Beat your peers. Is that a saying?
I don’t think I’m going against the grain here in admitting the Missouri football program isn’t a blue blood in college football. Neither is South Carolina. Both programs, over the years, have had great moments and great seasons. But the only path to having a great season is by beating your peers. You have to beat the non-elite programs in your conference. Those games include Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and yes, South Carolina.
If you look at the structure of the old SEC East, all Mizzou had to do to be bowl eligible was to win 3 of their 4 non-conference games, and beat the three above teams.