Its all about the D in Game 1

Well the time has come for the beginning of the season.  I have tried to be patient, but I am done.  The season begins on Saturday evening matching My Tigers against the Illini.  So how do I think this game is going to turn out?  I am glad you asked.

This game will mark the beginning of a season when the national media becomes impressed with Missouri's Defense.  I expect the offense to struggle in this game, and by struggle I mean they won't be putting 40 on the board.  I see something more like 31 - 14 with the Tigers victorious.

The offense will look great a times and sputter to a few 3 and outs.  But this defense is going to be stellar.  The 14 I am giving Illinois might be generous.  This group is fired up and ready hit someone.  And while everyone will be keying on William Moore at safety, I think it will be our D-Line that is dominant.  They will harass Juice Williams, he will start to run only to find a collection of linebackers that are more pro speed and size than college.  Yes this defense is the real deal and they will have their coming out party on Saturday.

So you might wonder if I will be heading to St. Louis for the game.  I would love to tell you that I won the lottery last night and I was getting a suite and taking all my friends, but I didn't.  So I will be heading to Jay and Kelly's and we will be having a full day of Tiger football.  Starting with the 07 highlight DVD, followed by the Cotton Bowl Romp, then finally the 08 season will begin.  They are having a whole bunch of people over for the game so we will be having a great time watching our Tigers roll to victory.

Predictions

I know it has no right to it, but the freaking gnomes have been kicking me in the ankles and this was the only way to get them to stop.

So here we go:

Lets fist look at the schedule;

08/30/08	vs. Illinois	St. Louis, Mo.	7:30 p.m. CT
09/06/08	vs. Southeast Missouri State	Columbia, Mo.	TBA
Salute to America
09/13/08	vs. Nevada	Columbia, Mo.	TBA
Family Weekend
09/20/08	vs. Buffalo	Columbia, Mo.	TBA
10/04/08	at Nebraska *	Lincoln, Neb.	TBA
10/11/08	vs. Oklahoma State *	Columbia, Mo.	TBA
10/18/08	at Texas *	Austin, Texas	TBA
Homecoming
10/25/08	vs. Colorado *	Columbia, Mo.	TBA
11/01/08	at Baylor *	Waco, Texas	TBA
Black Out
11/08/08	vs. Kansas State *	Columbia, Mo.	TBA
11/15/08	at Iowa State *	Ames, Iowa	TBA
11/29/08	vs. Kansas *	Kansas City, Mo.	11:30 a.m. / 2 p.m. CT
Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship
12/06/08	vs. South Division Champion	Kansas City, Mo.	7:00 p.m. CT

OK so we have to come out of the gates firing on all cylinders because we certainly know that we will get the very best the Illinois has to offer. That said I think that we will be fine. I believe this will be a coming out part for a Defense that is still not getting the recognition it deserves. Final Score - 34 - 14 Mizzou

We then come home for 3 straight games that we should clean up in. Note to all Tiger fans. Nevada is improving and could end up being a trap game. They will also help our strength of schedule at the end of the year. We have now won 4 straight and we take a trip to Lincoln.

Off to Lincoln where we have not won since the Great Wall of China was built. I would like to tell you that we are gonna roll this game. And I will! Mizzou will be hyper focused on this game and will come out and shut down any Husker offense while rolling to a 41-3 victory.

Back home we go to face off against Okie St. He's a Man and He's 40! Mike Gundy will roll into Columbia undefeated but will take his Cowboys out of town with their tails between their legs. Mizzou wins 35 - 21, Maclin will return his first kick of the year in this game.

The Game of the Year in my estimation is next up. The Tigers head on the road to Austin. If the Tigers have not won in Lincoln since the Great Wall of China was built then is must be since the Jurassic period since the Tigers have emerged victorious. But this time the Tigers have something to prove. Chase Daniel is fired up and ready to show Mack Brown exactly what he missed out on by passing on him. Darnerio Alexander will be full speed by this game giving the tigers more weapons in the passing game than anyone can cover. Maclin, Alexander, Saunders, Perry, McGaffie, Coffman, Thomas, Goldsmith..... you get the idea. This day will showcase Chase Daniel as he throws for 5 TD's and runs in for another. The Defense is gelling by this point and felling good, Colt McCoy is knocked out of the game in the first quarter after throwing 2 pics and putting the pall on the ground. The tigers absolutely roll in this one. 52 - 17. Notes on the game, William Moore with have his first Pick 6 of the season and will lead all of college football with 6 interceptions.

The #2 ranked tigers bring their undefeated record back home to a sell out crowd at Memorial Stadium to meet the Colorado Buffaloes. This game will be one of the more entertaining of the year if you enjoy last second victories. After being up so high for the Texas game the Tigers return to Columbia a bit dazed and confused. A much improved Buffalo squad lead the game 21 - 7 at halftime. Coach Pinkle shows some moxie in this game and makes some halftime adjustments and gets the troops fired up. The tigers begin the 3rd quarter with a pick 6 by William Moore and the defense is again fired up. Colorado however uses the aggressive tiger defense to its advantage and comes right back with a play action pass deep over the middle for a long TD. The fans are getting nervous, but Chase and company finally gat on the field and drive down for an easy score to Chase Coffman. The score is now 28 - 21 Buffs. The Defense come up with a stop and puts the Chase and co. back on the feild and they stall a bit as well giving Jeff Wolfert the chance at a 42 yard field goal. With the kick up and good the Tigers now trail 28 - 24. With 10 minutes remaining in the game the Tiger defense comes up with another big stop and puts the offense back on the feild and they do not dissapoint as Daniel hooks up with Coffman for the second TD of the game. As the ensuing kickoff is fielded the Scoreboard reads 28 - 31 Tigers with 3:48 remaining. The Buffaloes set up a brilliant return and if not for a great play on special teams it would have been a touchdown. As it was the Buffloes started a the Tiger 25 and efficiently moved down the field and scored with 59 seconds remaining. The tigers are down 35 - 31 with only 0:59 to go. In a totally different look the tigers line up Maclin and Alexander to field the kick. The run a perfect fake reverse as the Buffs kicked the ball to Alexander and the tigers set it up for Maclin. The buffs bought in and Alexander was all alone with the ball racing down the sideline. Knocked out of bounds at the 42 of Colorado with 38 seconds to go the tigers are in hurry up mode. Last year at times hurry up mode looked like a mess, but this year it is well thought out and planned. The tigers move quickly and move down the field to the 5 yard line on consecutive out routes to Saunders. With 7 seconds remaining the ball is snapped and and once of the most genius plays ever devised by Dave Christianson is run. Coffman is running across the back of then end zone and is being covered like a blanket, Maclin is head to one corner and Alexander to the other and then there is Jared Perry who trails Coffman by about 10 yards, Daniel pumps toward Coffman as a signal to Perry to stop and the pursuit follow Coffman as perry is left wide open as Daniel fires to Perry for the score. A sell out crowd is in a frenzy as their Tigers are now the #1 team in the land as Ohio State will lose to Penn State early in the day. Final Score 38-35 Tigers

The #1 ranked Tigers roll into Waco to face Baylor and are more focused because of the issues they had with Colorado and put the beat down in on the Bears. In a quickly played game as Derrick Washington rushes for 150 yards and 2 TDs. The tigers emerge victorious with a 35 - 14 victory.

Kansas State comes to Memorial Stadium having played better than in years past but this looks to be the year of the tiger as Missouri begins to assert itself on opponents and manhandles K-State to the tune of 45 - 7 as the defense has its best outing in Big 12 play.

The trap game in Ames is anything but as the Cyclones are reeling as they fight through injuries and inconsistent play. The Missouri defense is even more inspired than last game as they shutout the clones as the 1st team offense takes a half off. Final Score 38 - 0 Missouri.

Armageddon at Arrowhead is anything but as KU fans unload their tickets to MU fans because their season has gone so far south. The normally red back drop at Arrowhead is gold this day as the Tigers come out for one last tune up for the Big 12 Championship game. The defense is now the most fear part of this team as there is no weak part. Beginning with the linebackers who can stuff the run, cover the pass, and rush the QB. Then moving to the D line who has come together and and shut down the opposing running game and get consistent push to the QB. Coulter sets a record for sacks during this game and know Reesing out of the game. The DBacks are so good and this is a big reason why the the Tigers will lead with nation in sacks this year. William Moore will be a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, just behind Jeremy Maclin. The Tigers shut down the Hawks and allow only 10 points as the offense rolls and puts up 52 on the Jayhawks. Final Score 52-10 Missouri!

So there you have it. A really tough game in the middle and so good old fashioned butt kicken of Kansas. Sounds about right.

Black and Gold Game

The Black and Gold game went off without a hitch. There was no tailgating, but instead pizza from Shakes. I will be brief as I am sure that the 3 people who read this are already up to speed on whats happening in Mizzou football. The first team offense looked crisp for it being April. Chase Daniel tried to force a couple of balls, but that is just him. The one I saw that I was not a huge fan of was a pass to Maclin in the end zone, Maclin looked covered from my angle and Tommy Saunders looked like he was wide open in the corner. Could be my angle from the stands but I hope the Daniel is not focusing in on Maclin to much. He does not seem like the type.

The first team defense was just flat out awesome. They only let the second team O past the fifty once and then they did not get past the 35. Granted it is against the 2nd team O, but there is a new attitude on the defense. This squad could really be tough on opponents next year. Lets wait and see how it turns out, but I would say that this should be quite a good year to be a tiger fan!

A cotton bowl post in March?

Touchdown Tony Temple - photo by Jay Hurst

So I will make this short and sweet. Carrie, Kelly, Chickenbone, Tori, Snack Pack and Pringles all made the trip to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. It was a fantastic way to end an amazing season. Tony Temple made Darren McFadden take second seat as Temple broke all Cotton Bowl Rushing records. The defense came up HUGE and held two of the best running backs in the nation at bay all day.

This sets the Tigers up for an even bigger season next year. I am not going to mention it but should we make reservations for Miami in January? Look for a post after the conclusion of the spring Black and Gold game when Mitch the Gnome, Jay, Kelly, Carrie, Matt, and possibly a few others will make the trip to Columbia to do some pre-season scouting.

A Game and Tailgate for the ages!

Well, it could not be a better time to be a Tiger! Check your calendar and the date is November 25th and do you know what we can talk about. Not only big a Big 12 Championship but a National Championship. I am not making any bold predictions or anything like that. The Tigers need to stay the course. They are not even favored to win against Oklahoma for crying out loud. I just want to make an observation that in most years past we were discussing what mediocre bowl we would go to or even next season. Not this season. The WORST bowl we will go to this year is the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. That would be quite an achievement, but the fact of the matter is if that happens we will have been snubbed by the BCS bowls. Kansas would end up in either the Orange Bowl or Fiesta Bowl over us. We will know everything by next Sunday. But lets focus on what just happened. The tailgate was alot of fun with some new faces to add to the mix. The fire sticks made another appearance with the same result. To give you an idea of the heat Zack had this to say "I just can't do it". He had only eaten 2 pieces of meat. I tried to explain that eventually your taste buds grow back but he was not buying it. The Rice Crispy treats we rock hard because it was so cold. The magic burgers and Brats we delicious as always. But lets talk for just a moment about the post game. There was no post game tailgate because the grill was stolen, presumably by some beakers. Not only that, but our trucks were spat upon and doors were kicked. All I can say to that is stay classy beakers! I thought flying a Quantrill flag might be a bit much but apparently I was wrong. The worst the was done by any of our group was to BUY OUR OWN jayhawk and rub it in the mud a bit and burn it some. There was no destruction of personal property let alone theft. Next year the Quantrill flag may fly high for all to see.

SCOREBOARD!

Another year in the books - but wait there will be more to come

It was omelet week for our final tailgate in Columbia. So given that this is the end of the season "in Columbia" I thought we should take a look back at the tailgates that were and try to remember what in the world we ate that day.

vs A&M - Omelets and ASS FIRE hot sticks.
vs Iowa St. - Chili and Dogs?
vs Texas Tech - Fajitas
vs Nebraska - Welker wings
vs Ill St - Philly Cheese steak
vs Western Michigan - Bacon wrapped wienies

If anyone else can remember more then we should make a note of it. It has been a great year so far, but i feel like we have 2 more tailgates to go. If we happen to go to Dallas for the Cotton bowl I think there will be serious tailgating, be lets aim a bit higher and say National Championship. Is it tailgating to grab a hurricane on Bourbon st. or maybe they call them Katrina's now. (First Katrina joke mark the date) I personally believe that if MU wins the big 12 we play for the title, and if not we play in the cotton. It is really that simple.

I would like to thank everyone who attended our tailgates this season. Looks like Kelly and Carrie will become regulars and we would certainly like to see Brad more. You are all welcome to join us any time!

Pics from Iowa St and Texas A&M

Colorado Highlights

Compliments of ZouDave

Rocky Mountain High!

55-10. Say what you will. Maybe the Colorado Buffaloes are not the team they once were. But the Tigers have not gone to Colorado and won since the days when Corby Jones was winging the ball at Mizzou. The Tigers had not won their first game in November under Gary Pinkel. They have been a horrible team in November and beyond. On Saturday football at Missouri did not just turn a corner. They got to the corner, turned and pushed the accelerator to the floor. The Tigers knew that Kansas had taken Nebraska to the woodshed. So they needed to respond. They did so by putting up 55 on a good Colorado defense. But the defense that was down in a game against Iowa State showed up again and held the Buffaloes under 200 yards of total offense. The Tigers and more and more complete every week. Take a look at the Top 15 in the BCS:

1. Ohio State 10-0
2. LSU 8-1
3. Oregon 8-1
4. Kansas 9-0
5. Oklahoma 8-1
6. Missouri 8-1
7. West Virginia 7-1
8. Boston College 8-1
9. Arizona State 8-1
10. Georgia 7-2
11. Virginia Tech 7-2
12. Michigan 8-2
13. Connecticut 8-1
14. Texas 8-2
15. Florida 6-3

We just have to keep winning and look for 2 of the following three to lose Ohio State, Oregon or LSU. Our schedule is tougher than any of the others. OSU has Michigan late and LSU should have Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. So we will see.

Lets take a quick look at what happened in Lawrence over the weekend. The Beakers put up 76 on the Huskers. While fans of the Chickenhawk may be proud of scoring at will against the Huskers but I contend that that they should be concerned that their beloved Chickenhawks gave up 39 to a very average Nebraska offense. So I say beware Kansas, because the Tigers are rolling and will not be denied this time.

Since this is supposed to be a tailgate blog: Jay and Kelly joined Carrie and I at the house to watch the game. Kelly and Jay brought over bacon wrapped smokies that were delicious and also brought over some Polar Ice vodka which I would not recommend. We all had a great time watching the game and cheering on the Tigers. Jay and Kelly also brought over some firewood so we also had a nice fire for most of the evening. Magic Burgers were enjoyed by all.

Go Tigers

Happy Halloween to my Gnomies!

Go Tigers!

Yet another win - We have a Pig down!

#9 in the Nation!

Tommy "Little T" Saunders on the catch and run

The gnome came through again. In spite of Matt wearing his unlucky yellow shirt the tigers pulled it off. Lets begin with the tailgate. This weeks tailgate was another first. Jays AssFire chili was delicious, although we found out that while wonderful on their own. Nates dogs are not meant to be served with Chili. Lips and asshole dogs are made to be a chili dog. Who knew. We were a light crowd of only 5 this week. The boys and Carrie. Yes Carrie was in heaven with the attention of the 4 men.

I now have a name! My name is Mitch! So from hence forth I shall be referred to as such.

The game was not what everyone was expecting. A crowd the was quite and just plain flat for most of the game did not help the Tiger defense. Although Chase was looking decent he did slightly over throw Rucker and the it ended up as a pick 6. I personally think that it is ball the T-Ruck normally comes down with, so we will call it a half interception for Chase and half fumble for Ruck. I guess my feeling about this game is that we were due for a let down. We had 3 games against ranked opponents in a row and came through it with one loss to an Oklahoma team that is very good. So to have a letdown against Iowa State I can forgive. We still won. Furthermore ISU is better than their record. Nebraska better look out. Iowa State might just put them in the cellar next year. How fun would that be. Nebraska in the cellar of the North division!

Missouri did not escape the game unscathed. Defensive SUPERSTAR Pig Brown has a ruptured achilles tendon and is out for the season. In a normal year I would think this may be a problem. However this year the tigers are destined to succeed. So Pig is down and Del Howard will step in and be every bit the playmaker that Pig is.

On to Colorado! Buffalo burgers for dinner anyone!

Tigers roll Tech!

Well its official The Tigers are for real but more on that later.

Jason "Gringo" Lewandowski rolled into Columbia with the best ever fajitas. They were soo good. We were joined this week by Jeff, Jenessa, Jamie, Carl, Kelly and JoAnn. It is so much fun when we have a big group! I have some pictures that will get posted soon. There were a few notable incidents at the tailgate. Jays truck got dinged, not once but twice by johnny. That makes 3 dings this year by johnny. He may be retired or modified. Also of note is people putting TP in the johnny. THIS IS A BID NO NO. I think it may have been friends who Welker and big Lew could not turn away. Guys. you know who to turn to in these situations. Snack Pack will be the asshole. So with that lets talk about the smack down that happened.

Tigers 41 - Tech 10

We all felt like the Nebraska game made the tigers a legit team. Well it turns out that Nebraska sucks. Although they did not suck until the got to MU and the tigers took them to the woodshed. But this is about Tech. Can it be argued that they are not the best offense in the nation? They are. The Mizzou defense stepped up and took control of this game. Pig Brown went nuts and the RUNNING game was beautiful. Credit Dave Christenson for coming up with a brilliant game plan. Ball control, clock control, but still with big plays. Rucker had a big one and so did Coffman. But none better that Maclin over the middle and then turning on the jets to get the touchdown. Missouri is for real. They should win the north and the Big 12. I want Oklahoma again. We will not lose to them twice. So that puts us in a BCS bowl. I believe that we had to go undefeated for a National Title, but who knows, the BCS has done stranger things.

It's a Fiesta Bitch!

So I am over it. But I gotta say FU to all the people out there who felt like losing to OU by 10 was a moral victory. The boys at MU never talked about moral victory or giving their best and not coming out on top. Which leaves me with one of my favorite movie quotes.

"Your "best"!? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen."

I am pretty sure that Chase, Chase, Martin, and Pig all fucked the prom queen so I think we are fine.

Now it is Mexican Fiesta week. GOOOOOOOD Times. I am expecting a special appearance from Speedy Gonzalez! Should be loads of fun. There will not be any beans served to try to preserve the well being of all those near the tailgate. There is a possibility of some MINI TACOS. Jason is gonna roll the Fajitas so that will be delicious.

Now on to this weeks game. I am not going to try to break it down. I have three words for those of you who bet on sports. TAKE THE OVER! What the O/U is 110, TAKE THE OVER, you say it just went to 120, TAKE THE OVER.

OK everyone lets have a first class tailgate and bring home a W!

Go Tigers!

On the Eve of the biggest game of the year - so far

Tomorrow the Tigers travel to Norman OK to take on the Sooners. This is the most difficult test so far this year. Winks and I will be watching as we could not make it to the game. This Oklahoma team is by far the most complete team we have faced. Many of the prognosticators are picking Oklahoma to roll in this game. I am not so sure about that. The Tiger offense has yet to be stopped or even slowed down. If slowing down means that we score 33 rather that 40 I am OK with that. I think that the media still saying the MU's defense is weak. My opinion is that the MU defense has been leaning on the offense. They came out against Nebraska and were intense for 4 quarters. They will be "up" and intense for 4 more quarters this weekend. I would look for Maclin to get over 100 yards in the return game and have yet another huge game. I would also look for Coffman to come up big in this game as Rucker will be covered and may not pull in as many balls. This will be a shoot out of sorts but look for a score of 38 -27 with Mizzou scoring a touchdown in the last 2 minutes to put it away.

Photos from the day that was

MIZZOU 41 - HUSKERS 6 ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!

What a win!


Chase Daniel to Chase Coffman, Just another pitch and catch

Well this was this is the best game I have seen. Far and away it is the most complete performance by the Missouri Tigers. In fact the Huskers decided to rush only 3 and take away the pass. Well that worked to the tune of 401 yards passing with 2 TDs and 0 Interceptions by Chase Daniel. Not to mention the 195 rushing by the Tigers. The offense was error free but it was the defense that stepped up. The defense that has been so suspect the previous 4 games was fired up and looked good. The gave up only 74 yards on the ground and then 225 in the air. I will take that performance any day.

But this blog is about tailgating right. So I have to say God bless the Sweatsuit! Those wings were ridiculous. I am not sure I have ever tasted something so wonderful. It was far and away his best effort on the winds. And that is saying something because Welker can make some kickin wings. We were also joined by Carries friend Lisa and her family, obviously Carries was there and was cool enough to put us up for the weekend. Everyone had a great time and there will be pictures posted later on tonight or Tomorrow.

Rest up everyone. The Sooners are next on the hit list. This schedule looks very difficult. And From the looks of it KU, KSU, CU are going to have something to say about the Big 12 North. Thier schedules all look favorable compared to that of Mizzou. We just have to take em 1 week at a time and be confident. This is a good team. Just keep winning!!!

Forecast

Matt may have jinxed us with his early forecast but this does not look half bad.

Is it Saturday yet?

I have been trying to hold back all week and it is driving me mad! The excitement level for this game is nuts. Carrie and Matt will make their way to the tailgate spot early. If we lose our spot to another tailgate crew I will have to drop the Gnome Hammer on them. The plan is to arrive and put up the Johnny and the Tent kick back and watch the TV! Oh yes. The TV will be busted out for the first time our tailgate history!

The TV schedule Looks like this.

Channel 11 11:30 Vanderbilt at Auburn
Channel 13 2:30 Georgia at Tennessee
Channel 17 2:30 Iowa at Penn St
Channel 13 7:00 Florida at LSU
Channel 17 7:00 Teams TBA

The menu should look something like this

Brisket from Kelly
Burger buns
Welker Wings
Nates Dogs
Dog buns
A special surprise sweet treat from Matt
Lots of chips
Lots of Beer
Lots of Vodka
Lots of Red Bull
Cranberry

If anyone can think of anything else let Matt know.

Note to everyone: Bring a camera this will probably be a crowd of over 70,000. It should be a blast.

Is this a tailgate blog or a football blog?

What the hell happened this weekend! Matt's dad made some comment that Colorado beat Oklahoma and Matt laughed it off not knowing that, THAT JUST HAPPENED! Then K-State goes TO Texas and does not just win but dominates the Longhorns with Defense and Special Teams. This is a shout out the supposedly dominate teams in the south. TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS. You are supposed to win these games. Not only were the Tigers counting on the near elimination of a couple of teams, but so were the Huskers. Now they MU and NU go head to head this weekend and what looked like a early game to give a one of the two teams an inside track to the Big 12 title game looks like a must win for both teams to stay alive in the discussion. So the question is, does this deflate the sails of either team, making them see the uphill battle they will have or does it make a team more focused. I am going to be positive and say that this will only serve to focus the Tigers and send them into Big 12 play knowing exactly what they have to do. The Huskers however may be looking at this the opposite way. A loss to USC is excusable, however to not crush Ball State is ridiculous.

The moral of the story. Make sure you buckle up for a great season. This may not only be the best season for our Tigers but it may also be the most competitive. The Tigers might just have to go 7-1 the rest of the way and cannot loose to K-State.

I love college football!

Thoughts on the Nebraska game

Well we are 9 days away and I can't hardly wait. I am glad we have the week off and I honestly believe that it is a significant advantage for us. We have 2 weeks to plan and practice and review film. I also think that the playbook has not been completely opened and will be at this game. Matt and Carrie will be at our normal spot atop the parking garage and watching games on network TV. Thats right Matt is going to bring down a TV. They will get there some time shortly after noon and hand out for the majority of the day. t looks like the menu will consist of Kellys Brisket, Welker wings, Nates dogs and other assorted goodies. Lets all have a great safe time and toss one back for the moment that started all this.

Oct 11 2003

Missouri 41 Nebraska 24