Welcome to Four Down Territory where 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. Looking at the top seven teams in the Associated Press Poll and which of them have to face each other.
Georgia remains at No. 1 in the AP poll, Texas jumped up one spot to No. 2, The lone non-SEC team in the top seven is Ohio State, which dropped down from No. 2 to No. 3., Alabama stays at No. 4, Ole Miss moved from No. 6 to No. 5, Mizzou jumped up to No. 6 in the AP poll from No. 9 and Tennessee jumped up seven spots from No. 14 to No. 7.
In the 88 years of the AP poll, that has never happened.
I wanted to take a look at those top seven teams and see how many of those teams face each other this season.
Georgia faces four teams in the top seven in Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee in that order. Only the Tennessee game will be a home game for the Bulldogs.
Texas' only top-seven opponent is Georgia. The Longhorns will host the Bulldogs in Week 8 and play No. 15 Oklahoma the week before, but those are the only remaining ranked opponents on their schedule.
Ohio State doesn't have to face a top seven team as of now, but it does have four games versus ranked opponents. The Buckeyes are at No. 9 Oregon in Week 6. They'll get a bye in Week 7 before hosting No. 23 Nebraska and then going back on the road in Week 8 to face No. 8 Penn State. Ohio State's regular-season finale will be hosting No. 17 Michigan.
Alabama hosts Georgia in Week 5 before going on the road to face Tennessee in Week 8, host Mizzou in Week 9 and go back on the road in Week 10 to face No. 16 LSU. The Crimson Tide also have to go on the road to face the Sooners in Week 12.
Ole Miss hosts Georgia in Week 11. That's the only top-seven team they will face as of now, but in Week 7 the Rebels will go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face No. 16 LSU. They'll get a bye week in Week 8 and then host No. 15 Oklahoma in Week 9. So, it's not Georgia's schedule but it's certainly not easy.
Missouri has to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to face the Crimson Tide in Week 9. That's the only top seven opponent Mizzou has to play but it will have to host the 15th-ranked Sooners in Week 11.
Tennessee will host Alabama in Week 8 and go on the road to face Georgia in Week 12. The Volunteers do have to go to Norman, Oklahoma in Week 4 to face No. 15 Oklahoma.
2. So, let's rank the top seven teams from the easiest remaining schedule to the hardest.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription
Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage
