There’s something about this ragtag group of misfits and second chances at Missouri, the rare and inspiring stories folding into a memorable season.

Even the coach was staring down the barrel not so long ago.

In a quiet moment last May during the SEC spring meetings, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz stood against a wall during a break of yet another coach meeting.

NIL, transfer portal, recruiting windows, the drama of coaches bickering about who might or might not be cheating. It was all too much.

“Heck, I’m just trying to win games,” Drinkwitz said. “Seriously.”

Now here we are, 5 months later, and Missouri is the story of the half-season in the SEC. The Tigers have won 6 of 7 games and are a dangerous team heading into the 2nd half of the season.

They’ve done it with a quarterback who dreamed of playing at Mizzou but was constantly recruited over until he could be ignored no longer.

They’ve done it with a core group of transfer portal players who were told they weren’t good enough at previous schools and have completely changed their fortunes in Columbia.

They’ve done it with recruits no one wanted, and 1 recruit everyone was desperate to sign. With a coach on the hot seat, a quarterback returning from significant shoulder surgery, and a brand new offensive coordinator.

They’re ranked for the first time since 2019, and — are you ready for this? — control their fate in the SEC East Division race.

“We can’t be satisfied with just winning,” Drinkwitz says now.

Especially the way this thing has unfolded. These seasons don’t come around often.

They meld together when you least expect it, typically beginning with an early win that galvanizes an unsettled team and shows the path to a potential rare season.

This time it was an SEC-record 61-yard, game-winning field goal in Week 3 from Harrison Mevis that beat defending Big 12 champion Kansas State. The same Mevis who had been torn apart on social media for a year — since missing a chip shot, 26-yard field goal that would’ve beaten Auburn in 2022.

A miss that had the opposite affect on the program in 2022. But this time, after this field goal, everything clicked.

And now everything that looked like a jumbled mess of a team, with seemingly desperate moves and decisions to change it all up, fits perfectly.

From Drinkwitz giving up coordinating the offense, coaching the quarterbacks and play-calling, and hiring Kirby Moore to do all 3 jobs. They’ve gone from among the worst in the SEC last season to the top 4 in scoring and total offense.

From elite top 5 recruit WR Luther Burden III struggling to find his spot in 2022 as a perimeter receiver to moving inside to the slot and becoming the best receiver in the SEC.

From starting quarterback Brady Cook rehabbing from a torn labrum — and once again being recruited over through the transfer portal — to finally playing a full, healthy season. He tore the labrum on his throwing shoulder a year ago against K-State, but played the remainder of the season with the injury.

After rehabbing all offseason, after watching redshirt freshman Sam Horn and Miami transfer Jake Garcia compete for the job, Cook arrived at fall camp at full strength and won the job. He’s completing 71% of his passes, and has a TD/INT ratio if 14/3.

These success stories are developing and blooming all over the roster, a group of players who found each other through tenuous, unknown paths — and made it work.

“To see how this has come together is really rewarding,” Cook said after the Kentucky game. “A lot of guys who have put a lot of work into it.”

Through some heavy odds.

Cody Schrader was a high school star in St. Louis and dreamed of playing for Missouri. Had more than 6,700 yards rushing in high school and 111 career touchdowns.

He was also 5-9 — on a good day. And no one wanted him.

So he went to Division II Truman State and tore it up for 4 seasons, including rushing for 2,074 yards and 24 TDs in 2021 — before deciding to enter the portal.

He arrived at Mizzou as a walk-on, and he played sparingly in 2022 while the staff tried Stanford transfer Nathaniel Peat and Elijah Young — and wouldn’t you know it — eventually couldn’t keep Schrader off the field.

He got on for good midway through last season, and is now 2nd in the SEC in rush yards (648) heading into Saturday’s game against South Carolina. Oh, he’s on scholarship, too.

Drinkwitz calls him “an American Story.”

For an unthinkable American Tale of a team.

Schrader isn’t alone in the road less traveled. Cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine was a 3-star wide receiver recruit who switched to cornerback at Missouri and has been among the best at his position in the SEC over the past 2 seasons. He leads the SEC in passes defended (13) and has 4 interceptions.

Ty’Ron Hopper couldn’t get on the field at Florida in 2021, because despite his talent, he couldn’t convince the previous Gators staff he could play consistently. He leads Missouri in tackles (again), and is the Tigers’ highest-rated NFL Draft eligible player.

The Missouri roster is littered with players who were told they weren’t going to make it, then found a way to do it in Columbia. Hopper is just 1 of 23 players on the 2-deep depth chart (9 starters) who have transferred into the program over the past 2 years.

Like former Oklahoma WR Theo Wease Jr., who never really fit with the Sooners despite his clear talent (No. 37 overall recruit in 2019, according to the 247Sports composite).

Wease is the perimeter receiver the Tigers lacked in 2021, and his development allowed Missouri to move Burden inside. Wease is the deep threat Missouri has needed, and makes defenses pay when doubling Burden.

Case in point: last week’s Kentucky game. The Wildcats made a point to take away Burden, bracketing him at times with a safety. Burden caught 2 passes all game for 15 yards.

Wease caught 6 — including a critical early touchdown as Missouri responded from a 14-0 deficit on the road to outscore Kentucky 38-7 the rest of the way.

“I think (Burden) was more excited for Theo Wease catching the touchdown ball at the end of the half than anybody,” Drinkwitz said.

These seasons don’t come around often. From trying to win games … to trying to win a championship.

The American Tale of a team isn’t done yet.