Mizzou Football Snubbed By ESPN’s 2014 Top 25

Jan 3, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive lineman Nate Crawford (87) and offensive linesman Justin Britt (68) celebrate with the Cotton Bowl trophy after the victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2014 Cotton Bowl at AT

One of the traditions at ESPN the day after the BCS national championship is the publishing of the Way Too Early Top 25 for the next season. It doesn’t mean much but I believe it does set the expectation of the 2014 offseason because it’s a long 235 days until college football kicks off again August 28th.

So as a responsible member of the college football community, I like to read it just to get an idea of what to expect from the preseason Top 25. And if you think preseason polls don’t matter, no team has won the national championship without being ranked in the preseason top 25 in either the AP or Coaches poll. It helps to set the expectations for the season.

So I am reading the ESPN article by Mark Schlabach and as expected, he predicts the most recent national champion as the preseason #1. Then I see Oklahoma at #8, but still no Mizzou in the top 10.

Okay, I get they are losing lots of talent but surely they are in the top 15. Nope.

Well they have to be in the top 20 right? Nope. Well he wouldn’t leave Mizzou off entirely on his Way too early Top 25 would he? Unfortunately for Mizzou fans, he did.

Is it possible that I am making mountains out of moleholes? Maybe. However, when teams are not ranked in preseason polls, they are likely to get little respect in the polls if they start winning. Being ranked in the preseason Top 25 means if you stumble, you can move up easier in the polls when you do win again.

Arch Authority has reached out to Mark Schlabach for comment and as of time of publish, he hasn’t responded. We will keep you update on any development.

Follow Chris Flanagan On Twitter! and Follow Arch Authority On Twitter!

Contact Chris Flanagan at archauthoritytoday@gmail.com