Blowin' Smoke Presented by Weston Tobacco

What's more fun than us giving you a chance to mock us every single week? In our new feature, Blowin' Smoke presented by Weston Tobacco, we will do that each and every Thursday. Gabe DeArmond and Mitchell Forde will make five predictions almost sure to go wrong every week in this space. These will range from big games to big picture predictions with a bit of the comedic and absurd mixed in most weeks as well. This week, we're mostly doing an over/under on the 2020 football season (which, for the purposes of this discussion, we are going to assume will be played as scheduled).

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Gabe: I'll go over for now. There are two gimmies in the non-conference and worst case I see Mizzou splitting the Louisiana and BYU games. That means you need a 4-4 season in the SEC. I think they beat Vandy and Arkansas. That means you've got to find two wins between that last non-con game, Mississippi State, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee (I'm not talking about Florida and Georgia because I view those as likely losses. I think they can go 2-3 in those games to end up 7-5.

Mitchell: I think you set the over/under at the right spot. I see either six or seven wins as the most likely totals for Missouri. I guess I'll go over. Doing so worries me because teams with new coaches and new quarterbacks are probably going to be hurt the most by the lack of spring practices, but when I look at the schedule, I see three virtually automatic wins (Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana), three Mizzou should win (Vandy at home, BYU, Arkansas) and three toss-ups (South Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi State). I don't think it's unreasonable to expect them to win seven of those games (assuming all 12 games are actually played).

Gabe: No. Now, I know everybody is thinking "But you just predicted them to go 7-5. And I did. But I think because of COVID-19 we're going to see a lot of these inconsequential bowl games not be played. They all lose money. So I think most of them are going to be canceled. Missouri isn't getting into the New Year's Six discussion--or really even the tier below it--at 7-5. So I think Missouri qualifies for a bowl game but doesn't play one.

Mitchell: I can definitely see the case for why the lower-tier bowl games shouldn't and won't happen this season, and I wouldn't be the least bit outraged if they didn't. But if we're planning to have an entire season, why not as of now plan on bowl games? Having them with little to no fan presence wouldn't really be a problem; that's the reality at most bowls in normal years anyway. They really only exist for TV networks. And with schools and networks both needing all the money they can get, I'm sure they'll at least try to push to have these games. Basically what you should get out of this response is the Las Vegas Bowl needs to happen so Missouri can play in it and I can go to Vegas, I mean cover the game.

Mitchell: Under. Nick Bolton is probably a safe bet, but unless someone comes out of nowhere and has a big season, I don't see a second Mizzou player getting on the first team. Kobie Whiteside and Tyree Gillespie are probably next in terms of likelihood, but the SEC is so loaded with good defensive backs and linemen every year that I'm not counting on it.

Gabe: I think the most likely guy other than Bolton is Larry Rountree. But I'm with you. I think they get one, but that's it. And then I think he heads to the NFL Draft.

Mitchell: I'll go under. I don't really have a good reasoning for it, though, other than I'm not yet convinced he's the clear-cut starter.

Gabe: I'm with you again for the same reasons. I think he's probably the starter, but I'm not sure his hold on it is strong enough where he couldn't get passed at some point. Plus, starting quarterbacks in this league tend to get hurt.

Gabe: I'd lean toward under, meaning they finish fifth. I think Georgia and Florida are 1-2 in that order. Tennessee is going to be picked third and that's fair, I think. So what it really comes down to--as it will in a lot of seasons for Missouri--is can they beat out Kentucky and South Carolina? I think they can beat out one of them, but given all the question marks in year one, I probably won't pick them to beat out both. Fourth won't surprise me. Third wouldn't stun me. But if I had to put actual money on it, I'd go with fifth.

Mitchell: Fourth sounds very possible to me. However, I think they're more likely to be fifth than third, if that makes sense. I think Georgia, Florida and Tennessee will be the top three teams, Vanderbilt will be last, and Mizzou, South Carolina and Kentucky could finish in any order from fourth through sixth and it would not surprise me. So I guess I'll say either at or under fourth.