In four days, the most anticipated season in recent Missouri football history kicks off. The Tigers are 11th in the A P poll to open the schedule. And for many in the program and in the fandom, it is college football playoff or bust. I spent some time in Columbia to preview this season of expectations. That is tonight. Spotlight story and we're not gonna be denied and now we're the Cotton bowl champs three mizzou back on top baby Myz 2023 was the blockbuster for mizzou football 2024 is the even more hyped sequel with a manageable schedule. A returning roster full of stars in the new 12 team college football playoff Tiger fans are dreaming big and the team knows the expectations, dropping my kids off at school today. And somebody, you know, saying 1/6 grader saying he's really excited about the football season. I mean, you know, that's that, that stuff just wasn't the same, uh or it hasn't been like that going into it. So that, that's been awesome to, you know, really stir the passion and excitement of our fan base. There are some new faces notably at running back history making. Dynamo Cody Schrader is gone and transfers. Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll are in along with Saint Mary's alum Jamal Roberts. Uh, those guys have been playing ball a lot so I just kind of still pick up a lot after them just to watch them play. Um, they tell me a lot of stuff, stuff that I can, that I can work on myself and I kind of helped them out by them being newcomers, kinda help them out on things that I already know you just kind of put together, things are different on defense too. Corey Beto is a new DC in town and with the Tigers losing two corners to the draft, someone has to step up at defensive back. Enter East Saint Louis transfer from Clemson Torreano pride and Cardinal Ritter safety Marvin Burks who played as a true freshman last year and is due for an even larger role just every day. I go out there just knowing like, hey, I got a lot of shoes to fill up from last year with JC and just, just the type of player I am, I just want to be the best on the field that I can be to help my team win. I want to play in the SEC, the opportunity of playing. Yeah, my family can come to all my games that just shows the loyalty to me because they could have just pushed me to the side, just never hit me up again. It is hard to escape the STL theme for this year's Tigers. The roster has 25 players on it from the Saint Louis area and they will need to be a big part of the conversation. If mizzou wants to make the college football playoff, if you're talking Saint Louis Tigers, the conversation starts with Luther Burden the third and Brady Cook Burden is a preseason A P all American who has seen his name on award watch lists and NFL draft boards. But before he takes the next step to superstardom, Luther has business to take care of in Colombia chief among them chasing a national title. It's definitely on the back of our heads. We talk about it all um because we know how close we are and so we just can't wait to go out there and show the whole world as for Cook. What a difference a year makes from being booed to start 2023 to leading his team to a cotton bowl title. The Shaman a kid has more responsibility than ever in his senior season and he loves it now being in this position, you know, all of that has just been amplified, you know, my responsibility um has been amplified and, you know, I love it. I'm leaning into it. Um You know, the leadership aspect has been really cool. I can see how, you know, the new class of freshmen and, uh you know, the younger sophomores, you know, they really look up to me. Um, and, you know, I remember that same feeling. So, uh, it's really cool. I'm leaning into it. Obviously the responsibility, um, is a lot more. But, you know, that, that's why I do it. That's why I play quarterback last year. These Tigers had something to prove. They proved it. Now comes the next step. Take this program somewhere. It's never been before. That's the thing about football is every year it starts completely over and no matter what you think you're, you are going into it, the results speak for themselves. Bill Parcells says you are what your record says you are. We're not really too much tripping off preseason because it's not about preseason, about what you're gonna finish with in the postseason, uh, just winning that you mean?