LIKE IT IS

Better not get in a hurry to write off Mizzou

Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel roams the field before the start of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Oh, the power of Alabama football.

Auburn beat the Crimson Tide on Saturday, and naturally the Tigers moved to No. 3 in the BCS standings, one spot ahead of Alabama.

Most of the stories being written this week are talking about how if Michigan State beats Ohio State this Saturday, Auburn will be in the BCS Championship Game against Florida State, which would keep the SEC’s streak of being in the BCS Championship Game alive.

Uh, Missouri might have something to say about that when it faces Auburn on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game.

The Missouri Tigers are not the Washington Generals.

It would be a travesty if Missouri wins, Ohio State loses and Alabama slips back into the BCS Championship Game instead of the black-and-gold Tigers.

Missouri is No. 5 in the BCS standings, just behind the Crimson Tide.

Alabama was ranked ahead of Mizzou in both human polls and by the computers (just .840 to .830), but surely a victory over the team that beat Alabama, the two-time defending BCS champions, would propel the humans and computers to do the right thing.

Of course, that is all predicated on Michigan State beating Ohio State in the Big Ten championship. The Spartans’ only loss this season was 17-13 at Notre Dame, but they have not allowed a touchdown in five of their past six games. The defense ranks four in the nation, allowing an average of only 287.46 yards per game.

MSU may have to do it with defense. Its offense ranks 95th, just ahead of Missouri, which played much of the season without starting quarterback James Franklin, who is back now.

Ohio State’s schedule is why it doesn’t deserve to be No. 2 in the BCS standings. It has one victory over a ranked team, 31-24 against No. 23 Wisconsin more than two months ago.

Some media folks have gone so far as to say that if Florida State loses to Duke - it is believed they were sober or close to it when that statement was made - and Ohio State loses, an Iron Bowl rematch of Auburn-Alabama would happen in the BCS Championship Game.

Again, no mention of Missouri, which has been made a slight underdog by odds makers.

Missouri has proven it belongs in the SEC and should not be taken lightly.

The rumor that was mentioned in my column Tuesday that Gov. Mike Beebe told Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long to leave his coach - Gus Malzahn, when he was at Arkansas State - alone caused a little stir.

Here is what the governor had to say Tuesday.

“I don’t think there is any question that everybody knew that I liked Gus and wanted Gus to stay at ASU, but I didn’t interfere with their process,” Beebe said. “I am not going to say I didn’t talk to a trustee because I may have, I don’t recall. But if I did, it was casual conversation. It wasn’t any specific request on my part. It was not any effort on my part to interfere with the actions.

“In normal conversation if it would have come up - and I don’t know that it did - but if it would have come up everybody knew my feelings.”

Dec. 12 will be a special day for the Jones family when the central Arkansas chapter of Ducks Unlimited presents Stephen Jones with the Jerry Jones Sportsman Award.

Of course, Jerry Jones owns the Dallas Cowboys and his son Stephen is executive vice president and director of player personnel for the Cowboys.

Like his dad, Stephen played for the Arkansas Razorbacks where he was a four year letterman as a linebacker and a special teams headhunter. Both are avid outdoorsmen.

A Catholic High graduate, Stephen received his degree in chemical engineering in 1988 and went to work in the oil and gas business before moving to the Cowboys when his dad purchased the team.

The event is at Chenal Country Club, and tickets and sponsorship information can be obtained by calling Mike Rohrer at (501) 428-0004 or Brian Minchew at (501) 920-3120.

Sports, Pages 19 on 12/04/2013