Missouri Tigers 2006 Football Preview:

No Mo. Misery

By Big12-Fans Writer Brandon Reese

What on earth could make anyone think Missouri improved? With the exception of Vince Young, the loss of Brad Smith has to be the most traumatic of any within the Big 12. If Gary Pinkel couldn’t pull a snatch and grab WITH Brad Smith while Nebraska was down and Iowa State was shanking field goals, what chance does he have WITHOUT him? A pretty good one.

When I ran the Iowa State preview and picked them to finish out of bowl contention, I mentioned there would be one more pick I’d make contrary to what’s popular. This is it. The Misery Tigers end all these years as an also ran and finally take home the prize as North Division champs. So how can a team that hasn’t finished with more than 8 wins since the inception of the Big 12 suddenly take that next step, and with out their best player from last year?

On offense, the Tigers have a more than capable quarterback to take over for Smith. Chase Daniel doesn’t have the speed of the moves of Brad Smith, but he doesn’t need them. Over what seems like the past eight years, if you contained Smith, you stopped Missouri. If you contain Chase Daniel, you haven’t accomplished much. He’s not an all conference player. He’s more than adequate, but he’s not a star. He’ll spread the ball around, manage the game and keep his mistakes to a minimum. With receivers like Greg Bracey and William Franklin, he doesn’t have to do much. The two receivers are battling for depth chart placement with Franklin having garnered experience due to Bracey’s bout with mono last year. Bracey stretches the field with a sub 4.3-40 to provide a deep threat, while Franklin runs just a tenth of a second slower and has the hands to make up for it. Both complement senior Brad Ekwerekwu. Ekwerekwu is a soft hands guy, a possession receiver with the size to make real plays. With a receiving corps like this one, an adequate tight end would be gravy. On this unit, two outstanding tight ends are the flesh and bones. There’s no better proven targets in the league than Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman. Both are solid blockers with the ability to get open over the middle and hang on to the ball. The offensive line returns four starters in tackles Tyler Luellen and Joel Clinger, with center Adam Spieker and guard Mike Cook anchoring the middle. Depth is a problem, but if the offense rolls as it should through the pre-conference games, it could become a strength.

This defense is one that didn’t have a great deal of success last year. They held just three opponents (Arkansas St, Kansas and Baylor) under 21 points. The secondary performed poorly after coming off a strong 2004. The linebackers were at their best when tackling was inconsistent, and at their worst when it was nonexistent (see New Mexico). The defensive line was green, but showed signs of life later in the year. Five talented defensive linemen return this year to assemble on of the strongest front seven in the conference and possibly the country. Defensive ends Brian Smith, Stryker Sulak and Xzavie Jackson combined for 19 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss last season. The inside pillars are senior Jamar Smith and junior Lorenzo Williams. The linebackers will show more experience and likely rise with support from the front. Seniors Dedrick Harrington and Marcus Bacon will pickup the slack for sophomore Van Alexander, but won’t have to for long. Alexander is expected to outshine both of them by year’s end. Possibly the only problem area within the entire team is the secondary. Though they weren’t impressive last year, they lose three starters. Dominique Johnson and Darnell Terrell lock up at the corners with only two interceptions between them in their careers. Brandon Massey takes over at free safety as David Overstreet makes the move to the free safety position. Overstreet was a member of the outstanding 2004 group as a sophomore, and seemed to be the only one to follow up that potential with a successful 2005 season.

The schedule is favorable with home games against Murray State and Ole Miss to open the season. A trip to New Mexico is sure to play as a revenge game after the 45-35 upset last season. A home polish against Ohio rounds out the noncon games and should leave the Tigers at 4-0. Then the secondary will be tested thoroughly. A home game against Colorado and a road stretch against both Texas Tech and Texas A&M should leave the country knowing what the Zou defense is truly made of. Moving on from this stretch at 5-1 will leave Mizzou in the driver’s seat of the North, but there’s no reason to believe they can’t take each of those games. They return to Columbia to face Kansas State then Oklahoma, and head out on the road again to face Nebraska in Lincoln, where they haven’t won since 1978. Following a bye week, they make another trip to Iowa State and finish up against Kansas at home.

I won’t guarantee anything, but Missouri should take the North. The schedule is stacked with tough road games that will prove how well this team can play and how difficult the offense is to stop. If the defense shores up and continues to improve, the road trips to ISU and Nebraska won’t break their backs. With the schedules the top teams in the North have to play this year, it’s an open race, and I’m expecting Missouri to sneak by to break the tape in the end.