2018 Pre-Camp Season Prediction

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Mizzou opens fall camp on Friday morning at 9:30. You can see the full practice schedule here. While many questions remain and a lot will change over the next month, waiting to have all the information before making a prediction is no fun at all. So here is our official pre-camp prediction for the season, which we will revisit when camp shuts down in late August.

Analysis: This one better not need much analysis. I always say the only thing you can learn from a game like this is negative. That proved true last year. Some tried to gloss over the fact Missouri gave up 35 points to Missouri State in a half, but if you didn't see that as a signal of a three-alarm defensive fire, sorry, but you had your head buried DEEP in the sand. Missouri should win and win easily.

The Pick: Mizzou 64, Tennessee-Martin 17

Record: 1-0

Analysis: Those who worry about everything all the time will be scared to death of this game. And, to be fair, Craig Bohl is a really good coach and it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Cowboys come in and scare Missouri, or on the right day even beat the Tigers. But if that happens, this season isn't going to be any good. Missouri can't lose this game and reach the heights it hopes to reach. And the Tigers won't. Josh Allen ain't walking through that door (which might not be the worst thing in the world if you're a Jets fan).

The Pick: Mizzou 44, Wyoming 21

Record: 2-0

Analysis: I'm not going to go so far as to say this game is the season. But it's clearly the most important game on the schedule. Missouri fans like to sit around and wait for a reason to buy in. If the Tigers are 2-0 going in (which they'd better be) but lose to Purdue, a lot of people are going to check out on this team. You can dislike that, but it's absolutely true. Missouri needs a win here badly.

I think Purdue will be favored. Most will simply look at the game from last year and assume Missouri couldn't have gotten that much better or Purdue that much worse. But that was a perfect storm game. Nobody knew Purdue was good and it played well. Missouri played as poorly as possible. The result was a 35-3 embarrassment that wasn't that close.

Drew Lock and company are going to have something to prove in this one. It's not going to be easy, but I think the Boilermakers take a little step back from last season.

The Pick: Missouri 33, Purdue 27

Record: 3-0

Analysis: I know, I know. It's a home game. Georgia lost a lot. All that. The Bulldogs are still clearly the class of the SEC East and they're going to bring a lot of talent to Columbia. Missouri shouldn't play for moral victories, but the Tigers can prove a lot in this game without winning it. You want to see a fight. You want to see UGA have to work to win.

There are questions about the UGA defense. Lock will put up some numbers and the SEC will see Missouri has a potent ground game with Larry Rountree and Damarea Crockett. But I don't think the Tigers have enough to win it.

The Pick: Georgia 37, Missouri 30

Record: 3-1 (0-1)

Analysis: We're going to know after this game who the favorite in the SEC East is. Georgia and South Carolina play in week two. Maybe Florida surprises, but these three teams are the ones I think have a realistic shot to be in the mix to win the division. So whoever goes 2-0 against the other two has a HUGE leg up.

South Carolina right now is a little bit like Missouri in 2005-2006. They've got a pretty good team, but nobody is really noticing. Jake Bentley and Deebo Samuel are back and should help the offense improve over a year ago. The defense is never really a big concern with Will Muschamp in charge.

The Gamecocks and Tigers have played some great games in the last six years. I think this one is a fourth quarter game...but it goes the way of the home team.

The Pick: South Carolina 27, Missouri 23

Record: 3-2 (0-2)

Analysis: Well, yeah. I give Missouri a good chance to win each of its first five games. This one? Not so much. If I had to guess now, I'd say the line will be Bama by about 20.5. This is a tough draw for anyone. It might be a really tough draw for a Missouri team coming off back-to-back losses.

The Pick: Alabama 41, Missouri 17

Record: 3-3 (0-3)

Analysis: This is the second "win it or else" game on the schedule. Coming off three straight losses, Missouri could sink its season if it can't beat Memphis on Homecoming. Memphis is a good team. Mike Norvell is a good coach. But, like Wyoming (to a little lesser extent), if this season's going to go the way Missouri fans think it can go, you can't lose to Memphis at home.

The Pick: Missouri 41, Memphis 24

Record: 4-3 (0-3)

Analysis: This is about the time of year where Mark Stoops' teams tend to start struggling. They're great until about Halloween and tend to limp down the stretch. With a schedule featuring Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before the Tigers, it's not inconceivable UK enters this game 1-4 in SEC play and fighting for Stoops' job.

The Wildcats may bring the single best offensive player Missouri will see all season in running back Benny Snell. Along with Crockett and Rountree, the ground game in this one could be fun to watch. The difference is Missouri's passing game. The Wildcats have beaten Mizzou three years in a row, but that streak stops here.

The Pick: Missouri 45, Kentucky 31

Record: 5-3 (1-3)

Analysis: Florida is the most interesting team in the league. There's talent on the roster. How quickly can Dan Mullen get it going? I don't think the Gators can win the East, but I think they'll be a tough game for everyone on the schedule. I could see them winning eight games and maybe even nine. They're a little like South Carolina in that the offense has been a mess for years, but they've always been able to play defense. Mullen will get the offense going, but it won't happen overnight. Still, every team plays a clunker. I think this is Missouri's.

The Pick: Florida 24, Missouri 16

Record: 5-4 (1-4)

Analysis: Speaking of teams playing for something, I think this game could be the difference between making and missing a bowl game for the Commodores. I think Derek Mason is a solid coach, but I just don't see anything that jumps out to me about this team. Missouri rolled them in Nashville a year ago and I think a similar result is in the offing.

The Pick: Missouri 38, Vanderbilt 17

Record: 6-4 (2-4)

Analysis: Many will lump Tennessee in the same boat as Florida. I think the Vols are much further away. And I don't know yet if Jeremy Pruitt is a good coach.

The Vols' schedule is just brutal early. They open with West Virginia. Here are the first five SEC games: Florida, at Georgia, at Auburn, Alabama (why oh why Tennessee do you fight to keep this game?), at South Carolina. I think they lose them all. I think a bowl bid will be out the window for Tennessee before Missouri comes to Knoxville. When in doubt, pick the team that's still playing for something.

The Pick: Missouri 42, Tennessee 20

Record: 7-4 (3-4)

Analysis: I thought Arkansas made one of the best low-key hires of the offseason. Chad Morris is going to do well in Fayetteville. But not this year. He's a spread it out, light it up offensive coach that has a roster recruited to pound the football. There's going to be an adjustment period.

Based on the non-conference schedule, I think Arkansas could actually be playing for a bowl bid when it comes to Columbia. But Missouri is playing for the difference between an okay season and a pretty good one. A loss to the Hogs and 7-5 would leave a sour taste in the mouths of Mizzou fans, players, coaches, etc. I don't see it happening.

The Pick: Missouri 41, Arkansas 21

Record: 8-4 (4-4)