Welcome to Four Down Territory.
So, I’ll give you three thoughts on Missouri football or college football in general. Then, the last thought will be whatever I want it to be.
1. Some things are off the table, but there’s still a lot left to play for.
Missouri’s 30-21 loss to Georgia on Saturday, effectively ended the Tigers' hopes of winning the Southeastern Conference East division title and therefore a spot in the SEC Championship game.
Week 10’s game reminded me of that State Farm commercial from a decade ago, “Oh, you almost had it. You’ve got to be quicker than that.”
For the second year in a row, they gave Georgia a real competitive game and this wasn’t some early season game that Georgia had to try and rile itself up about like it did last year in Week 5 when Jalen Carter and his fellow defensive linemen interrupted Missouri’s pre-game workouts, causing a bit of a commotion.
This year, it was undefeated Georgia playing a game late in the season versus a top-12 team after it already had its two wake-up games out of the way versus Auburn and South Carolina.
The spread was Georgia -15.5 which means Vegas and the public expected Mizzou to more or less get run over and that didn’t happen.
The Tigers were up 13-10 after their first possession of the second half. So, the fact that it was even tied at 10 at intermission and then they had a lead in the second half and really made Georgia earn this win is something.
I know, no one cares about moral victories. But they do happen and count for something. Mizzou was in the game until midway in the fourth quarter down six, when Brady Cook threw an interception to Georgia defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse. Even after that Mizzou still had a chance to get a quick score and narrow the gap.
Cook would throw another interception to seal the game, but look at the mistakes the Tigers made. Two fourth-quarter turnovers and eight penalties are too many when facing a team of this caliber.
But what happens if Mizzou has half the amount of penalties and maybe one turnover?
I don’t know if they win, but is this possibly a field goal type of game where Mizzou has a final drive to send it to overtime or win the game? Possibly.
Everything the Tigers wanted was on the table until about eight minutes left in the game and then some things got removed, but it wasn’t like the table was flipped over.
If Mizzou wins out it can finish 10-2 and still get into a pretty decent bowl game. Even if it loses to Tennessee this Saturday, it may be a small letdown considering how the Tigers were looking going into their Week 9 bye. But a 9-3 season being a “letdown” is something most fans of a lot of teams would take in a heartbeat.
2. The officiating was questionable for both teams.
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