After a 23-17 double-overtime win at Auburn last Saturday night, the Missouri Tigers are officially bowl eligible. In his first six seasons, head coach Eli Drinkwitz has had a bowl eligible record every
year leading the Tigers.
Though at 6-1 and ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 poll — Mizzou has their sights set on something more as a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff is still within reach. Heading into a Top-15 matchup at No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday, Missouri has the opportunity to establish themselves as legitimate CFP contenders with a win over the Commodores.
With five games remaining in the regular season, here’s where Mizzou stands in some of the latest CFP projections:
- On3’s Andy Staples has Missouri as the second team out of the picture behind Notre Dame:
Enigma: Missouri. The Tigers are in a similar spot to Vanderbilt, with a loss to Alabama and even less to compensate for it. Missouri’s best win might have been Saturday’s double-overtime win at now four-loss Auburn. It also has an FCS win against 2-4 Central Arkansas, a win against a 2-5 Sun Belt team in Louisiana and a win against a 0-7 MAC team, Massachusetts. Both Kansas and South Carolina are unranked and sub-.500. A win at Vanderbilt on Saturday would give Missouri its first ranked win AND its first win against ANY opponent with a winning record. A loss would put the Tigers in a must-win situation in November, needing to beat Texas A&M and win at Oklahoma on Nov. 22. Missouri has found ways to win against lesser competition, but it needs the second half of the season to show the committee it can do it against more elite teams, too.
Let’s take a look at some other bowl projections entering Week 9 of the season:
ESPN: Bonagura; ReliaQuest Bowl vs Michigan. Schlabach; Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs …. Duke
CBS: Texas Bowl vs TCU
Sports Illustrated: Liberty Bowl vs Cincinnati
Saturday Down South: Citrus Bowl vs Michigan
USA Today: Texas Bowl vs Iowa State
Athlon Sports: Texas Bowl vs TCU
College Football News: Liberty Bowl vs Cincinnati
College Football Network: Texas Bowl vs Houston
Palm Brackets: Gator Bowl vs SMU
Total count: Texas (4), Liberty (2), ReliaQuest (1), Duke’s Mayo (1), Citrus (1), Gator (1)
Per the ESPN Allstate Playoff Predictor, Mizzou has a 32% chance to make the CFP. A win over the Commodores on Saturday moves the Tigers one step closer.
