Tucker’s Missouri Record Prediction

Credit: Yahoo Sports

RECORD PREDICTION: 10-2

My decision here has less to do with the fact I think Missouri is a good team and more to do with the lack of challenges on the schedule.

The Tigers open on Thursday for the second year in a row against an FCS foe, this time it’s Murray State. That game followed by Buffalo should have Missouri sitting at 2-0 by the time it faces Boston College.

The Eagles have a new head coach in Bill O’Brien, so that could make for a more pass happy offense than the ground and pound it was under the last two coaches. But if that’s the case, it should still be gelling, so the Tigers should take care of business.

Vanderbilt is the first SEC game, and it shouldn’t be a tight win at all for the Tigers.

The first SEC road game is at Texas A&M. The environment and enthusiasm Aggie fans create should make life tough on Mizzou, but I like the Tigers in a close one.

Missouri travels to UMass the following week. For some reason, the Minutemen always seem to challenge SEC teams, but the Tigers should have enough on offense to keep that from happening.

Auburn will be Missouri’s first “tricky” home game. Assuming Hugh Freeze can develop the pass game, the Auburn Tigers can make it a contest. However, the chemistry between Brady Cook and Luther Burden III will be enough for the Missouri Tigers to take the win.

The games at Alabama and against Oklahoma are the losses. The thought of Eli Drinkwitz getting a win in Tuscaloosa is blashphemy. Oklahoma should be the toughest home game for the Tigers, and I have them losing that one in a shootout.

The Tigers should win out the rest of November.

Even though South Carolina is in the other Columbia, Drinkwitz has dominated it regardless of which venue the game’s in.

The game at Mississippi State is the one that could be tricky. The Bulldogs will have had time to grow as a team, and they might be one of the tougher offenses in the league when the year ends. That said, I still think Mizzou wins in a shootout.

Arkansas has been downright dreadful against Missouri over the last decade, only winning twice in that time. Sam Pittman may not be the head coach by the time the year ends, so the Battle Line Trophy game could end in another Tigers blowout.

I know, I’m getting too repetitive with my 10-2 predictions. However, this schedule is a lot simpler than many of my other 10-2s, so it may get denied from the College Football Playoff.