Missouri Tigers Preview 2024
So it IS possible for Missouri to win in the SEC.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mizzou went 23-5 in 2013-2014, played in two SEC Championships, and had the puck on its stick with a chance to play for the 2013 BCS Championship, but that was a different SEC way back when.
Georgia was meh, Tennessee was whatever, Kentucky was half-awful, and it all came apart in 2015 with a run of mediocrity up until last season.
No, the 2023 Tigers didn’t have to deal with Alabama, and they lost to LSU and Georgia, but they beat good Kansas State and Memphis teams, roared past Tennessee, and it wasn’t their fault Ohio State didn’t have a backup plan for the Cotton Bowl.
Usually you’d chalk up an outlier campaign like that as a one-off. Everything broke right, the schedule wasn’t that brutal, the chemistry was right … yeah. All of that, to a point.
But the 2024 team has the potential to be even better than the one that would've been in an expanded College Football Playoff - if it was in place - last year.
If, when all the portal dust settles, Missouri doesn’t have the most returning talent in the SEC, it’ll be close to the top. And not only did it get through transfer season relatively unscathed, it upgraded a few spots and quickly filled the holes in other areas.
No, Missouri isn’t as good as Georgia, but only Ohio State is, and no, it doesn’t have the talent of a Texas, Ole Miss or an LSU. None of those four teams are on the slate, so whatever.
Missouri has the perfect storm of one of its most talented/experienced teams in years along with a schedule that - if the team plays like it’s supposed to - screams 10-2.
So go ahead and do it. Put the Expanded College Football Playoff or Bust expectations on the fifth year of the Eli Drinkwitz era. The program has earned them.
Missouri Preview 2024: Offense
- The offense did just about everything right. It averaged a solid 434 yards and 32.5 points per game, the passing game was ultra-efficient, was third in the nation in red-zone efficiency, turned it over just six times, and had a nice mix of tough on the ground and explosive through the air. Be shocked if it didn’t all continue.
- Brady Cook might not get the love of all the other superstar quarterbacks on a national scale, but he’s really good. He was the second-leading rusher, hit 66% of his passes, and now he has two years of starting under his belt. And he has Luther Burden III.
The Tigers might have the best wide receiver in America. Burden is an explosive No. 1 target, Theo Wease is dangerous on the outside, and there’s enough talent among the rest of the corps and at tight end to spread it around.
- The transfer portal will help the ground game even more. Cory Schrader is done, but he had to carry almost the entire load. This year, Georgia State transfer Marcus Carroll and Appalachian State’s Nate Noel should form a deadly 1-2 punch behind another great line.
Three starters return up front and got help for the left side. Former Oklahoma Sooner Cayden Green is a potentially special guard, and former SMU tackle Marcus Bryant should slide right into a gig.
Missouri Preview 2024: Defense
- The run defense was good, the pass rush was great, and while the D wasn’t a consistent rock overall, it was good enough against everyone but Jayden Daniels. It doesn’t have the returning talent level the offensive side has, but there’s a good base helped in a huge way by the transfer portal.
- You want depth? You want options? You want a rotation? How about grabbing seven players from the portal for the defensive front seven.
Edge rusher Johnny Walker is the top returning star up front, the veteran linebackers are good, and it’s all boosted by the new guys including Michigan State DE Zion Turner and DT Chris McClellan from Florida.
- The secondary isn’t a weak spot in any way, but it’s not better after losing Ennis Rakestraw and Kris Abrams-Draine. The veteran safeties are good - Joseph Charleston was second on the team with 61 stops - and the corners got a little help with Clemson transfer Toriano Pride coming in.
Missouri Key To The Season
Enough with the steady stream of penalties and …
Don’t turn it over multiple times. It might sound cliché, but it’s true - the margin for error is paper thin to non-existent.
The Tigers hung around with Georgia in a 30-21 loss, but they turned it over twice and were flagged eight times. They also lost a wild shootout to LSU, turning it over twice and getting hit with a season-high 11 penalties.
Those were two of the three times they were flagged more than seven times, and those were the only two times they turned it over more than once.
Missouri Key Player
RB Marcus Carroll, Sr.
How special was Cody Schrader? He finished eighth in the Heisman voting, finishing the season with 1,627 yards and 14 touchdowns, and catching 22 passes for 191 yards. The Tigers have to replace all of that.
Carroll blew up in his fourth season at Georgia State, running for 1,350 yards and 13 touchdowns and catching 23 passes for 234 yards. He doesn’t have to do it alone, but he has the talent to handle the work.
Missouri Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: Cayden Green, OT
Again, Mizzou loaded up big through the transfer portal with a whole slew of great new parts. Getting a 6-5, 316-pound plug-and-play at left tackle is about as important as a transfer gets. The former Oklahoma Sooner should be terrific from the start.
Top Transfer Out: QB Jake Garcia
The Tigers didn’t lose anyone big through the transfer portal, but a few quarterbacks are gone. Gabarri Johnson left for Oregon State, and Garcia - who came in from Miami - is a veteran who would’ve been a decent emergency option. Now he’s at East Carolina, and Mizzou will rely on Arizona State transfer Drew Pyne.
Missouri Key Game
at Texas A&M, Oct. 5
If Missouri really is that good and really believes it should be in the mix for bright, shiny things, this is the game it has to win. It’ll almost certainly be 4-0 to start the season, and at UMass comes after this. Win this, and finishing at least 10-2 is more than possible.
Missouri 10 Best Players
1. Luther Burden, WR Jr.
2. Brady Cook, QB Sr.
3. Cayden Green, OG Soph.
4. Johnny Walker, EDGE Sr.
5. Marcus Carroll, RB Sr.
6. Cam’Ron Johnson, OG Sr.
7. Daylan Carnell, S Jr.
8. Toriano Pride, CB Jr.
9. Armand Membou, OT Jr.
10. Theo Wease, WR Sr.
Missouri 2023 Fun Stats
- Rushing TDs: Missouri 25, Opponents 8
- Yards Per Attempt: Missouri 9.0, Opponents 6.8
- Fumbles: Opponents 23 (lost 10), Missouri 9 (lost 2)
Missouri 2024 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Can Missouri win lots and lots of games when everyone is expecting them to? It’s a good concern to have.
Again, the talent is a problem, the experience is there, and the SEC schedule is about as dreamy as could be reasonably asked for. Why?
No Georgia. No Texas. No Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, Kentucky or Tennessee.
Going to Alabama is obviously a problem, and making a trip to Texas A&M will be tougher than normal now, but South Carolina and Mississippi State fall into the “you have to play SOMEONE on the road in the SEC, it might as well be them” category.
Demand 4-0 out of Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College and Vanderbilt, and expect no less than 5-1 with a trip to UMass in the mix.
No, Auburn isn’t a pushover, and Oklahoma is Oklahoma, but in all, Mizzou is playing seven teams that didn’t go bowling. Win at least one of the three against Alabama, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, and a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff is more than possible.
Set The Missouri Win Total At … 9
Likely Wins: Buffalo, Murray State, at UMass, Vanderbilt
50/50 Games: Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, at Mississippi State, at South Carolina, Oklahoma
Likely Losses: at Alabama, at Texas A&M
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