HOP IN THE GNX AND LET’S HAVE A GOOD LAST ROAD TRIP OF 2024

♫ You know I stay fresh to death ♫

Another week, another lack of jersey posting.

• This isn’t really notable, but I did find it funny… the last time Mississippi State won an SEC title, they went 8-1-1 in 1941. The tie? A 0-0 rock fight with LSU in Baton Rouge. The loss? A 16-0 shoutout at the hands of No. 10 DUSQUENE!!!
• Thinking about selling poison candy to your child’s least favorite friend? Don’t do it in Mississippi, they’ll tag you with a misdemeanor.
• This week in “Notable Alumni from…” we have to acknowledge the presence of prolific novelist John Grisham. I personally have never read a John Grisham novel, and I probably never will. But without his work, we never would’ve been privy to one of the great screen moments of all time: Wilford Brimley saying “oral and whatnot” to Tom Cruise in The Firm.

Rock M-ixology

I work hard, OK? I try to do research. I try to investigate the intricacies of culture surrounding Mizzou’s upcoming opponents. I try to learn about their histories and what could inspire the next round of Rock M-ixology.

But the thing is that I’m tired. I’m tired of going to AI to generate a new recipe. I’m tired of scouring the internet for obscure drinks only to find out what fratty punch the students traditionally drink at games. I just want an easy time doing what should be the easiest part of this job. So now that the CFP is off the table and the stakes are a little lower, I’m going to do a vibes drink this week. We’re a week ahead of Thanksgiving, and I just want to kick back and relax with a cocktail I know is going to slap. I’m making a Chartreuse Swizzle and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.

1.25 oz green chartreuse, 0.5 velvet falernum, 1 oz pineapple juice, 0.75 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice

Whip shake ingredients over pebble ice. Strain into chilled glass of choice.

Top five cocktail if you ask me. Four ingredients that never fail. All in perfect proportions. It tastes good and makes me feel good. The vibes are elite. Please make the vibes elite this weekend, Tigers. Please. PLEASE.

This week has been something of a reality check for us in Mizzou land now that the CFP is all but officially off the table. How have you been feeling after last week’s gut punch loss?

Chad Moller, Assistant to the Assistant Regional Manager: Bouncing between the extremes of being depressed that the season won’t achieve the historic nature I’d had hopes of, yet really pleased with how the team showed at Carolina. The team we saw Saturday, despite the loss, showed what it’s capable of, and it’s just a shame we didn’t get that team at College Station or at Tuscaloosa. If we had that team for all three of those SEC road games, I think we would have seen a win in at least one of them, which would mean the Tigers would still be in the playoff hunt.

Quentin Corpuel, Football Beat Writer: For Mizzou, it’s certainly disappointing that, just like 2008, the Tigers couldn’t follow up a dream season with another one despite that being the expectation beforehand. However, double-digit wins have been historically hard to achieve in Columbia, and although that might feel like a consolation prize for many, it’d still constitute major success.

Sammy Stava, Staff Writer: Last week was certainly a gut-wrenching loss. The Tigers had it. If Mizzou would have won that game, who knows where they would be in the CFP race. However, it’s actually a good thing that this fanbase is disappointed after a tough loss —rather than not caring. Drinkwitz has raised the expectations of this program. While the disappointment of no playoff stings, there’s still a shot at back-to-back 10-win seasons. All things considered; it’s a good time to be a Mizzou Football fan.

In a cruel bit of irony, the Mizzou offense played one of its better games of the season… while the defense had one of its rougher outings. Were you encouraged at all by the performance against South Carolina? Or did the loss take it out of you too much?

Chad Moller: Yeah that’s the tragic nature of losing football, one unit can have a banner day, but if the other side doesn’t play complementary ball, it doesn’t really matter. I choose to focus more on the positive offensive output and chalk up the loss to the defense running into a dynamic QB who is doing special things, and to the fact that they just had a bad tackling day. We haven’t seen that much this year, so I think the Tiger defense will be okay. But, if the offense has hopefully found its groove, then maybe we’ll some more shootouts in the 30s going forward?

Quentin Corpuel: It was certainly encouraging. There were aspects that’d been working well for most of the season that shined again — the rushing attack was definitely one of them. Then, there were other things that hadn’t popped up as much that did in South Carolina. Even with Brady Cook’s right wrist not working properly, he was still rifling throws with a lot of air yards, with a lot of them being completed. Defensively, Mizzou achieved most of its success when it generated consistent pressure on the quarterback, which didn’t happen against the Gamecocks. I believe, however, that the unit will be fine the rest of the way.

Sammy Stava: I was definitely encouraged by the performance in the loss. Mizzou played a competitive game on the road against a really good South Carolina team, and it was a major improvement since the A&M and Bama games — but they just came up short. It happens, and the Tigers were due to lose a one-score game eventually.

Mizzou still has a chance to get to 10 wins, but they’ll have to go on the road and beat a struggling Mississippi State team to do it. Do you worry about Mizzou’s motivation this weekend, or will Drinkwitz have them up for the road trip?

Chad Moller: Like a coach, I worry about everything, so yes I’m concerned about the team’s motivation. When you openly talk during the off-season and during the season about the playoffs being your goal, it’s human nature to let down once that goal is off the table. It’s like my golf game, when I have blow-up hole late in my day that eliminates the possibility of me scoring in the 70s, it’s really disappointing, and I struggle to stay focused for the final few holes. The saving grace for the Tigers is that Drink has a strong track record of getting his guys to play motivated, so I’m hoping that continues Saturday. On the flip side, there’s very little saving grace to my golf game.

Quentin Corpuel: The Bulldogs are probably at least a little bit better than their 2-8 record says. They’ve given Arizona State, Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee some trouble, but this is still a team that Mizzou should beat. Mississippi State has one of the worst defenses in the entire country, not just at the power conference level; I’d be surprised if MU doesn’t reach the 30-point threshold in Starkville.

Sammy Stava: I’m a little worried about this team’s motivation heading into this one, but I believe Drinkwitz will be able to rally the troops.

Yes, there’s no playoff — but this is a meaningful game to stay ranked and keep the 10-win season alive.

PICK ‘EM! Mizzou is a little over a touchdown favorite against the Bulldogs, and we know Brady Cook is likely to play again. Will Mizzou cover or, even better, just walk away with a win?

Chad Moller: I’m banking on seeing the team we saw at South Carolina again this week. Hopefully the offense will keep the momentum going and come out with a decent first half to take some pressure off the defense. I’d like to see the Tigers establish the run game early, run play-action pass off of that and get some more deep shots to hit. Mississippi State can move the ball, so as long as the defense can stop getting beat over the top and tighten up in the red zone to force kicks instead of TDs, the Tigers will take care of business. I think it’ll be a game for four quarters, but I have Mizzou with a 10 point win, let’s go Tigers 31, Mississippi State 21.

Quentin Corpuel: Mizzou 38, Mississippi State 23. The offense’s second-half performance against South Carolina was promising, and if the defense can get back on track, MU should move to 8-3.

Sammy Stava: Mississippi State can put up some points, and their talented freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren has the potential to have a big day, but their defense is atrocious.

We question Mizzou’s motivation level heading into this one and rightfully so, but there’s a reason the Bulldogs are 2-8. In the end, Missouri is clearly the more talented team, and it will show.

The offense will roll with a big day from QB1 Brady Cook, who will get his last SEC road win of his career. 35-17, Tigers.