COLUMBIA, Mo. — Smoke machines hissed. Models hammed it up for the cameras. Grown men swooned. Cash registers rang from here to Rolla.
As a fashion show, Missouri's 2012 Black & Gold Game probably scored an 8 out of 10. As a scrimmage, though? More like a 4.
"I think it's hard to sit there and (evaluate)," coach Gary Pinkel said Saturday after his 12th spring session with the Tigers drew to a somewhat unorthodox close. "What you saw this spring really wasn't your offense or defense. We had so many players out."
The coach counted 12 guys missing in all, the most he's ever had out for one single preseason stretch in Columbia. No. 1 quarterback (James Franklin, shoulder) didn't suit up. Neither did No. 1 tailback (Henry Josey, knee). No. 1 receiver, phenom Dorial Green-Beckham, is getting ready for his senior prom.
How will the Tigers match up when they make their Southeastern Conference debut in the fall? Without Franklin, Josey or Green-Beckham in the fold, the backups outscored the starters, 34-10 (thanks to a 14-0 head start) in the first half, the defense outscored the offense, 5-3, in the second. In other words, your guess is still as good as mine.
But we know what the devil they'll look like. Saturday's sexiest narrative was the team's new uniforms, which were unveiled during rather lengthy, rather elaborate halftime ceremony. And it wasn't just a football makeover, either — there were new duds for the Tigers' men's and women's basketball, volleyball, and soccer teams.
"Yeah, you could say it was a coming-out party," offered receiver Jimmie Hunt, who opened the scoring with an 88-yard touchdown reception from reserve quarterback Ashton Glaser early in the first quarter. "It's all exciting. We were all excited when we first saw the jerseys, too. I mean, you can't ask for much more. Great team, going to the SEC. And hopefully, (we'll) give a great show."
Nike didn't go Oregon crazy with the Mizzou's threads, but they had some fun. The fabric is lighter and designed to keep players cool when it's hot and hot when it's cool. A pair of new helmets are expected to debut in the fall, both black — one with the athletic department's familiar Tiger logo in an oval and one with a giant gold Tiger and no oval. The traditional block ‘M,' at least on the football side, is being phased out.
"I really like the helmets we have," wideout T.J. Moe said. "I don't mind the change. Some people complained about the ‘M' (being gone), but it doesn't bother me one bit."
All told, the mood on Stadium Boulevard was sunny and bright. That went double for the skies: While several Midwest spring games were casualties of dangerous storms, the wind was a non-factor in central Missouri. Before the game, quarterback Trent Hosick of Kansas City and middle linebacker Nick Ramirez of Lee's Summit, Mo. — rated the eighth-best and 10th-best prospects in the country at their respective positions by Scout.com — gave verbal commitments to join the program. And as fans mobbed him on the field after the game, Franklin, who's recovering from shoulder surgery, noted that he'd finally gotten out of a sling.
As for his likely understudy, Corbin Berkstresser, Saturday proved to be more of a mixed bag. The redshirt freshman completed 13 of 20 throws for 187 yards, with a 32-yard touchdown to Moe. But he also got pick-sixed by linebacker Donovan Bonner, who stepped in front of a throw and ran it back 65 yards for a score. It was a patchwork roster, playing a patchwork game.
"You don't have to be a starter to play in our system," Pinkel said. "Backup players can get a lot of reps if they perform. The more backup players — second-team players — that get reps, the better depth we have overall."
Conditioning kills. Speed kills. Because whether it's Austin or Gainesville, the mantra is the same: You push that accelerator all the way to the floor.
"We feel like it's advantage," Hunt said. "Get everybody on the defense tired, and we come out and score."
When you think Big 12, you think of spread offenses, balls flying all over the field, 800-yard passing days, basketball on grass. You see Oklahoma State 52, Kansas State 45.
When you think of the SEC, you think of NFL defenses, NFL speed, NFL punishment. You think of glamorous coaches and ugly tilts in which a four-point lead feels like it might as well be 15. You see LSU 9, Alabama 6.
How does five-wide and an empty backfield translate? How will chuck-and-duck fare against a Nick Saban or Will Muschamp? How will the Tigers stack up running a finesse system in a league where power dictates authority?
"Football is football," Pinkel said.
"I don't think any decisions (were based on) 'OK, now we're in the SEC, so now we've got to do this.' That's never happened. That's not even on the radar."
Football is football. The Tigers may be changing leagues. They may be changing clothes. But they don't plan on changing their stripes anytime soon.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com
