re: what are odds that Mizzou wins the east?

It's not a purse, it's a satchel. Indian Jones wears one.

quote:

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Despite a solid run the last few years Mizzou gets no respect.

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I wouldn't quite put it that way, Mizzou has in the past five years created tremendous opportunities for itself at times but we have not closed the deal, and until we do our past history and name brand isn't strong enough for us to stay in the national or SEC region's consciousness for long.

Exhibit A: It's 2007. Halftime of the Big 12 championship game. Though looking shaky and banged up, #1 ranked Mizzou nonetheless is tied 14-14 at halftime with OU. If Mizzou finds a way to just duplicate that same half, then slip into overtime and somehow some way do something to pull it out by 1 point, voila, MU is in the national title game against Ohio State and its national presence moving forward in the years following is cemented. But we didn't, we played like crap and got buried by the Swooners in the second half. Failed to capitalize, our bad.

Exhibit B: It's 2010. #11 Mizzou has just beaten BCS #1 ranked Oklahoma. Now Mizzou itself is headed toward the Top 5 in the BCS rankings, with a road trip to fellow North challenger Nebraska looming and seemingly a very manageable schedule after that. If Mizzou can win in Lincoln and then win out after that against a seemingly easy schedule, it's headed to a Big 12 title game rematch with an OU team it had already beaten, with another shot at the national title game for Mizzou hanging in the balance. Instead, Mizzou flubbed its game in Lincoln and then flubbed the following game to a mediocre Texas Tech team to boot, and though we went on to finish 10-2 in the regular season, we blew the opportunity to really be part of the national conversation that year and thereafter.

Bottom line, I think there's a tendency nationally to forget and overlook some of the good things Mizzou has done recently, but the fact is, we have not taken those final steps when the chance was there to really cement our national presence.