Paul Finebaum: Missouri proved it was worthy of ranking in game against Georgia

Many doubted Missouri as one of the better teams in the nation based on their standings in the polls and playoff rankings. However, although the performance came in a loss, they put up an outing in Athens that even impressed Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum gave Mizzou their flowers during ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’ on Monday. While they lost 30-21 at Georgia this past weekend, he said the Tigers more than justified their credibility with how they competed inside Sanford Stadium against the two-time defending champions.

“I came away really impressed with Coach ‘Drink, his staff, and what that football team has accomplished,” said Finebaum. “They still have some big games but they showed they were worthy of not only the ranking but of all the adulation.”

Even with their 7-1 record coming in, some may have considered it to be a bit of a fluke based on their play. With what they did against the ‘Dawgs in the environment they were in, though, Finebaum now believes that there’s nothing fluky about Mizzou.

“There have been times in this season when, I mean, it feels like Missouri has been fortunate and gotten out of jams, made trick calls like the one against Kentucky,” Finebaum admitted. “But what we saw Saturday was a legit team against what I still believe is the best team in the country on the road – all the things that make college football more difficult for a road team.”

“They came within a couple of plays of having a shot at the end, which is all you can do,” said Finebaum.

Now, at 7-2, the best way for Missouri to continue to make their case is to finish strong over their final three. Even so, that could be a challenge in Finebaum’s opinion, especially with who they have coming to Faurot Field on Saturday afternoon.

“The challenge for Missouri now is finish,” said Finebaum. “They’re getting Tennessee, I think, at a really bad time. They’re emotionally drained, they’re beaten up, and they’re playing a team that is jekyll & hyde but very capable.”

Missouri vs. Tennessee point spread: Picking Tigers vs. Volunteers

It should be a tight battle between Missouri and Tennessee on Saturday with the Volunteers opening as 1.5-point road favorites.

On3‘s Andy Staples and The Athletic‘s Max Olson teamed up to make their picks on Monday. They ended up splitting on their picks with Staples saying he is leaning toward Missouri.

“Missouri’s coming off, they put a lot of energy and emotion,” he explained. “They had the open week before Georgia. They poured a lot into that and played well but just not well enough to win. I think they’re good enough to beat Tennessee, but Tennessee had the nice tune-up against UConn.”

“This could be kind of similar to Tennessee-Kentucky in terms of shootout. The thing is will Joe Milton be as consistent as he’s been? Will Tennessee run the ball as consistently as they have against this defense? I don’t know. I’m leaning toward Missouri here.”

On the other side, Olson is rolling with the Volunteers. He thinks that the Tigers may have a little bit of trouble recovering from the tough game against Georgia.

“I was kind of leaning Vols,” he said. “This would be so impressive. I don’t know how much you’re buying body blows on this one for Missouri. But I was really impressed by the legitimacy of that team playing the way that they did.

“I’m not saying that playing Georgia just makes you wrecked now and you can’t show up for this game. But that would be quite a statement if they turned around and figured out a way to best this Tennessee team. It’s not quite what we hoped it could be but it’s still gonna give Missouri a serious battle.”