By Pat Marrujo for DieHardDevil.com

The Sun Devils get to test their mettle early on against one of the nation’s elite programs. Missouri comes into 2011 riding a program-record six straight bowl seasons. They are tied for 6th in the nation with 40 wins in the last four seasons. Only one program has had more players selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft in the last three seasons than the Tigers. Mizzou has earned at least a share of the Big-12 North Championship in three of the last four seasons. This year they are ranked 21st in both the AP and USA Today pre-season polls. But…

Six seasons ago, the Tigers found themselves where ASU is today. Entering the 2005 season Gary Pinkel was beginning his 5th season as Mizzou head coach. He had gone 22-25 in his first four seasons with only one bowl appearance during his tenure. The Tigers won seven ball games that year including the Independence Bowl and began their ascension into the ranks of the nation’s best. As Dennis Erickson begins his 5th season with the Devils sporting a 25-24 record and having reached just one bowl game, he can look to Missouri as an example of where ASU is headed.

Missouri fields an experienced team but the pieces missing from 2010 are major ones. The Tigers are returning nine starters on offense and eight on defense in 2011. Their returning players have started a combined 329 games in their careers. Eight different players made pre-season watch lists. However, Mizzou is missing a top-10 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft from each side of the ball. Defensive end Aldon Smith, who would be a junior, went 7th overall to the San Francisco 49ers. Smith registered 16.5 sacks and more than 100 tackles in his two years as a Tiger. Even more noticeably absent is quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert left Mizzou following his junior season and was picked 10th by the Jacksonville Jaguars after passing for more than 3000 yards and posting passer ratings of 140.5 and 127 the previous two years.

After a more than 20 year hiatus, the Tigers and Devils renew the series. The two teams first met in Tempe in 1972 as part of the second ever Fiesta Bowl.  ASU earned its second consecutive Fiesta Bowl win, beating Mizzou 49-35. After dropping two straight against Missouri, the Sun Devils got their only other series victory in 1989, taking the first half of a home/home 19-3 in Tempe. The following season the Tigers got their revenge, winning 30-9 in a battle of teams that would each finish the season 4-7. The series has sat dormant since 1990, with Missouri holding a 3-2 advantage.

Game #2 v. Missouri, September 9, 2011, 7:30 p.m. – Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ