2013 was a Cinderella story for the Missouri Tigers, even if they still fell short of the SEC title. They had taken down a handful of other SEC competitors, including Georgia and Texas A&M, and were only three points away from having been undefeated in regular season conference play. When the title game came around, Missouri fell short, but they put up a respectable fight nonetheless. Following the failed attempt at a conference title, Missouri was able to end the year on a positive note with a bowl game win over Oklahoma State. Despite how impressive the season was, it may have been an anomaly.
Offensively, Missouri simply lost too many talented players to be able to sustain the same type of offensive success that they did in 2013. Although quarterback Maty Mauk will be better than James Franklin, and already proved that he can be, the team around Mauk will not be on par with the team around Franklin last season. Most notably, Dorial Green-Beckham, who many have dubbed as “Megatron-lite,” was kicked out of the program for both a marijuana charge and a dropped battery charge. With Sammy Watkins now in the NFL, Green-Beckham could very well be the best receiver in the nation, but now he is playing for the Oklahoma Sooners.
To a lighter degree, Missouri’s two other leading receivers from 2013 have moved on as well. L’Damian Washington and Marcus Lucas, who both also had the incredible height that Green-Beckham did, were both key pieces to the aerial assault. Together, the three were a tall, lanky trio that had the ability to often beat corners by simply having the superior catch radius. The only two returning contributors (though they did so to a lesser extent) are Bud Sasser and Jimmie Hunt, neither of which can make up for the loss of “DGB,” let alone the entire trio.
Unfortunately for Mauk, the left side of the offensive line, his blindside, will have a pair of first year starters at their positions. Justin Britt, who is now a Seattle Seahawk, and Max Copeland both graduated and left voids that Mitch Morse and Anthony Gatti will have to fill, respectively. Morse played last season, but at right tackle instead of left tackle. To be fair, neither Britt or Copeland were irreplaceable talents by any means, but at the least, there will be a slight drop off, which may end up being significant considering the upcoming regression of the receiving corps.
As the “cherry on top” in regards to the offense, running back Henry Josey had decided to declare early for the draft (which was a poor choice, but that is another discussion), which left big shoes to fill for Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy. Luckily for Mizzou, the duo will be able to replicate, if not exceed, Josey’s production. As sad as it is, it is the only offensive loss that will not be a problem for the Tigers.
Now, the defense is an interesting case. For the most part, Missouri will have a similar defense to the defense they had in 2013, but many assume that the losses of Kony Ealy and Michael Sam will cause some sort of pass rushing downfall. In reality, the starting pass rushing duo may be better than Ealy and Sam were. Shane Ray, who flashed incredible ability as a rotational player last season, and Markus Golden, who did much of the same, will be able to generate pressure more consistently than Ealy and Sam were able to.
With the SEC as wide open as it is because many of the other top competitors are also playing new starting quarterbacks, Missouri’s chances to repeat what they did in 2013 is still possible, but their team appears as if it will take a step back. Of course, that may only mean they lose one more conference game, but one more conference loss likely knocks them out of the SEC title game. Missouri will continue to be a respectable competitor, but to say that they will be able to sustain success is a stretch.