Beware of the New Tigers

It would be a serious mistake for Georgia fans to believe that Missouri is going to be an easy win. When the Dawgs go to Columbia to welcome Mizzou to the SEC, the new Tigers will be ready for them. This isn’t your father’s Missouri, a fact that seems nearly universally overlooked on a national level. This isn’t even your older brother’s Missouri, when the Tigers scuffled through the Big 12 like Sisyphus, winning eight games every odd year before rocketing back down to Earth. This is Missouri, 2012, and Missouri, 2012, is unlike any Missouri in program history. Winners of 56 games over the last six years. Winners of eight games this fall with an unknown defense, crippling injuries along the offensive line and a rookie starter under center. This is Missouri as built by Gary Pinkel, and the Tigers aren’t going anywhere – SEC or otherwise. Only those still living in the past – those who haven’t followed the program’s development over the last six years – think Missouri’s going t...