Mizzou can make a statement or have one made against Oklahoma

It was back to a one-sided rivalry between the Big 12's old foes, and it could have had significant implications for the College Football Playoff by the time kickoff came. Reality has now taken some of the shine off this Tigers-Sooners reunion. Let’s not kid ourselves otherwise.

Mizzou is unranked in the AP Top 25 and can barely hang on to a College Football Playoff ranking (No. 24) with two blowout losses and a big question mark over its quarterback situation.

Starter Brady Cook was ruled out by the team and backup Drew Pyne was not competitive when he was used in league play. There doesn't seem to be a good third option at the moment; If so, we would know by now. Can Mizzou compete, let alone win, without Cook? So far the answer has been a resounding no.

Unranked, four-loss Oklahoma can't make fun of it. It's having a worse season than Mizzou and there are fewer excuses for it. The Sooners can't blame an injured starting quarterback for their faltering offense. You have flip flop flip starters in position. Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. struggled to get much done. Against Southeastern Conference defenses, the Sooners are averaging an SEC-low 13.6 points per game. OU's defense is decent, but no defense is good enough to support an offense as lackluster as Oklahoma's.

Let's face it, people. Saturday night could get ugly. Maybe the team that finds a way to score on defense or special teams will win. Playoff impact? There are no legitimate ones. But this game still means a lot. Because of the past. Because of the future.

Most Mizzou fans and supporters remember all too well the painful pecking order of the Tigers' previous league. Texas and Oklahoma were the darlings of the Big 12, and everyone else should feel blessed to share a seat at their table.

Mizzou wisely sought a better and fairer future in the SEC. The same move by Texas and Oklahoma years later was just further confirmation that the Tigers had made the right decision long before it became popular. However, a win over Oklahoma within the SEC would be proof that the previous conference's pecking order doesn't necessarily need to be changed. These are not Bob Stoops’ Sooners. Not even Lincoln Riley's. Brent Venables has proven himself vulnerable.

Saturday carries more weight than just another game. It offers you the opportunity to make a statement – ​​or have one made against you. Mizzou's win means a new conference and a new era for this series. The Oklahoma win suggests this all sounds pretty familiar, such as the Sooners' eight wins in their last 10 tries against Mizzou in a series that's heavily in OU's favor (24-67 with five ties). . A loss at Texas A&M and Alabama wouldn't be as bad as Mizzou losing at home to this damaged Oklahoma team.

There's another reason why this one moves a significant needle. You only have to look at how the Mizzou coaching staff is using social media to celebrate the game's busy recruiting department to understand why. The Tigers and Sooners now sharing the SEC have only increased the tension in one of the sport's most ruthless recruiting battles. This has been going on for years, but rarely has it been so competitive and intense.

Luther Burden, like Jeremy Maclin, committed to Oklahoma before staying with the Tigers, his home state.

The Sooners got Ronnie Perkins. Also Cayden Green, although he is now a Tiger via the transfer portal. Williams Nwaneri left OU fans with doubts about his commitment to Mizzou before signing on the dotted scholarship line as a Tiger. Some of the next players to choose between the two teams will be watching from the recruiting department at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

I don't expect any coaching staff to fully inform their respective players of the long backstory between these two brands. But if either of them didn't try to make it clear why this game is a little more important than most, mistakes were made.

Mizzou's season prospects appear to be shaky with Cook limping. Oklahoma is looking for a silver lining, and this might be the best one still available.

The winner of this game will claim the best victory of the year so far and perhaps the most rewarding one for recruiting.

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