Mizzou Football: 2019 season could be really special for Tigers

While Mizzou football is heading into a new era with a new quarterback, the 2019 season should be a good one for the Tigers. Their schedule sets up nicely for MU to go, at the very least, 9-3.

It’s been a long time since the Chase Daniel years at Missouri in which the Tigers were relevant every year and competing in big time bowl games. While the Drew Lock era didn’t have any big bowl games, Mizzou football should be one of the better teams in the SEC in 2019.

For one, Kelly Bryant chose to transfer to Missouri when it was clear Clemson didn’t need him anymore (and when you have Trevor Lawrence, who could blame them?). Bryant was a proven quarterback at Clemson and now he’ll bring his talents to Columbia where he’ll start right away.

The second big reason is that MU’s schedule is pretty easy for the most part. They begin the year with non-conference games against Wyoming, West Virginia, and SEMO, with the Wyoming one coming on the road. The other two are at home. The West Virginia game also kicks off five straight home games for the Tigers.

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In the three home games after SEMO, MU hosts South Carolina, Troy, and Ole Miss before playing three straight road games against Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Georgia. They then return home for games against Florida and Tennessee and finish the season on the road at Arkansas.

Looking at those opponents, a 10-2 record isn’t hard to imagine at all. The Tigers likely lose to Georgia in Athens because they’re a good team and have dealt MU fits over the years. It’s also very possible that Missouri continues to struggle against South Carolina, who has had their number, and there will certainly be a very “Mizzou” type game in there where they stumble in the final seconds.

While Missouri previously was “banned” from the postseason in 2019, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports tweeted that there’s optimism the ban gets overturned. Baseball and softball, both of whom were also banned, got to participate in their respective postseasons this year due to the appeal, so maybe the case won’t be wrapped up by the end of football season and the Tigers can compete in a bowl game regardless.

It’d be incredibly disappointing if Mizzou had a great year and then didn’t get to reap the benefits of it by playing in a major bowl. This should be the best season the Tigers have had in a long time and it’d really stink if they didn’t get to play it out.

Kelly Bryant and the favorable schedule make Mizzou football a highly intriguing program in 2019. They still won’t be the team to beat in the SEC (those nods go to Alabama and Georgia until another team can knock them off), but MU has a chance to be the third best team in the entire conference.

Last month, Athlon Sports put Missouri as the third best team in the SEC East, sitting behind Georgia and Florida. Georgia I get, but Florida? Mizzou beat the Gators badly in the swamp last year and have had Florida’s number recently. That’s a team that shouldn’t scare Missouri fans whatsoever.

That same article had the Tigers finishing 8-4 on the year, which most fans would gladly take. I, however, don’t see MU losing more than three games unless Kelly Bryant gets injured or something bizarre happens (which I guess you can’t count that out, considering the program’s history).

When it comes down to it, this should be a really memorable season for Mizzou football and one that, assuming the sanctions are lifted, has them playing in one of the premier bowl games at the start of 2020.