Well, this will certainly add some sizzle to Missouri’s first-ever SEC game.
Saturday, Georgia will travel to Mizzou to take on the Tigers in the conference opener for both schools. While Mizzou had little problem dispatching SE Louisiana 62-10 in its opener, Georgia had a little more difficult time, relatively speaking, with Buffalo as it kicked off the 2012 season.
The Bulldogs led the Bulls just 24-16 at the end of a sluggish first half before pulling away for a 45-23 win at home in Athens. That sluggishness just happened to catch the attention of Sheldon Richardson, the Mizzou defensive end who has never met a microphone he didn’t immediately fall in love with.
Asked by reporters if he was able to watch any of this weekend’s opponent’s game, Richardson answered in the affirmative before adding that he had to turn it off.
The reasoning behind the defensive lineman shutting off the TV, apparently in disgust no less? The ultimate insult for any school in the SEC, as it turns out.
“It’s like watching Big Ten football,” he said. “It’s old man football.”
Ouch. That’ll leave a mark as deep as Alabama’s evisceration of Michigan Saturday night.
And Richardson wasn’t done brandishing his tongue, either. With Mizzou’s move to the SEC from the Big 12 came a lot of talk and speculation as to how the Tigers would fare going from a conference more known for offense to one littered with dominating defenses.
Describing the talk as “way overhyped,” Richardson said it’s time for Mizzou to show the SEC what Mizzou’s all about.
“They make it seem like we came from the WAC or something or never played against Oklahoma or Texas Tech and everyone else who plays for national championships,” said Richardson, apparently unaware that the Lubbock school is, well, that school in Lubbock. “It’s about time we show them who we are.”
Richardson can certainly talk the talk. Whether the Tigers can walk it, too, without tripping over Richardson’s oversized tongue is a whole other animal entirely, especially when it comes to playing on a football stage as big as the SEC’s.