Joel Klatt says Mizzou has the easiest path to the Playoff in the SEC
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Joel Klatt believes Mizzou is on the cusp of the College Football Playoff.
On his show on Thursday, the FOX Sports commentator labeled the Tigers as one of the most likely teams to make their debut appearance in the CFP in 2025. His reasoning? Have you looked at the Tigers’ schedule?
“This is the easiest path to the Playoff in the SEC. Six straight home games to start the season,” Klatt said. “They face 5 of the bottom 6 in the SEC standings from last year. I want to give you this. These are the SEC teams that Missouri avoids this year on the schedule: Texas, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Florida, and Tennessee.
“If you’re telling me there’s a program that has constantly improved itself under Eli Drinkwitz, that I feel like has a quarterback in the transfer portal that can do something to replace a 3-year starter in (Brady) Cook, Missouri may not be one of the 4 best teams in the SEC but they might have one of the 4 best records. It’s a team that could go 10-2.”
The Tigers have won at least 10 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-14. Drinkwitz took Mizzou to the Cotton Bowl in 2023. This offseason required a bit of a reload with some longtime starters moving on to the next level, but Mizzou met the moment with a transfer class that ranked seventh in the country, according to the 247 Composite.
“They have questions on offense. They’ve got to replace Brady Cook, they’ve got to replace Luther Burden, but they did add a top-10 portal class, so I like what they did there. The expected starter, Beau Pribula, after transferring from Penn State? I liked what he was at Penn State,” Klatt said.
“Eli Drinkwitz has done an excellent job with that program. They’ve recruited well, they play well, and they’ve taken advantage of a schedule that doesn’t look like, let’s say, Florida or Oklahoma in the SEC. They brought in a transfer at running back, Ahmad Hardy from Louisiana-Monroe. He ran for 1,350 yards as a true freshman last year. He led all freshmen in rushing last season. Good sign for Missouri.”
The Tigers open the season against Central Arkansas on a Thursday night (Aug. 28). They’ll get a couple of extra days to prepare for Kansas on Sept. 6. The other nonconference opponents are Louisiana and UMass. Mizzou won’t play a true road game until Oct. 18.
“I feel like they’re always raising the talent on the defensive side,” Klatt continued. “And then they hit the SEC schedule lottery.”
RELATED: Missouri sports betting is expected to go live across the state later this season, giving fans the opportunity to bet on Mizzou games. Take advantage of our BetMGM Missouri bonus code to secure your sign-up bonus once the action begins.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
