The baseball team, at one point 11-5 in SEC play and ranked in the top 15 in the country, lost nine of its last 11 games and failed to make the NCAA field.
Then, it was time for football. In May, DE Marcus Loud, the likely successor to Markus Golden, was dismissed from the team. In June, standout DT Harold Brantley was in a car wreck that sidelined him for the entire upcoming season.
During the summer, coach Gary Pinkel was diagnosed with lymphoma, though he wouldn’t reveal it until late in the season.
From the outset of the season, there were signs of a difficult road ahead. Mizzou sputtered past FCS Southeast Missouri State in the opener and rallied late to beat Arkansas State on the road. In game 3, the Tigers squeaked past UConn, 9-6.
Mizzou had problems on offense. The senior-dominated line wasn’t opening holes. The receivers weren’t getting open. Russell Hansbrough, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2014, sprained an ankle during the preseason and was hampered all season.
Still ranked No. 25, the Tigers lost at Kentucky. Then QB Maty Mauk was suspended and never played again during the season. Freshman Drew Lock led Mizzou past South Carolina. Then the roof caved in. The Tigers scored only 35 points in losses to Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
With Mizzou at 4-5 and the season a huge disappointment already, black players announced a boycott of football activities — threatening a $1 million penalty and millions in revenue if the upcoming game in Kansas City against Brigham Young wasn’t played — until the university administration agreed to demands by a black student group that school president Tim Wolfe be replaced.
National media covered the boycott, casting a negative light on the campus. The school capitulated to the threats. The president and chancellor resigned.
Later that week, Pinkel revealed his cancer diagnosis and announced his resignation. The next day, Mizzou surprised Brigham Young.
The lone highlight to the season was followed by humbling losses to Tennessee and Arkansas.
Though Mizzou was in line for a bowl at 5-7 based on its high Academic Progress Rate, athletic director Mack Rhoades used the search for Pinkel’s successor as an excuse to decline a bowl bid.
Rhoades eventually hired defensive coordinator and former Mizzou player Barry Odom as head coach. But with the change at the top, the Tigers lost longtime Pinkel assistant Craig Kuligowki, who had developed several Mizzou defensive linemen into stars.
Mizzou recruiting has lagged behind its SEC competitors. The Tigers rank last in the SEC with 14 recruits, only one four-star commitment and no immediate fixes for the problems on the offensive line and receiver corps. Ten of the top 11 recruits in Missouri, according to 247Sports, have committed and only two have chosen Mizzou.
Can Odom right the ship in 2016?
The news has been mixed this month. The Tigers snagged two former Boise State recruits. But last year’s top recruit, five-star DT Terry Beckner Jr., was arrested for marijuana possession, causing fear he could be headed down the same road that led to Dorial Green-Beckham’s downfall.
Missouri has outstanding defensive players returning, including several potential stars on the line. The trick will be finding answers on offense without an influx of talent.
Regardless, things are looking up at Mizzou. There’s a new coaching staff and new hope. The Tigers couldn’t get much worse than they were in 2015.
