Missouri football was electric in 2023. The Tigers went 11-2 overall and capped off their season with a 14-3 Cotton Bowl win over No. 7 Ohio State. In 2022, the Tigers were 6-7 with a bowl loss to Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl.
That is a big jump to make in one season, but the important thing to look at is if they can continue thier success. I believe they can and it is because of who they have at the helm, Eliah Drinkwitz. They also have Brady Cook returning this next season, a quarterback who has been under Drinkwitz his entire time at Missouri.
So why will Missouri make the College Football Playoff in 2024? Well, that is because the SEC is not going to be the same this season. Nick Saban is gone and while I think Kalen DeBoer is a great coach, he is taking over for a legend and that is not going to be easy.
This is the time for Missouri to show they are a team that can start to compete year in and year out. Yes, the Tigers lost a lot of guys to the NFL Draft this year, most notably running back Cody Schrader and defensive lineman Darius Robinson, but they are bringing in 10 guys from the transfer portal.
The defense will be the biggest thing to work on in spring ball for the Tigers because they are losing some of their top defensive linemen and cornerbacks to the NFL. The good news is that they didn't lose any defensive linemen to the transfer portal and brought three of them in. Defense was the name of the game in the transfer portal.
So we know Missouri did well not losing a lot of guys to the transfer portal and bringing in a good amount of players. Now let's look at their schedule.
The Tigers are set to play three of their non-conference games in Columbia. They open the season against Murray State, Buffalo, and Boston College. The one game that could pose a threat to the Tiger is the Boston College game, but with that game being at home, I will say that will be a win. The last non-conference game will be against UMass in Boston and again I will give the Tigers the win.
Looking at Missouri's SEC schedule, things look very promising for the Tigers. Only three of the eight SEC teams on thier schedule had a record above .500 last season and one of those teams, Oklahoma, wasn't in the SEC last season.
Here is Missouri's SEC schedule.
- vs. Vanderbilt (2-10 in 2023)
- at Texas A&M (7-6 in 2023)
- vs. Auburn (6-7 in 2023)
- at Alabama (12-2 in 2023)
- vs. Oklahoma (10-3 (Big 12) in 2023)
- at South Carolina (5-7 in 2023)
- at Mississippi State (5-7 in 2023)
- vs. Arkansas (4-8 in 2023)
So looking at Missouri's 2024 schedule, it is very favorable for them to go undefeated or suffer at least one loss on the season, which could earn them a ticket to the SEC championship, or make them one of the next seven best teams in college football.
This season could be Missouri's best shot to make the College Football Playoff for the first time. They have a very favorable schedule and enough returning players to be like the team they were in 2023. Be on the look out for the Tigers to sneak into the playoff in 2024, but also don't be surprised when they do.