I'm going to contest that for the 2013 Season...2014 was a down year I'll concede. They were an elite contender that season....a shootout SEC title game that had they made a few more plays? They play for a national title. Plenty of top draft picks too
-South Carolina finished the season #4 in the nation...with Clowney on the line. That was a high level group.
-Vanderbilt had James Franklin in 2013 and finished the season #24 in the nation.
-Georgia...though down...had an 8-4 season with Senior Aaron Murray with Gurley in the backfield (although he may have been injured in 2013?)
But my point is still valid. Mizzou still was out-recruited by the powerhouse programs....but they did a better job developing those players. The powerhouses could not maximize their 4-5 star players.
13 was a 3 score game and that 2 loss season had as much to do with the East being down as South Carolina being good. Clownly was still on the team but was taking the year off, Shaw was a heck of a player. I still say they weren't very good either year and don't think that team would have beaten this year's Uk, UF, UGA or Bama, in the crossover game, a 4-4 SEC record. Just an opinion. Our 13 team wasn't very good and beat Carolina