2010 NCAA Football Preview: Missouri
Missouri Tiger football fans can rest assured of one thing: given a sufficient amount of time, head coach Gary Pinkel can turn the team’s fortunes around.
He proved it when he took over for Larry Smith after the 2000 season. Smith had led the team to losing seasons in five of the last seven years. Since his first season in 2001, Pinkel has been able to lead the Tigers to six winning seasons over the last nine. The team’s best finish was in 2007 when they finished 12-2 including a big win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl and final AP ranking of #4 (#5 in the Coaches' Poll).
Following up such success is never easy. The next two years saw the Tigers finish 10-4 and 8-5. Going into 2010 the Tiger faithful would like to see a return to better days, possibly even an invitation back the Big XII championship game. With the caliber of quarterback they have returning fans are definitely excited about the possibilities. However, the team will still have to replace a number of other starters on both sides of the ball for the Tigers to improve off of the 2009 season.
Offense
Missouri's Pinkel should not miss a beat improving off of last season’s performance with most of his starting group coming back in 2010.
The continued maturation of Blaine Gabbert will be an important part of the team’s success. He looked good for the most part in 2009, and with that experience to build off of his numbers should only get better (3593 yards, 262 of 445, 24 touchdowns, nine interceptions). He’ll be missing Jared Perry and Danario Alexander, his best two receivers from last season. Junior Wes Kemp and Jerrell Jackson will need to step up as will T.J. Moe and Michael Egnew.
If need be, the team could easily lean on running back Derrick Washington a little more. Last season he nearly ran for 860 yards on 190 carries and 10 touchdowns. If given the chance he could do well behind his offensive line that has four returning starters (Elvis Fisher, Austin Wuebbels, Tim Barnes, and Dan Hoch). During his junior year in high school he averaged 15 yards a carry rushing 158 times for 1326 yards and 22 touchdowns; he added another 861 yards off of 31 receptions.
Defense
The defense only lost a few starters, but will need to improve in order to make the Tigers competitive in the Big XII.
Even though four players return to the secondary, this isn't necessarily a good thing. The pass defense has ranked among the worst in football the last two years, ranking 104th in the nation and 11th in the conference in 2009. All four returning starters are seniors (Carl Gettis, Kevin Rutland, Jarrell Harrison, and Jasper Simmons) which make these guys as experienced as they are going to get in college. If they can’t stop the pass in 2010 it would not be surprising to see Trey Hobson, Kip Edwards, and Kenji Jackson receive more time.
The strength of the unit could be in the front four. Aldon Smith is the lone returning all-conference player; as a freshman he had 60 tackles and 11 sacks. Dominique Hamilton returns from the group that ranked 26th in the nation against the rush and 34th in sacks. Looking to pick up time will be sophomores Marcus Malbrough and Brad Madison along with Jacquies Smith.
Offensively there is no reason not to expect the Tigers to be better in 2010 than they were in 2009. Gabbert showed he had the talent to get the job done last year, and now that he has the experience as well should be a player to watch in the future. He will make the receivers around him better players.
The problem will be in how well the team can stop the pass. As poor as the secondary has been there is no reason to expect opposing teams to do anything but pass early and pass often. For the Tigers to match the win total from last season they may be forced into a number of shootouts.
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