Football Preview: John Anderson gives impressions of Tiger football

By Lee Zucker

Published Sept. 5, 2008

ESPN SportsCenter anchor John Anderson sat down to talk Tiger football with The Maneater's Lee Zucker. Anderson graduated from the School of Journalism in 1987 and has been working with ESPN since 1999.

The Maneater: Did you catch the game on Saturday? What did you think of the Tigers' performance?

John Anderson: I sat there in my living room eating Shakespeare's pizza. I thought they were great with the exception of a few blown coverages. I don't think we want someone every week to throw for 450 yards, but it happens in the first week of the season, and it happens when you play a pretty decent team. Offensively, overall they looked great. They haven't played in a while. I thought they did fine.

M: After Saturday's game, what did you think was the team's weakest link?

JA: It's fairly evident from the other game that the secondary has got to be better. Hopefully they'll get that straightened out. I don't know how much of that was strictly on the secondary. I don't know if it was blown coverages. I'm not sure all of the defensive schemes, but right now it is the secondary anytime you look at it on paper. We threw it around pretty good, the special teams were nice, the field goal kicker routed one from 50; it's just a matter of not letting the other team throw it over your head all the time.

M: How do you think the Tigers will compete with their schedule?

JA: SEMO (Southeast Missouri State) should be easy, and Buffalo will be OK. Everybody's sort of aiming for the big game against Texas. We haven't won in 30 years at Nebraska. Kansas State could be a little tough. Again, it's game one, and hopefully everyone is chilled. It's going to be hard to win 12 games again like last year. You're playing the Big 12 and those teams are going to get better and it's decent competition. I think we'll win the (Big 12) North. I think we should be able to defend our north championship. I'm apprehensive to predict what will happen in the Big 12 Championship game. I think they'll play OU (Oklahoma). Although I think they're (Missouri) good, I'd like to see them play a few more before I predict. I think after losing to the Sooners last year, I think the guys with the M's on their helmets would like to do everything in their power to react to the situation.

M: Have you ever seen a Missouri team like this one before? What makes this team different among the rest?

JA: If the defense is better, that's what will make them different from last year. The offense puts a lot of pressure on that defense. They don't care about grinding out eight-minute drives; they want to score points. They put the defense out there a long, long time. In my 25 years I've been a fan, I've never seen anything like this. Which scares me to death. I don't think I fully appreciated three- or four-win seasons. Now I'm panicked every day. I know we should beat SEMO, but I honestly have a little anxiety. In that fourth quarter Saturday there were people going, "Oh my God." They never got closer than 10, they still needed the ball back twice. It's not just the team, it's all the fans - you get beat down long enough, it's hard to get it out of your system. Hopefully fans will get it that we're good, we'll win, we're good. It's different to think that you have the better team.

M: Which of Gary Pinkel's coaching strategies do you think has brought this team to the level it is at today?

JA: We owe a lot to Gary and owe a lot to Mike Alden. If you go back and look at the guys from when Warren Powers left in 1984 until Gary was hired, we got on this bad cycle. The three-, four- or five-year program wasn't working. Alden said, "I'm going to give him (Pinkel) the time to prove he's the right guy." I think it took longer to wake up the sleeping giant (Missouri) than four years. Missouri doesn't have quite that kind of pedigree as Oklahoma. I don't think anyone was ready to build a statue of Gary next to Faurot (Field). We can be good, but we needed to commit to it financially and we need to commit to a coach and let him build his program. A lot of it (the program) is Gary, he never wavers, he has stuck with the plan to follow the rules.

M: Will you be attending any games this year at Faurot?

JA: I will be at the game between Missouri and Oklahoma State Oct. 11. My wife went to Oklahoma State. She'll be wearing her colors, I'll be in the black and gold and my kids will be somewhere in between.