Missouri Football: How Will Tigers Fare in SEC East in 2012?

Well, it's official. The Missouri Tigers will be joining the SEC in time for the 2012 football season.

They'll be placed into the SEC East division, meaning they'll have to play teams like South Carolina and Florida on a yearly basis.

That begs the question: How will the Tigers fare in their new division?

Let's take a look at how Mizzou matches up with the six other teams in the SEC East.

Tennessee Volunteers

The Vols haven't been a good team in a few years. They have a horrible rushing attack and a mediocre offense in general. Their defense is above average, but they tend to struggle against better teams.

The Vols also don't have a conference win yet this year.

With Henry Josey and James Franklin running the offense, there's no reason to think Mizzou can't earn a victory against Tennessee.

Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt is a perennial cellar-dweller in the SEC East. They simply don't recruit as well as the rest of the teams in the conference.

Right now, they have a horrible passing offense and don't score many points against high-level opponents.

Mizzou is currently a better team than Vandy; they should be an easy victory for the Tigers.

Kentucky Wildcats

If we were talking basketball, there's no way the Missouri Tigers could beat the Kentucky Wildcats.

But in football, it's a different story entirely. The Wildcats aren't very good at either offense or defense, and that doesn't look to change in the 2012 season.

This is most certainly a basketball school; Mizzou should have no problem beating them in football.

Florida Gators

The Gators will be rebuilding on offense in 2012. They'll lose QB John Brantley and RBs Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey after this season.

They have a very tough defense, though, and due to injuries, some of the younger offensive guys have been getting some valuable experience.

A Mizzou-Florida game will be much closer than most SEC fans think, but I'll still give the slight edge to Florida based on their strong defense.

South Carolina

QB Connor Shaw and RB Marcus Lattimore will be back to lead the South Carolina offense in 2012. That will be a handful for the Missouri defense.

They simply don't face any running backs as good as Lattimore in the Big 12 and will have a hard time containing him.

There's no reason Steve Spurrier's squad shouldn't be able to best the Tigers in 2012.

Georgia Bulldogs

QB Aaron Murray has been outstanding for the Bulldogs this season, and he's only a sophomore, meaning he'll be back in 2012 to take on the Tigers.

Also returning will be leading rusher Isaiah Crowell, who is only a freshman this year.

This Georgia team is very balanced on offense and very strong on defense. They should be able to take care of Missouri pretty easily.

Conclusion

With my projections, the Missouri Tigers should end up with a 3-3 record in the SEC East in 2012.

That would be a great first year in the conference and should be enough (after non-conference opponents) to ensure the Tigers make it to a bowl game.

I doubt they'll be able to beat any SEC West teams (other than Ole Miss), but a 3-3 division record isn't too shabby.

Mizzou will be better in the SEC East than most people give them credit for.