Breaking down the Tigers' appearance in the national rankings

Published Oct. 7, 2013 11:24 a.m. ET

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ST. LOUIS -- For the first time since the second week of the 2011 season, the Tigers are back in the Associated Press Top 25.

While
Gary Pinkel's squad fell just short (26th) of this week's USA Today
Coaches' Poll, it landed the 25th spot in the sportswriters' hearts
Sunday.

Thanks to Pollspeak.com, we can break it down even more.

Mizzou
received 36 votes from the pool of 60 writers who cast a ballot every
week. Brent Axe, a sportswriter for the Syracuse Post-Standard, thought
the most of Mizzou; he assigned the team his No. 18 spot, above Texas
Tech, Northwestern, Washington, Oklahoma State, Fresno State, Auburn and
Northern Illinois. Twenty-four pollsters left the Tigers off their
ballots.

So, does any of this stuff matter? Coaches and players
will tell you no, absolutely not. But rankings increase exposure. Top 25
means a program is in the national discussion, and that's good
publicity, especially for potential recruits.

Oh, and one more thing. That 2011 team finished 8-5 after beating North Carolina in the Independence Bowl.



Mizzou
knows all too well how injuries can turn a season on its head. Now
Georgia is feeling the same pain. In what will be the biggest game of
the Tigers' season, Mizzou faces a No. 7 Bulldogs team that is getting
thin fast.

Georgia (4-1, 3-0 SEC) had to sit three players --
running back Todd Gurley (ankle), safety Tray Matthews (hamstring) and
safety Connor Norman (concussion) -- in its last game. That trio is
still day to day, according to Georgia coach Mark Richt.

And that's just the beginning.

Four
more Bulldogs went down with injuries in this weekend's shootout win
over Tennessee. Running back Keith Marshall and wide receiver Justin
Scott-Wesley suffered season-ending knee injuries. Receiver Michael
Bennett also injured a knee, and punter Collin Barber sustained a
concussion.

If healthy, the Bulldogs appear to be a lock to win the SEC East. But can they do it with a depleted roster?


After
leading the Tigers with 4 1/2 sacks last season, Mizzou defensive end
Michael Sam failed to come up with one in his first three games.

Now he has six in two weeks.

After
torturing Arkansas State quarterback Adam Kennedy enough to earn last
week's SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week award, Sam gave an encore
performance in Nashville. He sacked Vanderbilt quarterback Austyn
Carta-Samuels three times and was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the
Week again. His six sacks have totaled a loss of 32 yards.

For
some perspective, Sam is the first Mizzou player to receive weekly
conference honors twice in a season since safety Pig Brown locked down
the Big 12 in 2007.


If
I'm going to point out when Mizzou kicker Andrew Baggett struggles,
it's only fair to pat him on the back for a job well done. He was
stellar in Mizzou's thumping of Vanderbilt.

Baggett had sent just
50 percent of his kicks through the upright headed into Saturday.
That's not good. But he finished 3 of 3 against Vandy and also nailed
six extra-point attempts. His field goals came from 44, 29 and 41 yards.
His percentage has ticked up from 50 to 66.7.

Follow Ben Frederickson on Twitter (@Ben_Fred), or contact him at frederickson.ben@gmail.com

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