2019 Macadoodle's Mailbag: 29th Edition

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GD: We think there are still a couple of players out there who are likely headed to Missouri but have not announced anything yet. As we always say, "silent commits" are largely worthless. I mean, it's something, but if they're not willing to go public with it, it's far from really mattering. But we think there are a couple of those situations out there right now.

It's certainly possible one or both could resolve themselves after this weekend. The first couple of years, Night at the Zou was a big time for commitments. It might be a little less so now. June was the big month where so many kids committed. A lot may now wait until they take official visits later in the season. But we wouldn't be surprised to see a handful of commitments between now and the Wyoming game.

GD: Obviously neither would be ideal. The easy thing is to say that B is worse because it's fewer wins overall. But I actually don't think so. The truth is, Missouri has been awful in the first half of the season the last three years. Under Barry Odom, Mizzou is 10-2 in November...and 9-15 in September and October. It creates this weird dynamic where fans finish the season thinking, "Man we've got a lot of momentum, I think next year is going to be a big step forward" and then Missouri destroys that momentum in the first half of the season before rebuilding some of it in the last month.

Missouri can't be out of the running for anything meaningful on October 10th again. I remember the BYU game in 2015 being the first game Mizzou had played in like 10 years where a bowl game was a mathematical impossibility (the figure isn't exact, but it's close). Most of those years, a division title was still mathematically possible in November. But the last three years, Mizzou entered November knowing even if it was perfect, the best case scenario was the Liberty Bowl. That kills enthusiasm. And there would be no bigger way to kill it this year than by losing to Wyoming. I think the fans could stomach a competitive loss to West Virginia, though it would take some wind out of the sails. But they absolutely can't stomach a loss to Wyoming. Winning games is obviously the most important thing for any coach. But a close second for Odom is getting people back in the stands. And the truth is, if you're sitting 3-2 or worse when Troy comes to town in early October, most people are going to have checked out.

It really comes down to this: People pay attention to really good or really bad. Ten wins or more gets people excited. Six wins or fewer won't get them excited in terms of coming to games, but it will get them fired up and paying attention to the program (most likely calling for change). But anything between that? It's just kind of there. Eight wins and the Liberty Bowl? Yeah, that's been done. Nine and the Citrus? A step forward, but probably not one that fills the bandwagon. Ten and the Peach Bowl? Now you're talking about difference making. And if Missouri has more than one loss before it goes to Athens, Georgia in early November, it isn't winning ten games. So back to your original question, if Missouri comes out of the gates 0-2, I don't think what happens the rest of the year really even matters because nobody's going to be paying any attention.