Richardson's 'guarantee' of a win over Mizzou might be just the fire the Tigers need

Published Oct. 30, 2013 7:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Max Copeland bites his lip. Which is
awesome to watch, because up close, Max Copeland biting his lip is like
a kettle trying to hold in the popcorn, a rumbling volcano straining to
internalize its lava.

"Oh, you know," Missouri's
senior guard says, eyes blazing as if General Sherman just marched
troops inside one of his ears and set fire to his skull. "We're just
working hard. Trying to get better."

Yeah,
but Tennessee's Tiny Richardson guaranteed a win over the Tigers on
Saturday ...

And there's the lip bite
again.

You can see the wheels turning, upstairs, and
Max Copeland -- 6-foot-3, 300 pounds of Montana mean, a dude with a
giant gash where the bridge of his nose should be, a cat who looks like
he used to roadie for Lemmy and the rest of the loons in Motorhead -- is
thinking absolutely beautiful, unprintable things.

But rather than reveal those beautiful, unprintable
things, he makes a strained face, as if The Incredible Hulk is giving
him a wedgie, smiles through gritted teeth and says
this:

"Well, you know, we're just focusing on getting
better and working hard in practice. We're just working hard, trying to
get better."

That's it? Anything
else?

"Nope," Copeland said, biting harder
this time, barely suppressing a laugh. "Oh, you know, I'm kind of
reclusive when it comes the whole social-media platform, so I don't know
anything about that.

Another lip
bite.

"We're just working hard, trying to get
better."

Oh, Tiny. You genius,
you.

Here Mizzou was looking for something to get its
collective minds off of a groin-punch of a loss to South Carolina at
home, and you went and told the folks who cover your
Volunteers:

"We'll beat Missouri, I'll promise you
that."

Which is funny, because if there was ever a
board that needed a bulletin, it's the one in the Tigers' locker room
right now. If there was ever a team that needed a reason to rally around
a new cause, brother, it's this one.

"I mean, that's
fuel to our fire," Mizzou quarterback Maty Mauk says. "And we're going
to come out firing this week. No matter what he said, we're going to
play Mizzou football."

So, hey, dude, thanks for
that.

"Not really sure, but I guess that's smart,"
wideout L'Damian Washington says with a grin.

"Because I guess if he would've guaranteed a win for
Missouri, Tennessee fans wouldn't have been excited about that, right?
He goes to Tennessee. Guess that's a smart
guy."

Smart or loopy.

Your pick.

Either way, no disrespect,
right?

"None taken," Washington says. "Gotta go out
and play Saturday."

In Richardson's defense, if the
Vols harbored any ill will, any desire for payback after last year's
Mizzou-UT matchup in Knoxville, that's perfectly understandable. The
Tigers turned up at Neyland Stadium last November seeking their first
SEC road win; rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit to force a 28-all tie
thanks to a 25-yard touchdown pass off -- shades of Connor Shaw last
weekend -- a 4th-and-12 heave with 47 seconds left; weathered four wild
overtimes; and escaped with a 51-48 victory.

"It's a
really tough place to play -- they're a really good team, it's loud,
it's a crazy stadium, man," Copeland says of Rocky Top. "It was an
emotional win. But at the same time, we're a different team this year.
They're a different team. This is really a new game. I mean, that game
is a million miles away. We really don't think about that too much
anymore."

So now the page turns. And, maybe, thanks
to our man Tiny, a little quicker than it might have normally.

"The past is a part of us, but it's not really who
we are," Copeland says. "And there's wisdom in losing. We can find
wisdom in it if we choose to extract it.

"Honestly,
this is a mature team. This is the most mature I've been, which
is not saying much. But I'm getting better, and I feel like my brothers
are all fairly mature competitors. And we're going make sure that we
don't feel 'hung over' from (last week's)
game."

Mad Max chuckles. Knowingly. Fiendishly.
After all, when a volcano has waited this long to erupt, what's three
more days?

You can follow Sean
Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at
seanmkeeler@gmail.com.