Looking back on a short, yet action-packed series.

Opponent: Auburn Tigers

Gametime: Saturday, Oct. 19 at 11 a.m.

Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, MO

Record versus Auburn: 2-2

Mizzou and Auburn have played each other just four times, and in each of those contests, normalcy took a vacation.

The first meeting was the most regular: the 1973 Sun Bowl, which will be entailed soon. But the next meeting, which came in the 2013 SEC Championship, still stands as the highest-scoring contest in the SEC title game’s 30-plus year history. 2017 saw Auburn claim a 35-point victory in Columbia, and 2022 saw Mizzou squander a win that was literally within arm’s length…twice.

Mizzou is in a very different place than it was two years ago. Auburn? Not as much. However, it hasn’t usually mattered how good or bad either of these teams are; entertainment has prevailed more times than not.

Honorable mention: A moment of light amidst great darkness (9/23/2017)

As stated previously, Auburn walloped Mizzou in 2017. AU averaged almost five yards per rush, Kerryon Johnson scored five rushing touchdowns despite only gaining only 48 rushing yards, and the road Tigers walked out of Columbia with a dominant 51-14 victory.

Both teams were on opposite trajectories that season: the Tigers from the South went on to complete one of the best 10-2 regular seasons in the sport’s history, beating top-ranked Georgia and Alabama on the way to the SEC Championship. Had Auburn defeated Georgia again in Atlanta, Gus Malzahn’s crew would’ve been the only two-loss team to ever make the four-team College Football Playoff. The Tigers of the Midwest, on the other hand, started 1-5, although they did rebound to win their next six in a row while averaging just over 51 (!) points per game en route to a Texas Bowl appearance.

Entering the Auburn game, Mizzou had put up a couple of stinkers against South Carolina (31-13 loss) and Purdue (35-3 loss). The Tigers from Columbia got smacked around again, but it wasn’t exclusively doom and gloom hovering over MU. Here’s a strike from Drew Lock to J’Mon Moore, albeit in garbage time.

#5: Wow! What a catch! Surely Mizzou is going to win this football game…(9/24/2022)

While YouTube comment sections are a lot more civil than some of their social media counterparts, it’s not somewhere to mine for a spot in a story.

However, I will make an exception here. There was one comment that wonderfully summed up the most recent edition of Auburn versus Mizzou.

“This is one of those games no one really won despite what the score indicates.”

The Homecoming crowd at AU was treated to one of the football games of all-time. Auburn jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but Mizzou battled back, stringing together a couple of lengthy touchdown drives to even the score late in the second quarter.

Both teams then ran into a wall and died. Anders Carlson missed a 45-yard field goal to end the first half, and the ensuing drives went as follows: Punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt. Both offenses struggled so mightily that I might’ve just enacted semantic satiation on you, which is when a word or phrase loses meaning after it’s repeated enough times. It wouldn’t be the first time someone stumbled with words talking about this game. ESPN play-by-play commentator Mark Jones, one of the best in the business, got tripped up on the opening kickoff when trying to say BJ Harris and Kris Abrams-Draine were the return men for Mizzou.

“Harris and Abram-Draimes…back for the kick,” he said. Perhaps that was an omen for the oddities that would follow.

Back to the game. After a heroic stop on fourth-and-one, Mizzou had the ball with 97 seconds left. The main issue was that MU was 72 yards away from the end zone, which felt more like 720 yards considering how inept the Tigers had looked offensively. In its six second half drives up to that point, they had gained 24 yards. They needed a miracle.

And they got one.

For information on what happened afterwards, I encourage you to do your own research.

#4: They put the sun in a bowl?! (12/19/1973)

One common theme in this series is that, like (something), the 1970’s keep popping up.

1973 was another one of those “almost” years for Mizzou. The Tigers started 6-0 and went from unranked to No. 7; the hot start included a 13-12 win over No. 2 Nebraska, avenging a 62-0 thumping to the Cornhuskers the year prior. In his first year as NU’s head coach, Tom Osborne went for two and the win after a late touchdown pulled his team within one, only for Tony Gillick Dave Humm to intercept the pass from Dave Humm – it wouldn’t be the first time a two-point try under Osborne would cost the ‘Huskers a win.

However, the good times didn’t last, as the Tigers fell to Colorado in Boulder, kickstarting a stretch that saw Al Onofrio & Col drop three of its last four to end the regular season.

MU’s consolation prize was a date with Auburn in the Sun Bowl. The other Tigers had spiraled in similar fashion; they’d gone 36-8 over the previous four seasons, including a 10-1 campaign in 1972. They were ranked No. 12 in the ensuing preseason and started 1973 2-0 before ending the season 4-5.

The actual game was a dominant effort by Mizzou from start to finish. The Black & Gold took a 21-3 lead in the first half; an Auburn touchdown cut the lead to 11 with eight seconds left in the first half, but MU quickly got its lead back courtesy of John Moseley. Mizzou’s prolific All-American return man took a squib kick 84 yards to the house, zapping the remnants of momentum AU had just gained.

The Tigers eventually won 34-17 behind 390 yards of offense with the help of five turnovers by Auburn. For Mizzou, who was only two years removed from a 1-10 campaign in Onofrio’s first season, this was a victorious return to the national stage. For Auburn, it was a disappointing end to a disappointing campaign.

“It was very typical of our entire season,” AU head coach Shug Jordan said.

#3: Dorial dominance (12/7/23)

Stay tuned for a greater explanation of this game’s importance.

Postseason contests, such as the SEC Championship game, sort of feel like a wedding or a bar/bat mitzvah: they’re hopeful celebrations of what’s made certain people so great over an extended period of time. In a sports-related sense, everything that’s made a team great over the course of a season is placed on a humungous stage with an opportunity to shine like never before.

Green-Beckham was one of those pillars of football excellence for Mizzou a little over a decade ago. Arguably the most prized recruit in Mizzou history exploded in 2013, as he’d end the season as the SEC leader in reception touchdowns with 12.

Best of all for the Tigers, Green-Beckham shined when he mattered most, registering six catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The first score embodied Green-Beckham’s impact as a gargantuan X-receiver who could slam dunk on any defensive back, this one showing that the Black & Gold were up to the challenge.

#2: Fake screen wheels go ‘round (12/7/2013)

Purely based on play design, this moment against Auburn was worthy of a high spot on this list. This could’ve happened in a regular season game, and there’s a good chance it still would’ve made an appearance.

Now, for the game’s best play…

#1: EJ Gaines ignites (12/7/2013)

The 2013 SEC Championship was reminiscent 2007…sort of.

Mizzou wasn’t ranked No. 1 like it was six years prior – the Tigers sat at No. 5 – but the door to a national championship appearance was open. No. 2 Ohio State would fall to No. 10 Michigan State in the Big Ten title game later that evening. No. 4 Alabama got kicked out of the SEC Championship because they, uh, missed a field goal in the Iron Bowl the week prior. The winner of the conference title game would play one more game for a crystal football.

In essence, the game was a marathon played at the pace of a 100-meter dash. Mizzou was able to keep for awhile, often able to handle an Auburn punch with one of its own. But eventually, AU proved to be too much, as Tre Mason and Nick Marshall were doing literally whatever they wanted on the ground.

However. for a not-brief period of time, it felt like Mizzou might be able to quiet the machine. EJ Gaines’ scoop-and-score early on certainly made Auburn’s historic offense look mortal.

We saw some new standouts and bounce back performances in the series’ final two games

Mizzou Baseball’s Fall World Series is now complete after five intrasquad scrimmages over the past two weeks.

When I left late in the final game, Los Tigres led 52 to 29 (score being kept across all five games) over TWT.

Missouri baseball plays an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Taylor Stadium in Columbia (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)

With the series’ outcome clear, the two sides used the later innings of the final game as an opportunity to bring in pitchers further down the roster.

Case in point? Transfer Cayden Nicoletto, who threw three innings last year in NAIA and is listed exclusively as an outfielder on the roster, entered in game five’s seventh inning.

I had to leave the final game after the middle of the eighth, so stats do not cover the last three half innings.

Missouri baseball plays an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Taylor Stadium in Columbia (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)

With that being said, here are my takeaways from the final two games of the Fall World Series:

• Peyton Basler impressed in the games Wednesday and Thursday, going 1-3 with a run scored and two walks in addition to an RBI sacrifice fly the day before. The community college transfer could be a name to watch at second base.
• Speaking of names to watch, Gehrig Goldbeck looked reliable at shortstop and went 1-1 with three walks in the series’ final game. That shortstop position will be a battle to keep your eye on in the spring.
• Pierre Seals, a Memphis transfer, looks like a solid bet to become a lineup regular this season. He was 1-2 with a no doubt home run to left field Thursday in the first inning, and had an OPS near 1.000 with 10 home runs in the AAC last year.
• Speaking of Memphis transfers, I’d be shocked if Cameron Benson isn’t the regular starter in left field this season. He was one of the players which flashed the most in the opening three games, and he continued his impressive performance throughout the series.
• The outfield depth should be significantly improved this year. Jeric Curtis and Kaden Peer, two frequent starters last season, return. Benson and Seals, the Memphis transfers, look ready to take big roles. You also have Brock Daniels, who split time between first base and left field, and NAIA All-American Cayden Nicoletto.
• Brock Lucas dominated in two innings Thursday as the starter for TWT, shutting down Los Tigres with five strikeouts across seven batters and no hits allowed. The righthander had a 3.63 ERA last season in 18 appearances and could figure into the battle for a rotation spot.
• Freshman Victor Christal looked far better Thursday compared to his first week of action, where he struggled greatly with command. He went 1-2-3 in one inning of work, inducing two pop ups and striking out Jeric Curtis. I’m not ready to say he can compete for a regular role out of the bullpen, but it’s an encouraging sign from a young pitcher who clearly has lots of potential.
• Charlie Miller, the sophomore righty, continues to impress me. He did not allow a hit in 1.1 innings of work, securing three straight groundouts and striking out Kaden Peer.
• I’ve got some concerns about pitching depth, especially out of the bullpen. Javyn Pimental, Daniel Wissler, Brock Lucas and Josh McDevitt seem like the top candidates to start. But there were far fewer standout relievers. Ian Lohse returns and Charlie Miller looks prepared for a step up, but there are plenty of questions in this group.
• A healthy Sam Horn would make a huge difference, though I’m not willing to put too much stake into that with his injury history. In the SEC you need more than 3-4 solid relievers to survive, especially without an elite rotation. I don’t know the Tigers will have that.
• On the positive side, the Tigers looked primed to increase offensive production this season. Jackson Lovich seems like he’s ready to take the next step, and the depth in the outfield is much improved along with some solid options at catcher and in the infield.

At the end of the day, we truly shouldn’t put too much stock into what we see during a few intrasquad scrimmages. But the Tigers have given the baseball faithful a few positive signs after a heavy reset season in the spring to begin Kerrick Jackson’s rebuild.

Missouri baseball plays an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Taylor Stadium in Columbia (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)