What a year the 2025-26 campaign has been. After starting the year undefeated, the Tigers quickly fell back down to Earth with a number of losses to SEC Conference rivals, including close battles with top-ranked Alabama and Vanderbilt.
Even though they had a tough schedule the latter half of the season, head coach Eliah Drinkwitz would be the first to tell you that any good team needs to find ways to win the big games. The Tigers haven't been able to achieve that against any competitve program this season.
Their best win of the year, apart from a potential bowl game victory, will be agaisnt unranked Kansas, who currently sits at 5-6. They lost all of their games to ranked programs, including the aforementioned Crimson Tide and Commodores, a blowout loss to Texas A&M, and their most recent defeat to Oklahoma.
Mizzou has managed to win every other game besides that, often in blowout fashion. With those victories, they've often appeared ranked, though after picking up their fourth loss on Saturday afternoon, that probably won't be true the remainder of the season.
Drinkwitz has made it clear that the team cares about winning for more than just national championships - the tough, but correct mindset to have as the head coach of a team in a stacked conference.
The good news is Columbia remains a hotspot for recruiting in every sport. It seems like every other day, another recruit pledges to the Tigers, whether it be out of highschool, or coming from another program.
In fact, earlier this week the Tigers picked up a four-star safety from Lousiville.
BREAKING: Four-Star Safety Jayden McGregory has Flipped his Commitment from Louisville to Missouri, he tells me for @rivals⁰⁰The 6’3 200 S from Des Moines, IA had been Committed to the Cardinals since July⁰⁰“AGTG Columbia I’m home🐯”⁰⁰https://t.co/Jqjjm0ih4p pic.twitter.com/B3nlFAoKyR
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 19, 2025
Picking up pieces like this is the absolute best thing a struggling program can do to benefit their team.
Beyond recruiting, it's important that officials and coaches don't panic. They've had three above average seasons in a row, and even with the slight fall off this year, the team will grow and get better.
Overall, this team is going to get better in the coming seasons, and panicking right now will do nothing good.
The team has won ten games in back-to-back years, and will end just a hair under that this year.
Coach Drinkwitz likely isn't leaving, and with consistent coaching comes consistent wins.
If this team can stay healthy and get better through the portal this offseason, they will be right back at the top next season, competiting for an SEC Conference title, and potentially a national championship as well.