Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Several readers brought to my attention they thought I might have left out the final paragraph from a post earlier today.
And I did. I guess a couple of brain cells are fried after four teams, 900 miles in a rental car, a lot of really bad radio and more time along I-70 than I've ever remembered.
As I was saying, Missouri has broken out special T-shirts reminding them how important protecting the football is.
Even though the Tigers ended up second in the conference and 11th nationally with a turnover margin of plus-0.93 per game last season, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel was hammering away at the teaching point throughout the morning practice.
It's been a recurring theme for Pinkel over the last couple of years and he likes to use the T-shirts as learning tools to remind them to protect the ball and strip it away from opponents on defense.
Every Missouri player was wearing a black-and-gold shirt with a simple, but effective message emblazoned in block letters on the back.
It reads: "It's all about the ball."
Tim Griffin joined ESPN.com in February 2008. He has covered the Big 12 since its inception, among a variety of beats during a 24-year career at the San Antonio Express-News. Griffin, a Memphis State University graduate, lives in San Antonio with his wife and son.
