I was shocked to see the Missouri-Kansas spread at 14 plus points going into Saturday's game at Arrowhead Stadium.

I thought it was high...not because I thought KU was really any good, but mainly because I just didn't think the 2008 Missouri Tigers were very good.

The very thing that made me wonder about Missouri's potential in August after the Illinois game was the exact weakness that killed them against Kansas. The defense---specifically the blown coverages in the secondary---were there from the 1st Quarter against Illinois at The Dome to the 4th Quarter against Kansas at Arrowhead.

Here's what I wrote on September 2nd following the win against the Illini:

"I was exchanging text messages with insideSTL.com's STL Missouri Tigers' writer Gabe De Armond throughout Saturday's game...and after Saturday's game...and the theme was pretty consistent: I was surprised by how terrible the Missouri secondary looked...So, walking out of the Dome after the 52-42 victory, I told the "Colonel' Gabe De Armond and some of my friends how concerned I was after watching that game."

The concern back in August was justified throughout the season.

I'd like to know how---seriously, just how---the Missouri football team could go through the most anticipated season in decades without addressing a way to combat blown coverages in the secondary.

Whether it was Juice Williams going John Elway at The Dome, Zac Robinson enjoying having 2 wide open receivers in the endzone in October, or Todd Reesing being able to heave wounded ducks in the air as the "great" Justin Garrett chases after another receiver he's allowed past him...this problem plagued what was supposed to be a great team during what was supposed to be a great team.

Well...

...this wasn't a great team.

And, I don't give a damn what happens Saturday at Arrowhead, this wasn't a great season.

Period.

If anything, if Missouri were to somehow beat Oklahoma, it would scream just how much potential they pissed away in 2008.

The reality as it sits right now: Missouri has 9 wins. 3 of those schools will be going to bowls, and 2 of them are Nevada and Buffalo. Just like Kansas took advantage of a crap schedule in 2007 to make their run, I say with great confidence that if Missouri had KU's 2008 schedule, the Tigers wouldn't be the 2008 Big 12 North Champions.

There's only one team in the country who can say it's had more of a disappointing season than Missouri, and that's the preseason #1 Georgia. Otherwise, the 2008 Missouri Tigers would take the cake as the team that shit the bed more than any other team in the country.

Obviously, the defense blew it this year. I have no idea what happened, because this defense was legitimately outstanding by the end of the 2007 season. But, with 10 of 11 starters back, they were terrible in 2008.

However, this isn't all on the defense.

Danario Alexander had critical drops throughout the season...including at the end of the game Saturday. The offensive line, which Gary Pinkel called the best he's had while at Missouri, left Daniel running for his life in the October losses. And, Daniel himself made uncharacteristically poor throws and decisions that led to a season that didn't live up to expectations.

But, the Missouri offense still was not only fun to watch, it was one of the best in the country. Therefore, the disappointment that is a 9-3 season with only one legitimately good win (at Nebraska) is on the defense and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

Just how many times did Missouri fans watch an opposing wide receiver go streaking down the field in shock, because he was so damn wide open? How many times did we see a quarterback have 10 seconds to scan the field and find a receiver? And, how many times did Justin Garrett get burned for a huge gain...if not a touchdown?

But, to me, Garrett's inability to cover receivers throughout the season screams to Eberflus to switch up the roles between Garrett and William Moore. Moore, who cost himself in the NFL Draft dearly---unfortunately---by returning for a bad senior season, was sent on blitzes throughout the season...leaving Garrett to get worked over in the secondary. There was one game this season in which Moore was left back in coverage moreso than sent on the blitz...and that was the shutout versus Colorado. Other than that, opposing quarterbacks were able to feast on the Tiger secondary with the uncreative blitz packages that exposed Garrett and overmatched corners.

When the Tigers called a suspiciously conservative gameplan against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game last year, it drove me up the wall...not just because Missouri went to San Antonio with a different approach than the one that got them there, but because opportunities to play for a National Championship are so very rare...especially with this asinine system that determines #1 and #2.

Well, applying that same approach to the 2008 season, I now have to say the performance of the defense and coordinator Matt Eberflus this season has played *the* major role in the 2008 Missouri Tigers going from a team that captivated the state and intrigued the nation to, quite possibly, one that won't even finish in the Top 25.

Don't give me the b-s about how this is much better than the 80's and 90's. Is that line going to be used every year Missouri fails to seize great opportunity?

This team had the talent to do amazing things this year, and I don't think many fans would've told you at the start of the season that a 3 loss campaign---including one of those losses being to a 6-6 Kansas team---that they'd be happy...especially when you looked at how favorable the schedule laid out.

I hope like hell a handful of  Internet powernerds get to show up here in 6 days after a Missouri upset versus Oklahoma and tell me how wrong I was about the 2008 Tigers.

The thing is...a win versus OU doesn't change my mind.

This team was eliminated fom the National Championship picture by halftime of the Texas game in mid-October. They had to escape at Baylor. And, they lost to an average, at best, Kansas team.

In August, Missouri fans had real hopes of spending the first week of January in Miami playing for a National Championship. In December, Missouri fans hope to avoid Shreveport.

Log-in and post your comments below, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.