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Mizzou Opener to be on ESPN

Mizzou's 2008 opener against regional rival Illinois will be televised nationally on ESPN.  It will again be on the neutral field of the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO. The game, scheduled to start at 6:45 PM, on Saturday, August 30th, will be a rematch of last year's thriller that Mizzou won 40-36, that was saved by a final minute interception by Pig Brown with Illinois driving into Mizzou territory.  This year's game definitely will be a good one, with both teams going to New Year's Day Bowls last year (Mizzou blowing out Arkansas in the Cotton, while Illinois laid an egg against USC in the Rose).  Illinois, though losing some important players like J-Leman and Rashard Mendenhall, still has Jr. QB Juice Williams along with another strong recruiting class from coach Ron Zook.  Mizzou, on the other hand, will be starting the season most likely ranked in the top 10 with high hopes of retaining their Big 12 North title and evenmore, winning the Big 12 Championship.  Chase Daniel, a Heisman finalist, will be returning, along with outstanding receivers Jeremy Maclin, Tommie Saunders, and Chase Coffman.

Mizzou's 2008 Preview

With 16 starters returning off a team that was in line to play for the national championship last season, there is just one place to insert Missouri in the preseason polls.

The Tigers will likely be installed as the Big 12 favorite and will certainly be favored to repeat as North Division champions after going 12-2 last season with a rout of Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl.

With quarterback Chase Daniel returning to engineer an explosive offense and versatile receiver Jeremy Maclin around to produce potentially more all-purpose yards, the Tigers should not have any trouble moving the football.

There are some concerns along the offensive line after the Tigers lost two starters, plus valuable tight end Martin Rucker is no longer part of the receiving corps.

Where the Missouri staff must scrutinize candidates is on defense, where it ranked 59th nationally last season with a 380.3-yard allowance. That wasn't bad, though defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams will be tough to replace up front, where he commanded considerable attention and freed linebackers to make plays.

The good news for the Tigers is they'll operate with as much confidence as at any time under Gary Pinkel, who enters his eighth season as coach. After taking considerable heat for fielding underachieving teams that suffered inexplicable defeats, the run last season by Pinkel's Tigers was encouraging.

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