Thursday Thoughts: Why Mizzou should be ranked No. 25, Colin Simmons’ world and the best month in sports
By Adam Spencer
Published:
We’re a month into the college football season. September brought plenty of drama and storylines, but October is sure to bring even more.
This week, in particular, has produced plenty of interesting talking points.
In my Thursday Thoughts column, I’ll hit on a few of them, and then we’ll do a random top-5 ranking at the bottom.
Enjoy!
1. Allow me to weigh in on Mizzou being ranked…
There’s been quite a bit of debate about my alma mater, the Missouri Tigers, this week. Mizzou checked in at No. 25 in the AP Poll this week, much to the chagrin of everyone who hates Mizzou/the SEC in general.
At issue? Mizzou’s sad record against ranked teams. Since the start of the 2024 season, going through Week 4 of this season, the Tigers are a dismal 1-9 against ranked teams, with the lone win coming against then-No. 24 Boston College back in 2024.
The flip side of that argument, though, is that Eli Drinkwitz and his squad are a perfect 20-0 against unranked teams in that time.
So… doesn’t No. 25 make sense?
Hell, shouldn’t they name the No. 25 spot in the AP Poll the Eli Drinkwitz Missouri Tigers Memorial No. 25 Spot from this point forward?
Somehow, my Tigers have become the bellwether of college football. Beat Mizzou and you’re a good team that deserves to be ranked. Lose to the Tigers? Well, your team is garbage and you should fire your coach.
Can Mizzou get win No. 2 against a ranked team this weekend at home against the red-hot No. 8 Florida Gators? I doubt it, but I’d probably keep Mizzou locked into that No. 25 spot in the poll anyway, at least until one of the legions of unranked squads manages to actually beat the Tigers.
2. I can’t wait for Keelon Russell vs. Kamario Taylor
Alabama sensation Keelon Russell is No. 3 in Saturday Down South writer Ethan Stone’s latest SEC QB power rankings. Mississippi State star Kamario Taylor is No. 2.
Kamario Taylor is No. 2 in the SEC in pass yards per game, checking in at 298 per contest. Keelon Russell? No. 3, with 282.3 yards per game through the air.
They’re both trailing Ole Miss Heisman candidate Trinidad Chambliss in the power rankings and in passing yards per game.
Taylor, though, leads the SEC in passing touchdowns with 14. Russell is tied for 4th with 8.
But Russell has 3 rushing TDs to Taylor’s 1, even though Taylor has 185 yards on the ground to Russell’s 168.
What I’m saying here is that this is the premier QB matchup of the weekend, and it might be the best game on the Week 5 docket, period.
The winner of this matchup will have a great chance of improving his Heisman Trophy odds, and his team will take a big step toward the Playoff.
Will the cowbells rattle Russell? Or will Alabama’s vaunted secondary cool the hype around Taylor?
Saturday at noon Eastern time. ABC. Be there.
Check out where Kalshi is legal and read our comparison of Kalshi vs. Polymarket.
3. I can’t stop watching the Colin Simmons celebration
By now you have probably heard that the Texas Longhorns‘ star pass rusher was flagged for one of the more unusual penalties I’ve ever heard on Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Of course, I’m talking about the “simulating using the restroom” penalty he drew after a sack of Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon on Saturday. The celebration was only half of it, though.
I can’t stop watching the way Simmons is surprised (shocked, even!) that the officials flagged this play:
In what world did he think he’d get away with that celebration? That’s the world I want to live in. Whatever he needed to do mentally to get himself to the place where he thought doing this celebration was a good idea is something that you can’t buy.
Self-help gurus would kill to be able to bottle that kind of confidence for their clients.
4. Pipe down, Shannon Dawson
The SEC hasn’t had a team in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 3 years now, and it’s enabling all the mouth-breathing haters to come out of the woodwork.
The latest? Miami OC Shannon Dawson, who took a shot at the SEC and how many teams the league had in the latest AP Poll:
Multiple things here… first, he seems like the kind of guy who would point to the SEC having a .500 record in conference play every year as a way to detract from the league.
Second, yeah, it looks really bad that Texas A&M was a preseason top-10 team. Contrary to Dawson’s belief, the Aggies were ranked No. 8, and thus weren’t “ranked in the top 5.” Details matter.
Third, back in 2022, there was a team that was ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll. That team rose as high as No. 13 in the rankings before ultimately finishing unranked.
That team? The Miami Hurricanes.
Yikes.
(The Hurricanes’ first loss that season was to Texas A&M, ironically.)
It’s almost like… and hear me out here… sometimes the preseason poll gets some things wrong, regardless of conference affiliation?
Crazy.
5. Ranking the 5 best months on the sports calendar
It’s officially October, which means postseason baseball, the heart of the college football and NFL seasons, the WNBA playoffs and the start of NHL and NBA action. Many consider this to be the best month on the sports calendar, but is that accurate?
Here’s how I’d rank the 5 best months on the sports calendar:
- October — For all the reasons mentioned above, this is the No. 1 month on the sports calendar. Make sure to circle October 26 on your calendars, too, as that’s a Sports Equinox (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL action all on the same day).
- March — This would be No. 1 if the entirety of “March Madness” was actually played in March. It’s the best tournament in sports, and the opening weekend is amazing. You also have NBA games that matter, the start of baseball and more.
- November — Some years, the World Series is played in November. That won’t be the case this year, as Game 7 (if necessary) would be on Halloween. But either way, we have Feast Week college hoops tournaments, NFL, CFB, NBA and NHL action all month long. Thanksgiving Day football is one of my favorite things.
- September — Fall is in the air, as is college football. The NFL also starts in September, but this is all about the glorious return of college football to our lives.
- April — Final Four, the Masters, MLB action when all the teams are still theoretically alive, NBA playoffs. Underrated month.
Coming in 12th place is July (unless there’s a World Cup like this past year. That was fun.). Terrible month for sports, especially now that the MLB All-Star Game stinks.
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Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
