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Mizzou has been playing football for 130 years. As we wait and hope that season 131 will start on time, we're going to take a look back through Tiger history and identify the best of the best.
Over the next six weeks, we'll pare down our list of 64 players (selected, seeding and put into regions by position) to the best player in Tiger history. And PowerMizzou.com subscribers will make the pick.
The brackets will be posted and explained below. Then, on our premium message board, we will start a poll for each matchup. The polls will remain open through the week, closing on Friday night. The winners will move on to the next round, we will update the bracket and publish a new story and new polls the following Sunday. After six weeks, we will have the best Tiger football player as selected by our subscribers.
There are no guidelines for the voting. You can vote for the player you think is the best, you can vote for your favorite player, you can vote based on what they did at Mizzou, what they did in the pros, who had the best hair or what high school they went to. It's your vote, do with it as you please.
Today, we open the vote on the Elite Eight matchups.
Anyone can see the bracket in this story, but to vote, you'll need to be a subscriber. Sign up for your membership today and you won't be charged until September 1st.
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QUARTERBACKS AND RUNNING BACKS REGION
Chase Daniel vs Paul Christman
Daniel has taken out three signal callers who preceded him at Mizzou on the way to the regional final matchup. After getting at least 97% of the votes in each of the first two rounds, he took the Sweet 16 matchup against Brad Smith with 78.5% of the poll.
Daniel set pretty much every passing record in the books at Mizzou while leading the Tigers to a No. 1 ranking and a school record 12 wins in 2007, a season in which he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He is widely viewed as the player that put Mizzou on the national map in this century.
Christman has seen his margin dwindle a bit in each round and held off No. 2 seed Phil Bradley by just five votes out of more than 700 cast in the Sweet 16.
Christman was a two-time Heisman finalist, the only one in Mizzou history, finishing third in 1939 and fifth in 1940. He was Mizzou's all-time leading passer until 1976. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and his number 44 is retired by Mizzou.
WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS REGION
Kellen Winslow vs Jeremy Maclin
The best tight end in school history meets the best wide receiver in school history for the right to go to the Final Four.
Winslow dominated T.J. Moe, beat Mel Gray soundly and then just about doubled up Danario Alexander to get to this point. Winslow was a two-time all-Big Eight pick and a 1978 Consensus all-American. He is a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. His number 83 is retired by the Tigers.
Maclin was one of the bracket's most dominant players through the first three rounds. After getting more than 94% of the vote in the first two matchups, he get nearly 86% in beating all-American and teammate Chase Coffman in the Sweet 16.
Maclin was a two-time all-American in two seasons at Missouri after missing his first year with a torn ACL. In 2007 he set the national freshman record with 2,776 all-purpose yards, including more than 1,000 receive and 1,000 on kickoff returns. He set the school record for all-purpose yardage in just two seasons and held the single-season receiving record with 102 catches for 1,260 yards and 13 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore.
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINEMEN REGION
Justin Smith vs Sheldon Richardson
Two in-state defensive linemen of relatively recent vintage meet up here for a spot in the Final Four.
Justin Smith has been the tournament's most dominant player so far. He beat Aldon Smith with 96.6% of the vote in the Sweet 16...and it was his closest match so far.
Justin Smith was an honorable mention all-Big 12 player as a freshman in 1998 before making the first-team in 1999 and 2000. He was an all-American in 2000 as well when he set school records with 11 sacks and 24 tackles for a loss. He still ranks second on Mizzou's career list with 22.5 sacks despite playing just three seasons and is the career leader with 50 tackles for a loss. Cincinnati took Smith with the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and a two-time all-pro in 14 seasons with the Bengals and San Francisco 49ers.
Richardson pulled upsets of all-Americans John Clay and Darold Jenkins in the first two rounds before pulling out his Sweet 16 match against Shane Ray by just ten total votes.
Richardson spent just two seasons at Missouri but made 112 tackles, six sacks and forced three fumbles despite playing defensive tackle. He was first-team all-SEC in 2012 when he made 75 tackles on the interior. He was a first round draft pick of the New York Jets as the 13th overall pick and is currently with the Cleveland Browns.
LINEBACKERS AND DEFENSIVE BACKS REGION
Roger Wehrli vs Johnny Roland
In our only region where form held two standout multi-dimensional athletes from the 1960s who went on to pro careers in St. Louis match up.
Wehrli has taken out Darryl Major, William Moore and Sean Weatherspoon to get to this point, getting at least 72% of the vote in each round.
He was a force in the defensive backfield, intercepting ten passes, including seven in his all-American senior season (a school record that stood for 39 years). But he was also one of the best return men in the country, setting the Big Eight record for punt return yards and leading the nation as a senior in addition to returning a kickoff 96 yards for a TD. He played 14 years for the St. Louis Cardinals, had 62 takeaways, made seven Pro Bowls and the 1970's all-decade team. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Roland has dispatched Travis McDonald, E.J. Gaines and Eric Wright with at least 78% of the vote to this point.
Roland was seventh in the country in rushing as a sophomore before moving to defensive back as a junior. All he did there was captain the team to an 8-2-1 record and a Sugar Bowl win while being named an all-American. He had six interceptions, third in school history, and had 690 return yards. He went back to offense in the pros and was the NFL rookie of the year with the St. Louis Cardinals. In his NFL career he had 3700 yards rushing, 1400 receiving, 130 passing, 452 on kickoff returns and 444 on punt returns. He is a College Football Hall of Famer.
