The two coaches who will square off against each other in the SEC Championship Game Saturday in the Georgia Dome are both worried about the same thing — a letdown.
Both have reasons to be concerned. Gary Pinkel at Missouri and Gus Malzahn at Auburn experienced unusual turnarounds this season. Missouri went from 5-7 in 2012 to 11-1. Auburn came from 3-9 to 11-1. The fact that both teams are in the SEC Championship Game is a testament to setting goals no matter how impossible the odds might have been against those goals.
Missouri and Auburn have been beating those odds all season.
“I think a little bit of the outside expectations are a little bit apart of it,” said Pinkel. “In 2007, it was like the same thing, we went down to the Big 12 meetings and they picked us low and the players were all upset because of where we got picked. I don’t pay attention to it anyway. I think they’ve been driven.
“Last year they took a big hit and they’re used to winning around here. The whole senior class, it started with them and they just got back to work and did it. We’ve formed a great chemistry on this team, and every year the chemistry is a little different. It’s not always when things are going well.
“We had little things that had happened internally. Not big things but little things that helped bring us together in terms of interactions with players and other things. That is typical for every year, but we have a really close football team. They prepare, and they play hard. We have some good athletes.”
Pinkel sees the championship game as Missouri’s chance to finally earn respect for his program in the SEC.
“I just wanted to be respected,” he said. “When people expect you to win here and you have a losing season then you lose your respect. So I said when I got hired here at a press conference, that I wanted the University of Missouri football program to be respected in the league they’re playing in. At that time, it was the Big 12 and now it is the SEC for us. That’s really important to me. You know last year was a difficult one. You take a hit but you get back to work and that’s what we did. Not just me, but everybody.”
Auburn doesn’t have to work to get respect as a long-time member of the conference. Malzahn is only thinking about beating Missouri and keeping in place in case either Ohio State or Florida State should lose this weekend and open a door for a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.
“We’re worried about Missouri, and we should be,” Malzahn said this week. “As a matter of fact, we’ve had a good week of practice. We’re playing one of the Top 5 teams in the country. We’re going to have to improve from last week’s game to have a chance to win.”
After its thrilling win over Alabama it might be understandable if the Tigers had problems getting their focus back.
“I knew our guys would flip the switch,” Malzahn said. “We’re playing in the SEC Championship. They’ve been extremely focused. It’s been a business-like approach.”
The two coaches know what to expect from their opponent.
“Their offensive scheme is really good,” Pinkel said of Auburn. “Their quarterback is a great player. You have a quarterback like a Brad Smith type athlete right there. They run forms of the triple option with the same principles as the wishbone in a lot of respects. They have a great offensive scheme, and they are very good at it. They have a talented tailback, and some other great players. They present a lot of problems.
“They have a lot of motioning, especially at the quarterback position. You aren’t going to stop them, instead you will have to contain them the best you can. We got to get all the work we can get done this week, because it’s going to be a challenge for us.
“Gus has done a remarkable job with that program. The programs are a lot different, but we both had poor years a year ago and we both have come back to play for the SEC Championship this season. I guess that connects us in that fashion.”
“Their running game is unbelievable,” said senior Missouri linebacker Andrew Wilson. “It’ll be a challenge. They have a lot of misdirection. Their quarterback runs really well, and almost just as well as their running backs. They do a lot of different things. We’ll just have to be ready at all times.”
“Just stopping the run,” said senior cornerback E. J. Gaines. “That’s what they like to do. So stop the run and make them pass it, and I think we’ll definitely have some success.”
To pull the upset, Missouri will have to slow down Auburn’s run game. The SEC Crystal Ball doesn’t believe the Tigers will be able to do it: Auburn 28, Missouri 21