For Mizzou, Saturday’s Alabama showdown cannot be a 2023 LSU flashback
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Close your eyes and tell me which Mizzou game I’m referencing here.
It’s an 11 a.m. CT kickoff for 5-0 Mizzou, who’ll host an SEC power who suffered a blowout loss to Florida State in the season opener. The Tigers will be tasked with containing one of the Heisman Trophy favorites at quarterback, and on the flip side, they’ll try to lean on a ground game against a defense that’s had its fair share of issues in that area. It’s, by all means, a prime opportunity for Mizzou to showcase the world that it’s more than just a September darling and that it’s a legitimate Playoff contender.
OK, open your eyes. On second thought, I’m not sure why I asked you to close your eyes and read. Pretend that didn’t happen.
But which game was I referring to? Was it 2023 LSU-Mizzou or 2025 Alabama-Mizzou? Both.
The similarities are obvious. At a place like Mizzou, who gets disrespected in the form of an 11 a.m. kickoff for its premier home matchup, these chances to change national perception don’t happen often, but they matter. And yes, Mizzou still has plenty of skeptics. There was even an AP Poll voter who ranked 2-loss teams like Penn State and left Mizzou out of the AP Top 25 altogether.
(Somebody break some news to that fella that Mizzou leads the nation in run defense, or tell him that Ahmad Hardy had a Week 6 bye and he still leads the nation in rushing.)
Those skeptics will feel validated if Mizzou’s 2025 ending vs. Alabama follows a similar script to 2023 LSU. You might remember that included a blown 4th-quarter lead and a late-pick 6 on a potential go-ahead drive in the final minute. That first loss, even though it came to Jayden Daniels in his Heisman season, dropped Mizzou out of the AP Top 25 and didn’t give the Tigers another showcase opportunity until early November against Georgia.
Saturday is about Mizzou writing a different story
It goes beyond handing Alabama a loss as an SEC member for the first time — Mizzou’s last win vs. Alabama came in the 1975 season when Paul “Bear” Bryant was leading the Tide — and it’s not just about potentially earning a top-10 ranking. The Tigers had that the last 2 seasons when it went 21-5, which seemingly the rest of the college football world erased at the start of the year when they needed to beat Kansas just to get back into the AP Top 25.
It’s about beating a team who might just win the SEC. Alabama is the current favorite at +200. That, as well as Mizzou’s current +1800 odds to win the SEC, would drastically change with a victory on Saturday.
But if you’re searching for why Mizzou has had such a tough time earning respect, look at the Tigers’ record as an SEC member vs. the 3 programs who won the conference in the Playoff era (Alabama, Georgia, LSU):
- vs. Alabama: 0-5
- vs. Georgia: 1-11
- vs. LSU: 1-2
- Total: 2-18
And for what it’s worth, Eli Drinkwitz is 1-7 vs. those games with his lone win coming against 2020 LSU, who finished 5-5 in that COVID season … just like Mizzou. That’s significant. Sure, it’s also significant that since Drinkwitz arrived in 2020, Florida and Tennessee aren’t these barriers to entry, and a 5-1 mark vs. South Carolina is nothing to scoff at.
But yeah, Alabama, Georgia and LSU move the needle. Mizzou’s lone win against one of those teams in the Playoff era coming in September of the COVID season has shaped perception. You could argue that the 2023-24 run has changed Mizzou’s perception, but neither of those teams reached the Playoff.
That’s the silver lining of a potential loss on Saturday. Even at 5-1, Mizzou’s Playoff chances would still be intact. The latter half of that schedule is about as favorable as an SEC team can ask for. The post-Alabama SEC foes that await are a combined 4-6 in conference play. Take that for what it is. There’s a ton of season left, and even in an expanded Playoff, nobody’s ticket is imminent in mid-October.
Having said that, a Playoff berth certainly feels a whole lot more realistic if Mizzou gets some revenge on Alabama. By “revenge,” that’s referring to the 50 years worth of bragging rights that Tide fans have had in this matchup. That included the 2014 SEC Championship Game, wherein the Tide rolled to a 42-13 victory en route to a Playoff berth. If Alabama repeats a 242-41 net rushing advantage on Saturday, you’ll hear the “F-word” thrown around a whole lot for Mizzou.
As in, “fraud.”
Calling someone a “fraud” in college football is the ultimate sign of disrespect. It’s a moniker that programs like Mizzou actively fight against when they have some early-season success.
Mizzou has potential to benefit from what’s been a remarkable early-season turnaround for Alabama. A team that beat Georgia in Athens and is back in the top 10 has the nation’s respect again.
The last time that Mizzou shared the field with a top-10 team was the 2023 Cotton Bowl, wherein the Tigers knocked off No. 7 Ohio State. It was indeed a respect-earning victory, but the problem was it was a non-Playoff bowl game. Mizzou has yet to beat a top-10 team in the regular season during the Playoff era. As in, a game that would drastically change Mizzou’s Playoff outlook. Saturday can be the first of its kind.
Two years ago today (Oct. 7) marked the last time that the Mizzou faithful witnessed such an opportunity at Faurot Field. A day that began with such promise ended with such a familiar ending.
A new ending on Saturday would open a whole lot of eyes.
RELATED: Soon, Missouri residents will be able to bet on the Tigers. Check out all the latest info on the upcoming Underdog Sportsbook Missouri promo.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
