With football season quickly approaching, news and storylines are becoming more impactful in the world of college football. Recently, Cam Mellor, a football analyst for the "college football network," released his Strength of Schedule (SOS) rankings for all 134 FBS teams ahead of the upcoming season. Luck is definitely a factor in the schedule, so it's always entertaining to check out preseason SOS.
The SEC is widely regarded as one of the best conferences in college football, and with new additions of Texas and Oklahoma, that shouldn't change anytime soon. The conference has infamously embraced the slogan "It Just Means More" in recent years. Signifying the importance of football down south.
One of the most interesting cliff-notes that came out of these rankings was the conference as a whole. Every single SEC team was in the top 65 toughest schedules for 2024. This makes sense, as regardless of non-conference, once conference play begins each game is significantly more difficult in the SEC. Let's take a look at where Missouri falls in these SOS rankings.
2024 schedule schedule is here 🗓️
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The rankings show a favorable schedule for Missouri, coming in at No. 65 in the country, and No. 16 in the SEC. They were viewed to have the easiest preseason SOS in their conference. The next easiest SEC schedule in these rankings was Tennessee, coming in at No. 52 overall.
This definitely is both a gift and curse for the Tigers. While Missouri still looks to embody an underdog mindset, expectations will certainly be through the roof.
This SOS leaves the program with minimal room for error going into the season, as any slip up could seriously damage college football playoff expectations. Obviously, these rankings are subject to change, as the season still is over a month away. But, with a weak non-conference schedule, and avoiding conference games with Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, etc, they'll be unlikely to see any drastic change.
The good news for Missouri is that they'll definitely be in control of their own destiny. Having one of the easiest schedules in the conference sets them up for another potential double-digit win season. If they win the games they're supposed to, there's no reason why Missouri isn't a potential playoff team under the new format.
According to these rankings, Missouri's toughest game will come October 26th, when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That game should be cinema, as a potential top-10 showdown could unfold. Only time will tell, as we are just over a month away from football season.