Mizzou couldn’t pull off the upset of Georgia, but its brightest stars showed out on the biggest stage.

For the past several years, we’ve talked about Mizzou having a talent deficiency.

Whenever the Tigers would come up against the Georgias of the world, they would look out of place. Overmatched. In over their heads. On Saturday, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

No, Missouri didn’t pull off the historic upset. In fact, you can make a pretty strong argument that they blew it. But for four quarters, Mizzou looked like it belonged on the same stage as the reigning national champions. And the three players below had a lot to do with that.

Missouri still isn’t on the same level as Georgia or even some of their other SEC contemporaries. But as the Tigers showed on Saturday night, they’ve got the pieces to compete. Now it’s about putting together the intangibles that make up great teams

1. Harrison Mevis

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It couldn’t have been anyone else. Literally: His name appeared first on every single ballot submitted this week.

One week after many Mizzou fans publicly wondered if he’d finally got a case of the yips, Harrison Mevis showed out on the biggest stage. While Missouri’s offense struggled to finish all night long, Mevis put the team on his quads and gave the Tigers a better than decent chance to upset the best team in the country. Our very own Thiccer was all over the internet, sending missiles into the night air and strutting his stuff.

I respect this man very much.

2. Ty’Ron Hopper

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His counting stats were a little lower than we’re used to, but Ty’Ron Hopper’s fingerprints were all over this game. Missouri’s defense went toe-to-toe with the reigning national champions and held them at bay nearly all night. Hopper’s manic, chaotic influence could be felt from the trenches to the secondary, an unquestionable sign of the impact he’s had on this unit. His individuals weren’t bad either: 7 tackles, 1 TFL and another QB hurry.

3. Dominic Lovett

I get that we’re only five games into the season, but we’d be naive to not talk about Dominic Lovett’s trajectory, right? At this point, we absolutely have to be talking about All-SEC teams. Five weeks into the season — including road games in Manhattan, Auburn and a home date against Georgia — Lovett remains the SEC’s leading receiver in both yards and receptions. And he’s doing it in this offense.

Lovett was Missouri’s leading receiver on the evening despite missing the second half, and it’s fair to wonder where the Tigers would have ended up had he played. It’s incredibly clear how important he is to this offense and offers continued hope for other young playmakers.

Others receiving votes: Jaylon Carlies

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