Missouri football got a small but clear bump in Tuesday’s updated US LBM Coaches Poll, climbing two spots to No. 23 after its season-opening win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Tigers opened with a 40-point victory Thursday in Columbia, and that was enough to move them past Clemson, which was routed by LSU and dropped out of the poll, and Michigan, which fell eight spots to No. 24 after a win over Western Michigan in extremely controversial circumstances.
Missouri’s next test comes Friday night. The Tigers will play Kansas at 7 p.m. in Lawrence, Kansas.
The SEC once again packed the top 25, placing 10 teams in the poll - the most of any conference. Georgia and Texas each moved up one spot, landing at Nos. 2 and 3 behind top-ranked Ohio State.
The rest of the SEC contingent near the top stayed clustered in familiar spots: LSU checked in at No. 8, Texas A&M at No.
9, Oklahoma at No. 10, Ole Miss at No. 11 and Alabama at No.
- Tennessee came in at No. 18, while Florida was tied for No. 25 with Virginia, which is quarterbacked by former MU starter Beau Pribula.
South Carolina and Auburn each received votes but remained unranked.
The full top five featured Ohio State with 50 first-place votes, Georgia with seven, Texas with one, Notre Dame with four and Indiana with 11. Oregon followed at No. 6 with one first-place vote, then Miami at No. 7.
The complete top 25 also included LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas Tech, Southern California, Brigham Young, Penn State, SMU, Tennessee, Washington, Utah, Iowa, Houston, Missouri and Michigan, with Florida and Virginia sharing the final spot.
There are 72 FBS head coaches who vote in the poll, including Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz. Former Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, now the head coach at Washington State, and Missouri State head coach Casey Woods, who previously worked as an assistant under Drinkwitz, are also voters this season.
Missouri also climbed two spots in the AP poll Tuesday, landing at No. 23 there as well. The Tigers moved ahead of Michigan and Louisville in that ranking.
In Other News...
Missouri Heads To Kansas With More Than Rivalry Bragging Rights
Kansas and No. 23 Missouri will renew their historic football rivalry in Lawrence, giving the matchup a little extra edge beyond the usual early-season measuring stick. Both teams arrive off opening-week wins, and coaches Lance Leipold and Eli Drinkwitz have each framed the game through the lens of preparation, poise and what this rivalry still means in a landscape where so few old border battles remain on the calendar.
For Missouri, there is also the practical matter of getting healthier up front, with left tackle Cayden Green possibly back from injury for the trip. The long pause in the series only adds to the stakes, because unless the teams cross paths in the College Football Playoff, they will not see each other again until the 2031 and 2032 seasons, making this one of those rare games where history, timing and timing again all seem to matter at once. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Faces A Border War Test That Could Swing On One Matchup
The Border War is back on the calendar, and Missouri heads into David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium knowing this one has the feel of more than just an early-season measuring stick. Kansas brings an offense shaped by coordinator Andy Kotelnicki that has been built to push the pace and stress defenses, while the Tigers are preparing for the kind of game where one clean matchup or one busted assignment can change the tone fast. Add in the rivalry history and the buzz around both young quarterbacks, and the setup is exactly what you would expect when these two get together.
For Missouri, the challenge is not simply matching intensity but handling the swings that come with a game like this on the road. The atmosphere should be lively, the stakes feel bigger than a normal nonconference date, and Foxs broadcast slot only adds to the spotlight. The quarterback play on both sides is part of what makes it intriguing, but the real question is whether Missouri can manage the one area that could tilt everything before the night is over. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Suddenly Has A Running Back Problem At The Worst Time
Missouris backfield was already thin, and now it has been hit hard before the season has really had a chance to settle in. Running back Malae Fonoti is done for the year after suffering a non-contact ACL tear in the season opener, and head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Fonoti will undergo surgery. It is the kind of early setback that can ripple through an offense quickly, especially for a team trying to establish depth behind its top options.
The concern does not stop there, either. Backup Ahmad Hardy remains unavailable while he recovers from a gunshot wound, which leaves Xai'Shaun Edwards in line as the likely No. 2 back behind Jamal Roberts. For Missouri, that makes every snap in the run game feel a little more fragile, and it puts added pressure on the players still standing to absorb a workload the Tigers were not planning on this soon. [Read more 🡒]