COLUMBIA, Mo. — Beer pong was played in front of a thumping bass on College Avenue. Washers were tossed in the shaded grass along Sixth Street. Chicken wings were smoked and burgers were grilled in the prime tailgating spots around Memorial Stadium.
The different game-day staples were underscored by familiar conversations.
Well, what will be in store this Mizzou football season?
Some Tiger fans wanted to weigh in with win totals, with similar sentiments offered as observed in a recent social media poll.
A pregame Twitter survey that gathered more than 900 votes had the following results: 27.5 percent of respondents thought the Tigers’ win total would be five or fewer in Eli Drinkwitz’s third season; 34.9 percent said six wins; 29.2 percent said seven wins; and 8.4 percent at eight wins, or more.
Others offered more qualitative than quantitative goals.
One good example took place beneath a tent full of Kansas City-based Tiger fans and alums who could not come to a consensus.
“Seven wins,” Dylan Meyer started.
“I’m tired of just bowl eligibility,” Austin Hall countered. “We need to get back to Cotton Bowl stuff. We’re an SEC team.”
“I need eight wins,” Meyer said, upping his total.
Matt George, after listening and considering, said this: “I want the hype of Drinkwitz’s recruiting class to come through on the field. I want to look fast out there.”
I’m with George. And so is a former head college football coach — it wasn’t Gary Pinkel — I asked to describe what should be a fair expectation for a coach’s third season.
“Visible improvement with the program in terms of winning, competing and player development,” opined my coaching contact. “Should make a bowl game.”
I’d add a few things to the wish list.
Drinkwitz needs to prove he can develop quarterbacks at the SEC level. Brady Cook is the starter now. Sam Horn is likely the future starter. Both need to make big strides this season, even if Horn’s don’t come during game time. (Though it would be nice if he could get some live reps.)
Development needs to be a theme for this season in general. Not just quarterbacks. Every captain picked was an ex-Tigers coach Barry Odom recruit. And there are eight of them! That’s not entirely crazy for year three. But it needs to change by year four, as Drinkwitz-recruited players step forward into leadership roles.
The Tigers need to be tougher on the road. They have not developed much of a bite away from Faurot Field under Drinkwitz. Trips to Kansas State and Auburn offer tough but winnable contests away from home this season. It would be encouraging if one of those became a win. It would be stellar if both do.
Drinkwitz needs to have a defensive coordinator who succeeds and then stays. Blake Baker is highly respected and should be more prepared for this assignment than former DC Steve Wilks, whose head was spinning for half of last season as he attempted to readjust from the NFL to college ball. If Baker succeeds, great. That’s step one. Step two is keeping him in place and fighting off potential poachers. A fourth defensive coordinator in four years would not be ideal.
Luther Burden needs to get the ball a lot and in a lot of different ways. He is an electric receiver and punt returner. He needs the ball in his hands with space to create. Drinkwitz is a creative play-caller and we should be able to see more of that this season now that he has a healthy quarterback in Cook, who is faster and more mobile than former starter Connor Bazelak was last season.
If most of those things can happen, a bowl game will be waiting on the Tigers, and Drinkwitz's trajectory will be trending toward what could be a special year four.
One of Mizzou’s most important fans was in CoMo for Thursday’s game.
That would be SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who took the opportunity to squash a theory promoted by CBS Sports this offseason that suggested Mizzou should be wary of the SEC potentially offloading members during the league’s expansion arms race.
“The absurdity of that conversation knows no boundaries,” Sankey told me. “I don’t know if that squashes it.”
Indeed.
“It’s never been a conversation, and should not be a conversation,” Sankey added.
Sankey, who is a big fan of Mizzou athletics director Desiree Reed-Francois, knows firsthand the highs Mizzou football reached under former coach Pinkel.
If the height of that bar was underappreciated then, it is longed for now, whether you are watching from the parking lot or the press box.
“A little bit of turmoil,” Sankey said. “But we're in a new chapter, very much so.”
Season three with Drinkwitz should prove it.
