Mizzou fans: Tell me about Pinkel's big game experience

We haven't played in a big game since 2008. We lose by 21+ in big games. We are exploring options of sending SCAR in our place.

Cannot handle the pressure and resorts to going jumbo instead.

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I honestly don't know much about your team. Has your HC / staff played in big games before? What was the biggest recent game for your program?

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Pinkel's big game experience stinks.

But he's never had a defense as tenacious as this one and never had an offense as balanced.

That may not carry him any further than this Saturday, but this team certainly feels more complete than any other version he's assembled under his watch.

Outside shot he scores on Malzahn.








Kristi

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That may not carry him any further than this Saturday, but this team certainly feels more complete than any other version he's assembled under his watch.

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You're doing tRant wrong.

Most Mizzou fans will be quick to tell you that Pinkel has historically been terrible in big games.

The first that comes to mind is the 2007 Big 12 Championship against #9 Oklahoma, when Mizzou came into that game ranked #1 in the BCS and would've played in the national championship had they won. Instead, Oklahoma steamrolled Mizzou 38-17. To make matters worse, Mizzou didn't even make a BCS bowl game that year, because kU jumped us in the BCS standings, despite the fact that we just beat them in a neutral location one week earlier. Kinda similar to how the loser of this week's game will likely be jumped by Alabama in the BCS bowls.

Mizzou fans are incredibly pessimistic in general because of all of the recent heartbreaks we've had. It seems that whenever we win a marquee game, we follow it up with an uninspired performance and lose.

Now, to be fair, this season has been one giant exception. It wasn't just fans of other SEC teams that expected us to falter this season. Plenty of Mizzou fans expected us to blow it too. But time and time again this year, we haven't blown it. So history is kinda out of the window (at least I'll continue to hope that's the case!).

I will add that this pessimistic thinking about Mizzou's tendency to blow big games is a little overblown, IMO. Mizzou fans have very selective recollections. They're quick to point out that loss to Oklahoma, or our losses to Nebraska and Texas Tech in 2010 after upsetting #3 Oklahoma and jumping up to #7 in the country. But as a more optimistic person, I'm quick to point out that winning the big games against ranked opponents in the weeks before those losses are just as valuable. Each one of those wins is an example of a time we didn't blow it or choke, but Mizzou fans tend to ignore those games for some strange reason.

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Yep. Not sure we should even play the game. Maybe we should just forfeit. I mean, if Pinkel has never won a conference championship before, there's no way he'll do it now, right?

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You should lighten up with the pity party. It was a legit question.

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This year has a very different feel though. The team is playing with no pressure - they're having fun, playing loose. They relish the underdog role, and getting no respect just makes them play harder. So you never know.

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Same with Auburn IMO.

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We lost to OU twice in the same season, which really sucked.

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I never really thought we had a chance against OU that year. Our OLine and DLine just didn't have the horses to compete. I don't feel that way this year.

We definitely have some weaknesses, but I'm not scared of any team in the country.