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At what point do we go all-in on … checks notes … Missouri?
By David Wasson
Published:
Here at the epicenter of the Emerging College Football Trends Department, our erstwhile staff has come across something very alarming that we feel should earn your immediate attention:
Missouri is good. Like, very good.
Like most of us in the Deep South, we aren’t exactly quite sure how this happened, even though here at the CFTD we pride ourselves on seeing things coming before you do. But somehow, there in middle America under darn near everyone’s noses, a jowly chap with a funny name has assembled himself quite the college football program.
Eli Drinkwitz isn’t exactly on the tips of the cognoscenti’s tongues for the various coach of the year watch lists. But he should be – as Mizzou is (somehow) 2-0 and ranked No. 6 in all the land. Sure, they finished last season ranked No. 9, but they haven’t been this close to the top 5 since 2013.
Yes. Missouri, the program that felt like the “player to be named later” when the SEC added Texas A&M back in 2012. Missouri, the program that was an also-ran in the Big 12 before that and the Big 8 before that. Missouri, the program that plays at quaint Faurot Field (where it takes almost 2 weeks of home crowds to equal one home Alabama, A&M, LSU or Tennessee outing).
That Missouri, right there in Columbia – which isn’t even the primary Columbia in the SEC (that honor belongs to the capital of South Carolina) – is in the nation’s top 10 for more than just its stellar journalism program.
Missouri, football school. Who woulda thunk it?
Drinkwitz was hired in 2020 after 4 middling seasons out of Barry Odom, and promptly turned in 3 more middling seasons before 2023. A primary branch off the Gus Malzahn coaching tree, Drinkwitz parlayed a 12-1 season at App State into the Mizzou gig.
Whatever ropes he might have been on after 3 seasons and a 17-19 cumulative record quickly evaporated in 2023. That season, Drinkwitz’s squad was predicted to finish 6th in the old SEC East before the season, but rattled off Ws against No. 15 Kansas State, No. 24 Kentucky and No. 13 Tennessee to vault into the top 10 nationally. The Tigers then capped its 11-2 record with a 14-3 Cotton Bowl win against No. 7 Ohio State.
That finish parlayed Drinkwitz into a lucrative contract extension, as well as new deals for offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who left shortly after to coach D at LSU. Still, Mizzou didn’t get as much preseason love as a bigger brand would have, considering they returned Brady Cook and Luther Burden III. Media picked the Tigers to finish 6th in the SEC and AP voters started them at No. 11.
Clearly my fellow writers didn’t know what Mizzou was packing on defense. Even with Baker’s departure, Mizzou’s defense was on point in a 51-0 beating of Murray State in the opener. And last weekend, Mizzou again failed to allow a single point in a 38-0 beatdown of Buffalo.
With preseason top-10s Florida State and Notre Dame each eating unexpected losses, Mizzou is suddenly 6th in the land. Some of this upward mobility must be assigned to SEC bias, seeing as roughly 99.9% of the conference is somewhere in the Top 25 at the moment no matter what they’ve done on the field. And let’s face it, Murray State and Buffalo are not exactly nonconference powerhouses.
But outscoring opponents 89-0 through 2 games is impressive no matter the East Popcorn States of the world on the other sideline – and the Tigers haven’t allowed a touchdown in their last 185 minutes of game action. The defense is legit, having coughed up just 254 combined yards in 2 games despite heavily rotating in talent during the blowouts.
Provided Mizzou is able to get past No. 24-ranked Boston College in a third straight home game Saturday, it is clear sailing for the Tigers until they travel to Alabama on Oct. 26. Mizzou gets No. 15 Oklahoma the week after at Faurot Field, but it is inarguably one of the easier SEC slates going in 2024.
We say that to say this: Prepare yourself for the concept of Missouri – yes, that Missouri – being in prime position to secure a College Football Playoff spot once all the shouting is done. It wouldn’t even take an SEC Championship Game berth (the Tigers repped the East in Atlanta in 2013 and 2014 under legendary coach Gary Pinkel) to get there, either, just enough Ws to hover around the top 10.
Missouri is good. Like, very good. We’re just sorry we didn’t get the memo to you sooner.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
