By the way, if you parse the SEC’s statement Monday, there was nothing in there that didn’t say “…but we will be more than willing to look at Missouri if and when the Big 12 collapses.”
— Me, September 14
The Southeastern Conference has an offer on the table for Missouri to join its league, and SEC officials are willing to wait for an answer from Missouri until the future of the Big 12 is decided.
UPDATE: The SEC denies this.
I was going to write something about Missouri, and it looks like my hand has been forced. But instead of just looking at the past 18 months or so, here’s a more inclusive timeline: (EDIT: Broke this up and added a “jumpline.”)
October 2, 1896: Missouri 18, Iowa State 6. Iowa State’s fourth year of football, coached by Pop Warner. James W. Wilson of Traer was captain of the football team. The teams do not meet again until 1908, but since then have played an uninterrupted series and have played an uninterrupted series since 1919.
October 3, 1959: Missouri 14, Iowa State 0. The game that inspired the Telephone Trophy.
November 1, 1986: Iowa State 37, Missouri 14. Mom takes my sister and me down to Columbia and she goes to the game. Jim Criner’s second-to-last game as ISU coach.
November 27, 2004: Missouri 17, Iowa State 14 (OT). The 38th most painful loss in college football history. An ISU game — and division title — lost by (what else?) a missed field goal.
October 27, 2007: Missouri 42, Iowa State 28. The 100th game of the series.
November 21, 2009: Missouri 34, Iowa State 24. I see this game in person in Columbia (above). Had the outcome been reversed, both teams would have finished the season 7-5.
November 30, 2009: Notre Dame fires Charlie Weis.
December 5, 2009: Nebraska loses to Texas in the Big 12 championship game after 1 second is put back on the clock.
December 6, 2009: The Insight Bowl selects a 6-6 Iowa State team over an 8-4 Missouri team that beat the Cyclones. In the days prior to the selection, there were overtures toward this because of ISU’s rabid traveling postseason fanbase. Missouri is not happy.
December 15, 2009: The Big Ten announces it “will actively explore the possibility of expansion in the next 12-18 months” although rumors had been percolating over the previous year.
December 17, 2009: Notre Dame says no. Again. But this happens too:
In a statement released Tuesday, Missouri, a Big 12 member, said it had not yet been approached about Big Ten membership — and didn’t rule out the possibility.
“Should there be an official inquiry or invitation, we would evaluate it based upon what would be in the best interest of MU athletically and academically,” the university said.
December 18, 2009: Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon opens his mouth. “I’m not going to say anything bad about the Big 12, but when you compare Oklahoma State to Northwestern, when you compare Texas Tech to Wisconsin, I mean, you begin looking at educational possibilities that are worth looking at.”
This timeline delves into (false) Missouri-to-the-Big-Ten rumors and a larger expansion of the December 2009-June 2010 period.
June 10, 2010: Colorado jumps to the Pac-Ten. This is believed to be a pre-emptive move to stop Baylor from joining Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in a new Pac-16.
June 11, 2010: Nebraska jumps to the Big Ten.
December 28, 2010: Iowa beats Missouri 27-24 in the Insight Bowl, the first game between the two teams in a century.
October 15/November 26, 2011: 104th game between Iowa State and Missouri; 120th game between Missouri and Kansas (the longest uninterrupted college football series west of the Mississippi River). Iowa State has only played one opponent, Nebraska, more often (105). Missouri played Nebraska 104 times, so this will put ISU in a tie for 2nd there. (Missouri-Kansas State, 96; Missouri-Oklahoma, 95)
And now, a theory: First, read the top item in this recap of 2010 from the Columbia Tribune. Think about this: Would Missouri has been as uncomfortable with the Big 12 in early 2010 if it had gone to the 2009 Insight Bowl? In turn, would it have been as reluctant to commit to the Big 12 as it was that June?
UPDATE: ISU and Missouri did not play in 1918. Thanks, Spanish flu.