Mizzou’s season took a brutal hit against Texas, but the Tigers are not out of reasons to care about what comes next.
The playoff road has narrowed to a sliver, and there’s no way around how damaging that loss was. Still, with three games left, the door is not completely shut.
If Mizzou somehow wins out, it would finish 9-3 with victories over two top-15 opponents, enough to at least keep the Tigers in the mix for one of the final spots in the 12-team College Football Playoff field. That’s a long shot, sure, but it’s still a shot.
And even if the playoff chase never really takes hold again, the next three weeks carry real weight.
The first hurdle is a massive one: a road trip to face the AP No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs.
That’s hardly the kind of place where a team wants to start a rescue mission, especially after losing the margin for error. But the Tigers do still control their own path in the sense that they can avoid spending the rest of the month staring at scoreboards and wondering what might have been.
There’s also a program milestone sitting right in front of them. If Mizzou can win two of its final three games, it would reach at least eight victories for the fourth straight season under Eli Drinkwitz. In the 136-year history of the program, that has only happened once before, when Gary Pinkel’s teams did it six years in a row from 2006-2011.
That kind of consistency matters. It’s a sign that Drinkwitz has already brought a level of stability this program has not always been able to sustain. After a season that has included plenty of roster turnover and some significant challenges, keeping that streak alive would be another clear marker of progress.
A 2-1 finish would not erase the sting of what happened against Texas, and it would not be the ending the Tigers wanted after blowing out Florida and Texas A&M back-to-back to start October. But it would still mean another winning season, and another step toward making success feel normal in Columbia.
The final two home games also carry their own importance beyond the record.
Kentucky may not be a rival in the strictest sense, but the Wildcats are trying to rise under first-year head coach Will Stein, and Mizzou has plenty at stake in making sure that climb doesn’t come at its expense. The two programs are chasing many of the same recruits and trying to build in similar ways inside a crowded SEC. Beating Kentucky matters on the field, and it matters in the recruiting battles that shape what comes next.
Oklahoma brings a different kind of significance. Mizzou trails the Sooners 68-25-5 all-time, and chances to beat them have historically been scarce.
The Tigers did it against a struggling Oklahoma team in 2024, and another win would be worth having. The Sooners still carry plenty of name recognition, resources and recruiting pull, and now that they are one of Mizzou’s three annual opponents, making that series competitive would serve both programs well.
If the Tigers beat Oklahoma, they would be 3-0 in rivalry trophy games this season. 8-4 and undefeated in rivalry games is a solid year.
Maybe the biggest reason to finish strong has nothing to do with the playoff picture or the final record. It’s about what comes after.
College football changes fast now, with the transfer portal and NIL making roster continuity harder to hold together. But the future still matters, and Mizzou has pieces that could help shape it. Austin Simmons, Nick Rodriguez, Donovan Olugbode, Donta Simpson and Daeden Hopkins are among the players who have at least one more year of eligibility if they choose to use it in Columbia.
Keeping that group together would matter. So would ending the year with momentum. NIL donors need to feel like their money is being put to good use, and a strong finish gives the program something to sell when it comes time to retain its own players and add more talent through the portal.
The alternative is obvious. A limp finish after the Texas loss would not inspire much confidence. Nobody expects every season to end with a trophy, but players and donors still want to see a program that is competing, improving and building toward something.
Mizzou has enough talent to do that, and three games left to prove it.
In Other News...
Mizzou Gets One Huge Georgia Question And One Brutal Injury Blow
Missouri got one encouraging update and one painful setback coming out of the Texas game, with receiver Cayden Lee cleared to keep going after a knee injury and edge rusher Langden Kitchen ruled out for the rest of the season. Eli Drinkwitz said Lees knee has no structural damage, which at least keeps one piece of the offense intact as the Tigers move deeper into the stretch run.
Kitchens loss lands harder because he was part of the starting edge group and now leaves Missouri to reshuffle a defense that already has to manage the week-to-week grind of the SEC. On the other side of this matchup, Georgia is carrying its own injury uncertainty with two players on the report, including one questionable and another already done for the year, so both teams are walking into this one with more health questions than they would like. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Faces A Brutal Test At No. 1 Georgia
Missouri is walking into one of the toughest spots on its schedule with a trip to face No. 1 Georgia, a team that has looked every bit the part of a national contender on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs have paired a productive offense with one of the stingiest defenses in college football, and they also bring a long history of success in this series into Saturdays matchup.
Georgias edge has shown up in the details, from its turnover margin to the way it has limited opponents defensively, even while working through some injuries. Gunner Stockton has helped steady the offense, and linebacker Chris Cole gives the Bulldogs another impact presence on defense, leaving Missouri with a major challenge and plenty to solve if it wants to keep this one competitive. [Read more 🡒]
Missouris Unbeaten Start Faces Its First Real Home Test
Missouris women have opened the regular season 3-0, and the early returns have given Kellie Harper plenty to like. The Tigers are averaging 90.0 points while allowing 65.7, and Harper has pointed to cleaner offensive execution and better ball movement since the close game against Howard as signs the group is settling in.
Now comes the first real chance to see how that start holds up at home. UT Martin and Lindenwood are next on the schedule, and both bring enough recent form and stylistic quirks to make these games more than routine tuneups, especially for a Missouri team trying to keep building rhythm while protecting its unbeaten record. [Read more 🡒]