College Football Predictions – Missouri Tigers 2020 College Football Preview
2019 Recap
Record – 6-6
ATS – 4-8
It was fun while it lasted, yo.
The Tigers rattled off five consecutive wins after their opening loss to Wyoming and stood at 5-1. It all came crashing down, partly thanks to a puzzling loss to Vanderbilt (L 21-14). As it happens, the five game winning streak was followed up with a five game LOSING streak and the season was down the drain. Let’s see if new HC Eli Drinkwitz can bring some of that Appalachian St magic to Columbia.
2020 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
East Division – TBD
SEC – TBD
Missouri Tigers 2020 Outlook
OFFENSE
The offensive line severely underperformed last year and the Tigers failed to average 30 PPG for the first time since 2015. They tallied 25 PPG (#10 SEC) and booked 50 YPG fewer than they did during the 2018 campaign (152 YPG, #9 SEC). QB Kelly Bryant lost time due to injury and that didn’t help. This year they’ll go with either TCU transfer Shawn Robinson under center or redshirt freshman Connor Bazelak. We’ll see how things play out. The WR/TE group is a bit of a mystery in terms of returning talent and the offensive line took a major hit due to graduation. The good news in the return of their fine RB duo of Larry Rountree and Tyler Badie who combined for over 1,300 (!) yards and 12 rushing TDs LY. Also note that Badie caught 32 passes out of the backfield.
The offensive line is going to be a problem, and it’s tough to know what to expect at QB. Maybe VT transfer WR Damon Hazelton can spice things up? We’ll call for similar output to 2019.
DEFENSE
The defense did a fine job last season and put their best defense on the field since the 2015 season. They allowed just 19 PPG (#5 SEC, #15 FBS) and did a fine job vs the run and the pass (50.3%, #1 SEC; #3 pass efficiency D). They bring back seven starters this season and there’s definitely talent on board despite the loss of a couple of key players. The DL should be strong and they return a lot of experience and three starters, and the LB group is led by Nick Bolton who is one of the best at his position in the SEC (#1 tackles LY). The secondary looks to be in fine shape with three starters back for duty and note that Missouri was stingy vs the pass last year despite finishing dead last in the conference with just 19 sacks.
This looks like an above-average SEC defense, and hopefully they’ll find a way to get more pressure on the QB.
SPECIAL TEAMS
YIKES.
The Tigers lose the fine PK/Punter Tucker McCann as well as ace PR Richaud Floyd (TD LY). This looks like a major problem area on paper right now.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Their plandemic schedule is pretty nasty. They draw ROLL TIDE and LSU from the SEC West and need to face both of them in the first three weeks. Week 5? How about at road date with Florida? Things lighten up at the end.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Tennessee (October 3rd)
The face the Vols in week two after getting beaten to a pulp by ROLL TIDE in their opener. Not an ideal spot and Tennessee is a rapidly improving squad.
Season Win Total
Over 2.5 -150
Under 2.5 +120
MEGALOCKS says:
That looks about right. They do get to play Vanderbilt and Arkansas, but you can pretty much book at least 6 losses before the season even starts. Won’t be touching this one, but would probably make our GUN TO THE HEAD selection the ‘over’ since they have a decent defense and upside at QB.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Truman the Tiger has been named MASCOT OF THE YEAR three times since 1986.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
This year marks the start of a rebuilding process, and things won’t be helped by a nasty schedule. The offense has some interesting pieces and the defense might be sneaky-good. We expect them to have their moments and be quite a bit better at the end of the year than how they look early on. We’ll call for a three win season including a mid-sized upset along the way.
Want more Missouri football ?
WEBSITE
https://mutigers.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://www.secrant.com/rant/mizzou-sports/
http://tigerboard.com/boards/list.php?board=2
http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=13
https://missouri.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-tigers-lair.16/
NEWS
http://www.columbiatribune.com/sports/mu-football
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/142/missouri-tigers
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