This was a tough year for Mizzou fans. 4-8 was not what most expected, especially in the way we went 4-8. Losing to two teams from Tennessee in one year is hard to swallow. 

But even in a down year, there are the little things we can be thankful for. For example, Drew Lock threw for more than 3,000 yards putting him in the top ten for the country. That helped to take an offense that was ranked dead last in the country last year to number 15 in the entire country this year.

In any other year, that jump may be enough to hang your hat on, but this year was special. Why? Simple, the Pre-Season National Champs (and SEC Champs) Tennessee fell flat on their face. Over and over. It was so much fun to watch that I almost don’t even care we struggled so much on defense this year. (almost)

If you’re a regular listener of our show, you’ll know we don’t hold Tennessee in a high regard. They are cocky for having a good team back in 1998 (the last time they won the SEC). Or maybe it’s because they won the East Division in 2007. They also have no respect for Missouri, which would be understandable just looking at this year. However, since Mizzou joined the SEC, the Tigers have a better conference record than Tennessee’s losing record (Tigers: 19-21, Vols: 15-25).
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I could go on and on about how, in total, Tennessee has been worse than Missouri over the last five years, but I wont. That’s not the point of this. The point is to enjoy how miserably Tennessee failed in the most overhyped year ever. Various prognosticators had Tennessee as #1 overall at various points heading into the season. Something Alabama fans laughed and then promptly checked the schedule and then simply replied “we’ll see after October.”

October is when the wheels fell off the wagon, but it didn’t start there. From the first game, Tennessee fans should have realized the season wasn’t going to go the way they thought. Barely beating Appalachian State then struggling against Ohio and Georgia were clear signs a national championship was not in the cards. Everyone saw it, except Tennessee. Flash forward to October and Alabama fans just sat back and laughed. Three straight losses (one to South Carolina) ended their chance at any national championship. But it wasn’t until Florida stepped up and beat LSU before the real damage was done. After that week, Tennessee fans had nothing to do but to hold each other and wonder what went wrong.

​I don’t take satisfaction in other people’s suffering, but… I’m just kidding. It’s what helps me wake up every morning. Watching Tennessee’s easily predictable fall from grace was the only thing that got me through this year. The icing on the cake was when Butch Jones delivered one of the worst spin jobs in the history of press conferences by declaring Tennessee "Champions of Life". I can take solace in the fact that even though Mizzou was pretty bad; Tennessee lost something that Mizzou didn’t have to lose: their arrogance.
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I leave you with sad Tennessee:

As you all know by now, for the past two years Mizzou has been cursed by a kind of dark magic. The latest incarnation of the evil spell came to us this week when newly minted star running back Damarea Crockett was arrested for possession of marijuana, ending his 2016 season, a former tutor made allegations that academic fraud was systematic at Mizzou, and Defensive Line Coach, Jackie Shipp was fired after whispers of him fighting with a player. While this is bad, the Mizzou voodoo doll has taken so many pins to the torso; Tiger fans barely feel anything anymore.
 
So what can we do about it. There are two important things to know when dealing with the dark arts. First, you must find the source of the curse. Second, you must find a counter-spell. This is all just good science and I’m sure you’re all on board with me at this point.
 
Let’s tackle the first item on our list… the source of the curse. Let’s face it. Mizzou has many enemies. Kansas is an obvious suspect. They’ve hated us for years and have been pouting ever since we left the Big 12. The problem is that Kansas clearly used every ounce of dark magic that their plague-ridden hellscape of a state could ever conjure in its effort to beat the Texas Longhorns this weekend. There’s no way they could summon the kind of power needed to curse the Tigers for two years AND beat Texas. Not possible. So who’s next?

​Clay Travis is a dark and evil warlock. He is always an option, but I think he arrived on the “Hate Mizzou” bandwagon too late to be the curse culprit. Paul Finebaum is a suspect but I think he’s been too preoccupied cursing Ole Miss for beating Alabama last year. That leaves me with only one suspect who has not only the immense power to curse the Tigers, but also the motive… Steve Spurrier.
 
This should come as no surprise to anyone. Spurrier is a very powerful 6,000-year-old necromancer who has many reasons to want to smite the Tigers. Let’s start with the fact that Mizzou kicked his ass in the 1966 Sugar Bowl. Also remember that Mizzou helped send Spurrier packing last year with a 24-10 tub-thumping. He retired one game later with his tale between his legs.
 
What many of you might be forgetting as well, is the curse began IMMEDIATELY after we beat Spurrier this final time. What followed this October 3rd, 2015 game? The Tigers went on to lose six of its final seven games. A series of protests gained national attention and led to the resignations of the university chancellor and system president. The basketball team continued to falter, winning only ten games. Gary Pinkel would resign with major health concerns. The athletic director ran for the hills as fast as he could. Harold Brantley and Walter Brady were kicked off the team. We’ve won only one conference game under new coach Barry Odom. Michael Scherer and Terry Beckner Jr. had season ending injuries. We drop every other pass and can no longer tacklet. And now Damarea Crockett is arrested on dopy charges. (Get it?)
 
So there’s the problem and its source. Now what do we do to get rid of this curse? Well, the fact is if Mizzou is going to break this curse, we’re going to have to dabble in some black magic ourselves. While not licensed witch doctors, after some quick Googling, we were able to concoct a powerful potion that should do the trick. We recommend you cook up the same formula. Anyway, here’s the recipe!
 
2016 Mizzou Curse-Breaking Spell
 
2 Receiver Gloves from J’Mon Moore
1 tbsn of Quin Snyder’s Flop Sweat
1 Lock of Melissa Click’s Hair
1 gallon Jayhawk Blood
1 Anterior Cruciate Ligament from Terry Beckner Jr.
2 gallons of Gasoline from Harold Brantley’s Car
1 Dime Bag from Dorial Green-Beckham
1 Maty Mauk Headband
1 tsp Kim Anderson Charisma (hard to find)
15 gallons of Mack Rhoades arrogance (should be no problem to find at all)
 
There you have it folks! You’re welcome. The ancient texts call for us to then rub the potion over a fattened pig for the curse to be broken. We’ve decided to fill water balloons with our potion and chuck it at Bret Bielema. That should have the same affect. Better things are surely on the way for 2017!

​We finally have the monkey off of our back. Missouri’s 26-17 win over Vanderbilt turned a brutally disastrous season into merely a surprisingly devastating season. We don’t have much to play for, with just two games left on the schedule. We won’t be going to a bowl. We most certainly are out of contention for a division title. Nearly every goal that Coach Odom has set out for the team will not be reached.
 
This was a year of failure and regression. So, you ask, what of the spoiler role? When teams are in situations such as Mizzou’s, the spoiler role is something important to relish. It is a display of pride as well as a glimpse at what might have been. Spoilers can settle old scores and embrace a little Schadenfreude. I say, hail to the spoiler. And what a week to get spoiling!
 
Missouri heads to Neyland Stadium this weekend to face the Tennessee Volunteers. Followers of the Mizzodcast will be no strangers to the animosity we have for this team. We have been screaming from the rooftops for two years about how this Tennessee squad has given no indication that they are a title-contending team, yet the media continued to pronounce them the reincarnated 1972 Dolphins.
 
We’ve pulled our hair out as the media has embraced this flawed team with a flawed coach and a flawed alien quarterback, while our Tigers are repeatedly ignored as afterthoughts. This righteous indignation was tempered somewhat by us living up to those afterthought expectations, but I digress.
 
Missouri has a chance to accomplish a couple of big goals. If we can somehow, some way pull of an upset on Saturday, we will jam it in the eye of arrogant SEC prognosticators who have fawned over Tennessee for two years. We will jam it in the eye of those same talking heads that view our team as some kind of FCS directional school dog. Most importantly, if we win on Saturday, we will crush Butch Jones and his bloated head and his anachronistic flat-top haircut.
 
It will be a thing of glory, and it gives me reason to hope. This is also a chance to develop our young guns. As this turd sandwich of a season has progressed, a page has been turned on personnel. While we have a pretty veteran defensive crew, nearly every skill position on offense is filled with a freshman or sophomore… and a good one! This is led the way by newly-minted team star, Damarea Crockett, and the talented but puzzling Drew Lock.
 
We also have the opportunity to see what the re-booted old/new scheme on defense can do. We set the dogs loose the last two weeks and it’s working. While the defense still gives up big yards, they are now also making big plays. Tennessee has shown an affinity for blowing opportunities as well.
 
Look, Missouri is a 15-point underdog in this game. The Tigers will very likely lose. But the fact remains, that we’re not facing the 1972 Dolphins. We’re facing a garbage team with a garbage coach with garbage arrogant fans. They know how to choke, and if we oblige them in that tendency, oh how glorious it will be. The grapes will be soooo sour. IF this somehow happens, be ready for a two-hour special show that is just us drinking the salty tears of clueless Vol fans. Go Tigers!