Today at 4:00 p.m.ET the SEC Championship will kick off without the Alabama Crimson Tide. Instead, the No. 3 Auburn Tigers (11-1, 7-1), miraculous victors over 'Bama last week on the strength of a 109-yard field goal returned for a touchdown, will take on the impressive No. 5 Missouri Tigers (11-1, 7-1) who are hoping to continue their surprising play and ride a victory to the BCS National Championship game. Missouri fans can listen to the game on 1400 KFRU, while Auburn fans can tune in to 102.5 The Game. Live stream the matchup free here.
Auburn owns some impressive wins this year that few thought they would attain, but Missouri presents an equally shocking challenge. Some felt Missouri was in over its head when it joined the SEC, but Auburn coach Gus Malzahn knows how talented the opposing Tigers are.
We're playing a very good Missouri team that's very similar to us," Malzahn said. "I think about both teams being very hungry. We were both kind of down at the bottom at the start of the year. But we've improved. I feel like we've improved each game. They would probably say the same thing."
When asked about how his team managed to thrive in college football's toughest conference, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel credited their consistency. "We just kept getting better," he said Sunday. "Our kids played hard every single game at a very high level. I've been around a lot of good football teams, but I've rarely been around a team like that, playing at the level they did on a consistent basis."
Missouri is balanced, with an efficient quarterback in senior James Franklin, who has thrown 16 touchdown passes and just four interceptions, as well as a pair of running backs Henry Josey and Russell Hansbrough, who have combined for 1,575 yards and 17 scores.
Auburn is run-heavy, leaning on Tre Mason who has carried the ball 237 times for 1,317 yards and 18 touchdowns.
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