Missouri Football trying to re-establish SEC success

ATLANTA, GA JULY 18: University of Missouri head football coach Barry Odom answers questions during the 2018 SEC Football Media Days on July 18th, 2018 at the College Football Hall of Fame located in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Missouri football hasn’t been in the SEC all that long, but they once were at the top of the conference. The Tigers will look to get back to that mark in 2018.

The Missouri Tigers officially moved to the SEC in 2012 and it was a huge move for the university. Everyone knows that SEC football is the cream of the crop and the Tigers have had an opportunity to be a part of that prestigious club.

In year one, MU wasn’t anything to write home about on the gridiron. By year two in their new conference, the Tigers had already become the leaders of the SEC East.

In that 2013 season, Mizzou squared off against Auburn in the SEC Championship Game and lost by double digits. Missouri won the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma State though, which was a huge accomplishment considering they had just joined the conference in 2012.

Year three was a continuation of SEC success for Missouri, who once again won the SEC East and got to play in the SEC Championship Game. This time it was against who else but the Alabama Crimson Tide, who completely destroyed the Tigers by 29 points. Even with that loss, many Tiger fans felt that this was going to be the norm for the program moving forward, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case.

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The Tigers haven’t come close to sniffing the SEC East title since that 2014 season. Many MU fans hope that the 2018 season is when the program re-establishes itself as a force to be reckoned with not just in the SEC East, but in the entire SEC.

If there’s going to be a year for Mizzou football to get back to the top, it’ll be in 2018 where they have a potential number one overall draft pick quarterbacking their offense. The success of the 2018 Missouri Tigers will largely depend on how well Drew Lock performs during his senior season.

The defense obviously will have to improve as well, as part of what made those 2013 and 2014 teams so dangerous was how darn good their defenses were. It was tough to score on MU during that time and that hasn’t been the case for the program over the past few seasons.

2017 was a stepping stone in the right direction for Missouri and they have a real opportunity to take back what’s theirs (that being the SEC East crown). Again, there’s no better year for the Tigers to climb back to the top of the conference than in a season where they have one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football.

The 2018 season could be monumental for the Missouri Tigers, as it could get them back to the top of the conference and hopefully put them in a great position moving forward.

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