Join Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter for his live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday
Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Dave Matter in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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I wasn't shocked based on what I was hearing the last week of the season. Nothing really surprises me when it comes to the portal anymore. I mean, I guess I'd be surprised if Cody Schrader decides to transfer, but after Mekhi Wingo left Mizzou when he made the SEC's All-Freshman team and played more snaps than any Mizzou D-tackle, I stopped being surprised at anything when it comes to transfers. -
Loving the Men's Basketball team. Much more talented (and coached) than last few years. I know they have MOSTLY been playing subpar teams but still took care of business. They have a run of #9 Kansas, #16 Illinois, #19 Kentucky and #11 Arkansas. In those 4 games how do you think they will fare. Maybe 12-2 after the Arkansas game or is that too optimistic? -
I think they've got a better chance beating Kansas than Illinois. The Illini are really talented - and more experienced. Plus, it's a neutral site game. If you can somehow split those four games, that's huge for this program. Kentucky looks very beatable so far. But Mizzou will be decided underdogs at Arkansas.
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Don't know. Buckle up and enjoy. Should be interesting. There's more depth and talent on this team than last year's team. Mizzou had talent two years ago: Dru Smith, Mark Smith, Pinson, Tilmon. Some folks are playing revisionist history and acting like MU is coming off the Kim Anderson years. But, yes, I'd say this team has the pieces to compete with the best teams on the schedule. But that was the case in Martin's first and fourth years, as well.
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Huge Ohio State fan here. If TCU or USC loses this weekend (it could happen), then it appears that OSU could sneak back into the playoffs. UM thoroughly man handled us at home. Not sure OSU deserves to be in the top 4 after last week. Does recency bias among the voters keep OSU out? Thoughts on how this could play out?
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I don't see a logical reason why Ohio State should get in if Georgia, Michigan or TCU lose. The committee decided those teams are better than Ohio State. They also don't have any losses. If they drop out of the top four with a loss and Ohio State moves in, then the committee is punishing Georgia-Michigan-TCU for doing something Ohio State wasn't good enough to do: win their division.Now, if USC loses to Utah for a second time, then Ohio State has a case to make the playoff.Unrelated, but I think if Ohio State played Alabama on a neutral field 10 times, Alabama wins at least six. They have the better QB and better defense, even if it's not a typically elite Saban defense. Ohio State looked soft against Michigan and got blown out at home. Bama has two losses but both games were on the road and decided on the final play of the game.
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I was arguing (among friends) for the last few years that, if the NCAA were smart (yes, I realize no one has ever accused them of that) they would have seen this all coming and would have put in a system that did pay the players but found a way to cap it so there wouldn't be bidding wars (and, perhaps, supplement with very generous post-playing day scholarship and healthcare programs). I also realize that all this NIL stuff is beyond schools and the NCAA and coming from private donors but I guess all that set up is to ask whether you see the large majority of schools that know they can never compete with the top 15 or 20 schools in money find a way to create a system to cap these payments so that schools like Mizzou can compete? Yes, some of this goes underground again, but I don't see any other way to at least stem, "the madness."
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You can't cap salaries without some sort of collective bargaining. Otherwise, you're at risk of violating antitrust laws. And the players can't have collective bargaining with the schools without some sort of unionization. And the schools/NCAA won't recognize the athletes as employees.
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Hello Dave ... my friend at Michigan State and I were expressing our utter disdain for what one football coach recently called the "madness" of the portal. I said to my friend, "Imagine, just for example if, say, Dominic Lovett were to transfer." And then, yikes! Now, considering that he seemed to leave the door open for a possible return to MU, I'm thinking that these kids are taking a page from Lane Kiffin ... leverage the portal to snare a sweeter NIL deal from your current school. And, of course, he's now ineligible for our bowl game. As that coach said, "Madness!!" Your take?
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I don't think Lovett will return to Mizzou.Drinkwitz did a good job shopping the portal last year. Now he gets to do it again. It's part of the job now. The best teams and coaches will embrace the madness and make the most of the opportunities. Bring in more than you lose. That's the only way to make this work in your favor.
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One more on all this NIL free agency. The future I see is those top one - maybe two - dozen schools with any real shot at winning big and the other schools, even ones as big as Mizzou being so far down the pecking order that, over time, their fan base melts away because there is simply no shot to win anything significant. You see that in many of the European soccer leagues where, in England, only 5 teams have any real shot of winning; in Scotland it's 2; Italy 4; Spain and France and Germany's leagues are foregone conclusions - it will be PSG and Bayern Munich every year and everyone knows it. I realize NIL is like meth and no one looks at it rationally but I don't see any other way this all ends.
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I don't buy the doomsday forecast.Fans love college football. Attendance is up. TV ratings are up. They're expanding the playoff field to 12 teams. More schools are going to have better access to the playoffs.There might be more roster turnover, but the elite teams still only have so much room on their rosters. Elite players don't want to be backups. They still have to find rosters where they can play and start.Look at Mizzou basketball. The roster was gutted. Nine new scholarship players. And fans are excited about this team.
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What do you make of Sam horn? I remember you writing previously that he didn’t seem to join the offensive huddles or show any signs of being ready to come into games. Is this because he knew he wasn’t going to get playing time or is this motivation on his part? It is concerning as a fan because it doesn’t seem clear that he is emerging as a starter next year to answer our qb issues. Also, he is going to play baseball which takes away from his football development yet again.
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My point in the chat a few weeks ago was he didn't strike me as a player who expected to play on game days. While the offense was on the field running plays, he was helping the signal crew on the sideline, but during timeouts and when the defense was on the field, he wasn't as engaged as the other backup quarterbacks. That wasn't me criticizing him. He just didn't carry himself like someone who expected to get on the field. He has a lot of developing to do. This will be his first full offseason in a college program. January/February is a crucial time of year for young players. He's certainly got a bright upside. Big offseason for him.
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Hi Dave, thanks for taking time to answer our questions. In your opinion what is the first priority for the portal? I believe it’s the OL, it needs a couple of mature experienced players who can fill the gap until some of the recruits can develop. Or do you think it’s a QB with experience? Or is it an OC? Thanks.
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It's an online database that requires credentials to access. Full disclosure: I don't have access to that database. A few national outlets have access, though the NCAA has tried to make it harder to crack for outsiders.The names that I've reported over the last week or so are players who have informed the coaching staff that they plan to enter the portal, per team sources.
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Regarding bowl destinations I've always thought MU gets lesser bowls based on a perception that Mizzou fans won't travel. The main reason Mizzou fans don't travel is because of poor bowl locations, dates, and opponents. I mean who really wants to go to Birmingham this year? Vegas on the other hand would be fantastic location, date, and a decent opponent since Pac-12 has few bowl berths. How do Mizzou and Mizzou fans break the cycle of getting sent to lesser bowls?
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It is a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy sometimes and it's a hard cycle to break.On the other hand, you can't really knock your bowl destination when you finish 6-6 and do so on the last game of the season by two points.But it stinks for fans who want to go to the games in a more appealing location, but this team is going to have a bunch of opt-outs and will barely resemble the team on the field that beat Arkansas a week ago.It's just a really flawed system. I'll watch bowl games because I like college football, but when the players aren't interested in playing, it's hard to ask the fans to pay costs for tickets and travel.
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I realize more defections are to come and that this is the reality we live in. That said, from the list I've seen so far, Mizzou has to feel pretty good. The only, "elite," player who has announced is Dominic Lovett and although it's never good to lose one of your top 5 players - especially one who is from the high-value recruiting areas - odds are he only stays in college one more year and he's from what I would say is the deepest position group on the team, so not as damaging as it first appears.
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Hello, Mr. Matter. Thanks for the chat and your terrific coverage of Mizzou sports. I see where Connor Bazelak has entered the transfer portal again. I'm all for athletes being able to play wherever they want. But it seems to me that the prevailing attitude is, "If I ain't starting, I'm departing.'" Seems there's that all too often today there's a sense of entitlement, rather than working on one's weaknesses to earn that starting position. Do you think I'm wrong? Thanks.
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