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. On to this week's predictions.

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Mitchell: As I said last week, I remain optimistic football will be played in the fall. I do not, however, think it will be played in front of full stadiums until a vaccine is widely available, which seems unlikely to happen in the next six months or so. I don't know if there would be zero fans allowed or if there will be a way to allow like half capacity in stadiums and sit everyone apart from one another (I doubt it, because people are still going to be in close contact getting in and out of the stadiums and in bathrooms), but I don't see anyone playing in front of 100,000 fans this year, at least early on.

Gabe: I'm actually the opposite of you. I think they'll play in front of fans, which means they won't play in the fall. I don't think football without fans works. If it's not safe for 20,000, is it safe for 400 (players, coaches, officials, etc), half of whom have to travel to get to the game? Then you throw TV cameras and those people out there. Once you get that many people (many of whom by necessity have to be within six feet of each other) why does it matter if you have more? Also, the fans being there just make too much money for the schools to give it up. I think they'd move the season to the spring before they played games in the fall with nobody there.

Mitchell: This is a tough one. As a former Olympic sport athlete at Missouri, I really, really hope not. But it would be foolish to outright dismiss the possibility. Mizzou already operated at a deficit each of the past three years. It still owes money on the South Endzone renovation. It's due to miss out on $8 to $10 million in SEC revenue at some point in the next year or two due to the NCAA sanctions. Now, throw in a decrease in revenue from the NCAA Tournament being canceled and likely decline in ticket sales this fall (see above), and I have to think an action more drastic action is going to be needed than cutting pay 10 percent for 20 employees. Ultimately, I believe a football season is going to happen, and Mizzou has enough fat that it could trim in the AD that it won't have to cut any sports, but I wouldn't feel confident making that bet.

Gabe: As of today I'll say no. Now, I've said in the past I think Mizzou should cut sports. And I don't think it would be the worst thing. But I don't think they want to and I think it will be a last resort. The problem, also, is Title IX. The tennis coach just resigned and my first thought is, "Don't hire a replacement and drop the program" but you can't really drop a women's sport without having something to drop on the other side. There are men's sports they could cut too, but I just think that's a decision that probably takes a little longer to make if it has to end up happening.

Gabe: I cheated and read your answer before I typed mine. I'll agree 7-5 is successful. It's the minimum that I think people would look at and be satisfied with. Nobody's burying Eli Drinkwitz if he goes 6-6, but I also don't think anyone's doing cartwheels. I've had some people tell me Missouri's schedule is really tough and I just don't see it. Seven wins is solid. More than seven and I think you start to feel real good about the guy they hired and the direction they're moving.

Mitchell: I'll say 7-5 in the regular season. I almost said 6-6, and if Mizzou goes 6-6 I don't think anyone should be disappointed, but after looking at the schedule, 6-6 really shouldn't be very tough. Mizzou should absolutely beat Central Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana and Arkansas (all at home). That leaves Tennessee (road), BYU (road), Georgia (home), Kentucky (home), Mississippi State (road) and Florida (road). That's not an easy slate by any means, but I think most fans would expect Missouri to win at least two, if not three, of those games in a typical year. I say 6-6 is the baseline where you're not disappointed but not thrilled, 7-5 is a success, anything better is gravy.

Mitchell: I'd be surprised. A couple weeks ago, I said I couldn't pick Mizzou to be a tournament team in 2021 yet, but I might change my mind based on what the roster ends up looking like. Well, since then, they've struck out on what appeared to be their two best chances of landing an instant-impact scorer. Plus, three players have declared for the NBA Draft, and while we certainly don't expect all of them to leave, it's possible one of Jeremiah Tilmon or Xavier Pinson does. The offseason isn't over — the staff is still pursuing several transfer options — but most of those guys appear to be traditional transfers, meaning they'll most likely have to sit out next year. It's not impossible everyone on the current roster improves and Mizzou squeaks into the tournament field, but anyone picking that to happen is doing so based on blind optimism.

Gabe: I just don't see it. The roster hasn't improved since the end of last year. There are ways--most specifically everyone stays healthy all year and they play closer to their potential than they did a year ago--but this was an average to below average team that I don't think improved. And I think a lot of the rest of the SEC did.

Gabe: Without having any real reason for it, I'll say DeMarkus Acy. I think he's got the measurables even if he wasn't at the combine. Darkhorse: Kelly Bryant.

Mitchell: Assuming the first two are Jordan Elliott and Albert Okwuegbunam, I'm going with Yasir Durant. Think he gets picked somewhere around the fifth or sixth round.