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 vote on the Sweet Sixteen 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
1) Chase Daniel vs 4) Brad Smith: This is a titanic clash. These are probably the two best players of the last 20 years and certainly the two most important. Anyone who has become a Mizzou football fan over the last two decades would almost certainly point to one of these two as the main reason why.
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. Daniel dominated the voting against Steve Pisarkiewicz and James Franklin in his first two rounds.
Smith, who beat backfield mate Zack Abron soundly in round one and Corby Jones in round two, put Mizzou back in the postseason after a four-year absence following Jones' departure. He rewrote the Missouri record book and led the rebirth of Missouri football. He was the first quarterback to throw for 8,000 yards and run for 4,000 in a career and holds the school record for rushing yardage.
2) Phil Bradley vs 3) Paul Christman: If Daniel and Smith are the two best quarterbacks of the last 40 years of Mizzou football, Bradley and Christmas were probably the two best of the previous 40.
Bradley led the Big Eight in total offense for three straight seasons and ended his career with nearly 6500 total yards rushing and passing. He was the Big Eight offensive player of the year in 1980 and a three-time all-conference pick. He knocked off recent favorites Drew Lock and Henry Josey to get here.
Christman, who beat Joe Moore in round one and James Wilder in round two, was a two-time Heisman finalist, 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
1) Kellen Winslow vs 4) Danario Alexander: One of Mizzou's best pros comes up against the player who had perhaps the best individual single season in Tiger history while he was in college.
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. He has beaten T.J. Moe and Mel Gray in the first two rounds.
Alexander was productive for three years with 78 catches for 997 yards and eight touchdowns despite multiple injuries. But in 2009, he re-wrote the Tiger record book making 113 catches for 1,781 yards and 14 touchdowns, records which all still stand. He had three of the seven 200-yard games in school history in that season and ranks 1st in career receiving yardage, fourth in receptions and second in touchdowns. Alexander took out Leo Lewis and teammate Martin Rucker in the previous rounds.
2) Chase Coffman vs 3) Jeremy Maclin: This might be the tightest matchup of the tournament so far. Two record-setting receivers who played key roles on Missouri's 2007 team that rose to No. 1 in the nation lock up.
Coffman, who beat Joe Stewart with more than 90% of the vote in round one and Michael Egnew with more than 97% in round two, holds school records for receptions (247) and touchdowns (30). He was a two-time all-Big 12 first-team selection and was on the second team once. He was a consensus all-American and won the Mackey Award in 2008.
Maclin has dominated the first two rounds, beating Linzy Collins and Justin Gage with at least 94% of the vote both times. He 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
1) Justin Smith vs 13) Aldon Smith: Two Tigers who dominated up front meet up here with top-seeded Justin Smith against two-time upset winner Aldon Smith.
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. He beat Jeff Gaylord and Morris Towns, getting at least 97% of the vote each time, in the first two rounds.
After a redshirt season, Aldon Smith burst on the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2009 with 11.5 sacks, which at the time was the Mizzou school record. He had 19 tackles for a loss, sixth most in school history for a single season. He was the Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year before making the all-conference first-team in 2010. Smith ranks ninth in school history with 17 sacks and was the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He has taken care of offensive linemen Russ Washington and Francis Peay in his first two matchups.
10) Sheldon Richardson vs 11) Shane Ray: Two moderate surprises meet up meaning we will definitely have a double digit seed in the Elite Eight here.
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. He beat John Clay and Darold Jenkins in the first two rounds.
Ray beat Danny LaRose and Howard Richards on his way to this matchup. He set the school sack record with 14.5 in 2014. He also had 22.5 tackles for a loss that season, fourth on the all-time school list. In barely more than two seasons, Ray had 120 tackles and 19 sacks. He was a first round draft pick of the Denver Broncos.
LINEBACKERS AND DEFENSIVE BACKS REGION
1) Roger Wehrli vs 4) Sean Weatherspoon: Neither player has been tested so far, but that figures to change as perhaps the top defensive player of the pre-Gary Pinkel era meets up with probably the best defender of the 21st century.
Wehrli, who beat Darryl Major and William Moore with at least 83% of the vote, 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.
Weatherspoon took out Erik McMillan and Kentrell Brothers on his way here. He is the only defensive player in Missouri history to be a three-time all-conference selection, making all Big 12 in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He is the third-leading career tackler at Mizzou and his 155 stops in 2008 are second on the school's all time list. He ranks second on the school's all-time tackles for loss list with 43.5, seven more than any other linebacker. He also had four interceptions and scored two career touchdowns. He was a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons and spent eight seasons in the NFL.
2) Johnny Roland vs 6) Eric Wright: Two standout defensive backs meet for the right to move on to the Elite Eight here.
Roland, who rolled past Travis McDonald and then E.J. Gaines, 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.
Wright beat DeMontie Cross in round one before pulling a mild upset over Andy Russell in round two. Wright intercepted 11 passes in just three seasons for the Tigers from 1978 to 1980. He was an all-Big Eight safety in his final two seasons. Wright was a second round pick of the 49ers and played ten seasons. He intercepted 18 passes, made two Pro Bowls and won four Super Bowls.
