It's Not Time for Mizzou to Panic, But It Is Time to Play Like Champions

After last Saturday's loss to Oklahoma State, I'm sure most Tigers players and fans are having trouble keeping their head up. Although disappointing, the loss is not the end of the season for Missouri, and the team should still have hopes for a Big 12 title and possibly the national championship.

Missouri has to use the loss against OSU and learn some important lessons. The Tigers played very sloppy at times against the Cowboys and didn't keep a cool head when they needed to. Winning championships is not easy, and you will encounter several challenges if you want to be on top.

The difference between good and great teams is how they play when things are going bad, not when they are going well. I don't want to be too hard on Chase Daniel, but when the game is on the line and you are a potential Heisman-winning quarterback, you need to show better poise and intelligence. This means throwing balls away instead of picks when your tying to make a play out of nothing. 

The blame is all not on Daniel, though, and the defense looked pretty awful against Oklahoma State. OSU has a great offense, but there is no excuse for miscues, sloppy tackling, and bad penalties. Let's hope the whole team learned a lesson about composure and uses it next week.

The next game Missouri has is against No. 1 Texas in Austin this Saturday. If Missouri wants to keep its championship dreams alive, it needs a victory. The Tigers are still a top 10 team in my mind, and a win would help them move up in the rankings again after the drop they took.

Most of the teams ranked in front of Missouri play in the Big 12 South or in the SEC, which is good news. Both the Big 12 and SEC are solid, and every week there's a chance one of the teams above Missouri can lose. Even the Big 10 is playing decently and could beat each other out of the top 10.

Missouri needs to stay positive, play one game at a time, and hope other teams falter. Missouri still has Big 12 championship and national championship possibilities, but the loss this past Saturday didn't help. Start with a win at Texas, though, and that loss won't even be visible in the rear-view mirror and the team'll be that much closer to those championships.