Despite Second Straight SEC Title Loss, Missouri Will Remain a Conference Threat

Maybe the third time will be the charm for the Missouri Tigers. 

The first time the Tigers went to the SEC Championship, they lost to Auburn in a shootout. That was a year ago. 

Then, on Saturday, Alabama established its SEC supremacy by throttling Missouri 42-13. 

But don't write off the Tigers. 

Because the fact of the matter is this—for two straight years, the Tigers have won the SEC East, and with the talent they have coming back, they're now a bona fide contender in the Southeastern Conference. 

Missouri's rise in the SEC, which the Tigers joined just three seasons ago, is thanks largely in part to Gary Pinkel, who himself was on the hot seat not too long ago. 

Pinkel—Missouri's all-time winningest coach with 112 victories—has built a team capable of competing in the nation's best conference. He's done it by bringing in great quarterbacks (James Franklin, Maty Mauk) and piecing together solid defenses (the Tigers ranked 16th in total defense through 12 games). 

As Joe Walljasper of the Columbia Daily Tribune points out, Pinkel still demands more despite taking a team to two straight SEC title games. 

What's even better for the Tigers, is that most everybody that's made a difference on their team is coming back for the 2015 season. 

Mauk will be back at quarterback, where he'll have his first full season as the starter under his belt. This year, he's racked up 23 touchdowns through the air, another one on the ground, and 2,551 passing yards. 

So will running back Russell Hansbrough, who needs 30 yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark in Missouri's bowl game. That'll be huge for next year as Hansbrough's counterpart, Marcus Murphy, will graduate after this year. 

John Raoux/Associated Press

The top two tacklers for Missouri—linebackers Kentrell Brothers and Michael Scherer—are also projected to return in 2015. 

Whether Shane Ray, who CBS Sports projects as a top-10 pick in this spring's NFL draft, returns for his senior year or not remains to be seen. He's the leading sacker in the SEC, collecting 13.5 in the regular season. 

He could stay to improve his draft stock, which may be hurting after getting ejected for targeting on Saturday. Or he could cash in. 

Either way, the Tigers will still be stacked at linebacker with Brothers and Scherer. 

Aarion Penton, who has three picks this season—second on the team behind redshirt senior Braylon Webb—is also returning. 

The list goes on and on. But there's no denying that this team will be loaded with experience in 2015. 

It also helps that they're in the SEC East, the unquestioned little brother to the West. Instead of having Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU every single season, they get Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. 

That should bode well for a team that, while inconsistent at times, still won 10 games and the SEC East in 2014. We'll see what the ceiling is for Pinkel's team next year.