July 19, 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo. - With just 16 days until the start of fall camp, the Mizzou Football Tigers learned today that they have been picked to win the Big 12 Conference North Division title in 2007, according to the Big 12 media preseason poll that was released today by the league office. The poll is conducted by the Big 12 office and is comprised of 24 media members who cover the league.
Head Coach Gary Pinkel returns 15 starters from the 2006 squad that finished tied for second in the Big 12 North at 8-5 overall, winning eight games for only the 10th time in school history and reaching the Sun Bowl.
Mizzou received 16 first-place votes and stood first with 136 points overall in the North standings, with Nebraska coming in second, with 128 points and eight first-place votes. Texas was the pick to win the South Division with 135 points (16 first-place votes), with Oklahoma second with 126 points (seven first-place votes). A division title this season would give Mizzou its first conference championship in football since the Tigers shared the 1969 Big Eight title with Nebraska with records of 9-2 overall and 6-1 in league play.
Naturally, the news of the media poll was met with excitement by the Tiger players.
“We’re honored to be picked to win it, and we’ll definitely help use that as motivation,” said junior quarterback Chase Daniel. “We’ve worked really hard over the last few years to earn some respect, and now that it’s coming, we need to work even harder to keep it. I believe our team will be able to use these expectations the right way,” he said.
“This is really cool,” said senior defensive lineman Lorenzo Williams. “It’s great to see Mizzou up there where we need to be. It’s definitely exciting for us and hopefully for our fans, too. We know that it doesn’t mean anything unless we take care of business, so that’s what we have to do now,” he said.
The team is continuing its voluntary summer conditioning program in Columbia, and the first practice of preseason fall camp begins with an afternoon workout on Saturday, August 4th. The Tigers will open the 2007 season against rival Illinois in St. Louis, Mo. on Saturday, September 1st at 2:30 p.m.
The team’s annual fan/media/photo day is set for Sunday, August 5th, with details to be announced soon. Season tickets and individual game tickets for the upcoming season are on sale, and can be purchased online at www.mutigers.com, over the phone by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Columbia), or by visiting the Mizzou Ticket Box Office located at Mizzou Arena.
NOTES
- In all but one year of the Big 12 media preseason poll, Mizzou has finished within two spots of where it was predicted to finish. The only exception was last season, when the league scribes picked Mizzou to finish in fifth place, but the Tigers exceeded expectations with a second-place showing…
- The highest MU has ever been picked in the preseason media poll was second in 2004. The Tigers finished fourth that season…
- In the previous 11 preseason polls spanning the Big 12’s existence (1996-2006), Mizzou has finished higher than predicted five times (1996 – picked 6th, finished 4th; 1997 – picked 4th, finished 3rd; 1998 – picked 4th, finished 3rd; 2003 – picked 4th, finished 3rd; 2006 – picked 5th, finished 2nd)…
- Mizzou has finished lower than predicted in the preseason poll only two times (1999 – picked 4th, finished 6th; 2004 – picked 2nd, finished 4th)…
- Mizzou has finished exactly where it was predicted by league media four other times (2000/6th; 2001/5th; 2002/5th; 2005/4th).
2007 Big 12 Preseason Football Poll (Media Vote) |
| North |
|
 |
South |
|
| 1. Missouri (16) |
136 |
1. Texas (16) |
135 |
| 2. Nebraska (8) |
128 |
2. Oklahoma (7) |
126 |
| 3. Kansas State |
88 |
3. Texas A&M (1) |
82 |
| 4. Kansas |
63 |
4. Oklahoma State |
81 |
| 5. Colorado |
58 |
5. Texas Tech |
56 |
| 6. Iowa State |
31 |
6. Baylor |
24 |
