Mizzou Tigers appear in College Football Playoff rankings for first time this season
After the Missouri Tigers won five of their last six football games to improve to 5-3, there was some hope Mizzou could sneak into top 25 rankings. It wasn’t meant to be on Sunday when the Amway Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 had the Tigers receiving votes, but not nationally ranked.
MU only had to wait a few days, though. The College Football Playoff committee took notice of MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz and his Tigers, slotting them No. 25 in its rankings released Tuesday.
That means it’ll be a ranked matchup at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium: No. 25 Mizzou vs. No. 9 Georgia.
Five SEC teams were ranked by the committee: No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Florida, Georgia and the Tigers.
It’s the first time this season the Tigers have been ranked in any poll. Expectations were low coming into the season as MU was picked to finish sixth in the SEC East.
But Drinkwitz’s team has completely flipped that narrative. The Tigers most recently defeated Arkansas 50-48 on a last-second, game-winning field goal by kicker Harrison Mevis.
MU has two games left on its schedule: Georgia and at Mississippi State on Dec. 19. While bowl games are different amid a pandemic, a strong finish could have the Tigers playing in a premier bowl game in only Drinkwitz’s first season.