Missouri Tigers:
Last year marked head coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s breakthrough in Columbia. After being hired by Missouri after a 12-1 season at Appalachian State, things started rather slowly for Drinkwitz. He went 5-5 in 2020 and then 6-7 in both 2021 and 2022. But the Tigers ended up going 11-2 last season, finishing 6-2 in SEC play and winning their Cotton Bowl game against Ohio State. Now, Missouri is firmly on the map and expectations are high.
The Tigers do return quite a bit of talent from last year’s group, including quarterback Brady Cook and most of last year’s high-powered offense. However, Missouri did lose a very bright defensive mind in Blake Baker, who left to become the LSU defensive coordinator. The Tigers also lost a lot of talent on that side of the ball. If Missouri is going to replicate last season’s success, the defense will need to outperform expectations and the Tigers will need to run through a very difficult schedule.
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Offense
There were some concerns about how Cook would perform last season, as he was coming off shoulder surgery. But Cook ended up throwing for 3,317 yards with 21 touchdowns and only six picks, and he improved on all of his passing numbers from 2022. Cook also added 319 yards and eight touchdowns. Cook is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country and should only be better in his third year running this offense.
Cook also happens to have an elite wide receiver core, headlined by future NFL star Luther Burden III. Last season, Burden had 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s as tough a cover as anybody in college football.
The only real issues here are that Missouri lost a bit on the offensive line and it’s going to sting not having running back Cody Schrader back. But as long as Drinkwitz pieces together a solid line, this running game will be fine.
Defense
Missouri’s defense was quite good last year. The Tigers were torched by LSU, but who wasn’t? And they did play a pretty miserable game against Florida in November. But Missouri gave up 21 or fewer points in eight of its 13 games, and the team should be able to build on that in 2024. The Tigers did lose some key contributors from last year’s team, but they did a good job in the transfer portal. Former Florida tackle Chris McClellan should be a stud immediately, and Clemson corner Toriano Pride Jr. is extremely talented. Those two should help make up for some of the bigger losses on this side of the ball.
It does hurt that Baker left for LSU, but Corey Batoon did a great job as the defensive coordinator for South Alabama. He was a nominee for the Broyles Award in 2021, so he should be up for the challenge of getting something out of this talented group.
Outlook
I’m not expecting a significant drop off from Missouri, but the team does face a difficult schedule this year. Road games against Texas A&M and Alabama will likely be losses, and a home game against Oklahoma won’t be easy. I’m also not sure the Tigers will win at South Carolina. So, while Drinkwitz deserves a ton of credit for building a great roster, I’m not sure double-digit wins will be realistic in the regular season.
Pick: Under 9.5 Wins
