Missouri Tigers: Reasons for fans to be thankful in 2017

Missouri is Going Bowling

While some may have been overly optimistic for the Missouri Tigers’ 2017 season back in August, the end result is in no way a disappointment.

Prior to Friday’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Missouri sits at a record of 6 – 5 with a 3 -4 record in SEC play. While that record isn’t anything special, it represents huge improvement for Barry Odom’s squad.

After going 4 – 8 in 2016 and starting off 1 -5 to start this season, it’s not farfetched to say Odom’s job was in jeopardy. For all but one of those losses, the Tigers were in disarray on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Actually, disarray is probably a compliment compared to how many would have described the Tigers.

That all changed with the Tigers’ home win against Idaho. Since then the Tigers have rattled off four additional wins, three of which came against SEC schools Florida, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.

For the first time since 2014, the Missouri Tigers will be participating in a bowl game. Obviously, it won’t be a super prestigious bowl or anything, but it’s big for the football program. That’s especially true in light of the road the Tigers have had to travel in order to achieve success.

Fans ultimately shouldn’t be disappointed with the 2017 season for Mizzou football and should actually look forward to 2018 with great anticipation.