One Burning Question: Missouri Tiger Football

By Chris Marler

Success is great, but how does Eli Drinkwitz make it sustainable? 

Missouri has long been one of the most unfairly disrespected programs in the SEC. The lowbrow geography jokes about Mizzou not belonging in the league has been a staple from rival fans since day one in the SEC. 

The problem with those jokes is the lack of substance. Let alone, the fact that Missouri came into this league and went to the SEC Championship more times in their first three years than Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and South Carolina have gone combined. 

The last two years have been incredible in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers have won 21 games and beat this year’s national champions in a New Year’s Six bowl game. They even had more defensive players drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft than Georgia. 

All that is great. However, is it sustainable? 

That is the question for Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers going into 2025. Taking a step back and looking at Drinkwitz’s tenure there is reason for optimism. However, there is also room for concern. The first three years of the Coach Drink’s era all ended with losing records. 

Now, Missouri will have to replace several key contributors from not only the 2024 season, but from the last several years. That includes three year starter, and everybody’s All-American at quarterback, Brady Cook. The Tigers went shopping in the transfer portal and got an absolute haul. They brought in one of the best quarterbacks in the portal from Penn State and one of the best overall players in the 2025 recruiting class, Matt Zoellers. 

The roster should be deep and talented and Eli Drinkwitz has made believers out of the two most important critics he’ll face: the fans and the donors. 

So, will the recent success prove to be a great two years? Or will Missouri prove that they not only belong in the league, but in the conversation about contenders on a national level?