Paul Finebaum Reveals SEC Contender He Has Little Faith In

Last season marked a significant turnaround for Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers. Despite three consecutive losing seasons at the start of the Drinkwitz era, the Tigers surprised everyone by achieving an 11-2 record last season.

That has led to a lot of optimism heading into the 2024 season. However, Paul Finebaum joined Berry Tramel of the Tulsa World , where he said to pump the brakes on the Tigers.

Finebaum said he doesn't have much faith in Missouri because if one kick was missed a season ago, last year could have ended very differently.

"I like them a lot," Finebaum said. "But I'm not going to put much faith in them. I know that sounds like I'm a hater, but I also remember a game last year against Kansas State that Eli Drinkwitz pretty much blew the whole season up with a stupid penalty, and his kicker saved him and really saved the season."

Finebaum thinks the Tigers have a lot of talent for the upcoming season, but he believes Missouri won't meet the high expectations. However, ESPN's Football Power Index has a little more faith than Finebaum and ranks the Tigers as a top-10 team in the country.

Missouri is given a 5.9% chance to win the SEC but a 37.3% chance of making the College Football Playoff, the eighth-best odds in the country. The faith in Missouri probably has something to do with its easy schedule. Missouri is ranked as having the easiest schedule in the SEC by Sports Illustrated .

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