Mizzou’s Jaylon Carlies (1) and Tre’Vez Johnson (4) celebrate, following Carlies’ game-clinching interception in the Tigers’ 34-12 win over South Carolina last Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, MO — So many things are going so well for the University of Missouri football team this season.
The Tigers are off to their best start (7-1) in a decade, following last Saturday’s 34-12 win over South Carolina. The last time Missouri was 7-1 was 2013, when the Tigers won the SEC East Division title.
The victory also gave the program its 700th win in school history, making Mizzou the 33rd program to reach that many wins.
Missouri climbed from the No. 20 to the No. 16 spot in the AP Poll after the Mayor’s Cup victory, and as they spend this week without an opponent and giving their bodies a chance to rest, fans are beginning to wonder just how high could this Tiger team reach?
Missouri clinched bowl eligibility after their win over Kentucky on October 14, but like all schools, they want to be considered for a postseason game that falls around New Year’s Eve or maybe even New Year’s Day.
The Tigers’ one loss keeps them in contention for a high-profile bowl game around late December to early January, but it will not be an easy road.
Mizzou is currently in second place in the SEC East, with a 3-1 league record. That puts them one game behind league leader, two-time defending national champ, and current No. 1-ranked team in the country Georgia, which is 4-0.
The Bulldogs also happen to be Mizzou’s next opponent. The Tigers will travel down to Athens to play Georgia on November 4.
Georgia (7-0) has already had a couple of close calls this season. They trailed at halftime against South Carolina on September 16, before rallying late to win 24-14. They needed a late score to hold off Auburn on September 30. And they fell behind early against Vanderbilt two weeks ago, before pushing ahead to win in the second half.
And the betting folks have noticed that the Dawgs are just 2-5 against the spread, which suggests Georgia isn’t blowing anyone out like they did last year. In fact, the Dawgs don’t seem nearly as good on either side of the ball this season and playmaking tight end Brock Bowers is out injured and might not be available to play Mizzou next week.
That all suggests that Missouri might have a legit shot at shocking the college football world by taking down the top-ranked Bulldogs. But Georgia’s home-field advantage is all but unbeatable as they haven’t lost in Athens since Nov. 12, 2019 against South Carolina.
Georgia has won 34 consecutive regular season games as well. If Missouri keeps it close and easily covers the spread, they should still be ranked in the AP Poll if they lose.
While Georgia is indisputably the Tigers’ toughest opponent the rest of the season, there are a couple of other talented teams that may pose as an obstacle in their high-profile bowl game pursuit.
After they play “between the hedges”, Mizzou will host No. 21-ranked Tennessee. The Volunteers (5-2) haven’t had as much success this season as last year’s team that finished the year ranked No. 6, but they’ve shown flashes of good things to come. Nevertheless, Tennessee is coming off of a loss to Alabama and will face a Kentucky team with the same record as them this Saturday.
The Tigers’ only remaining tough obstacle would be 5-2 Florida, which defeated Tennessee 29-16 earlier this season. However, the Gators have a tough slate of games ahead, as they’ll be challenged by Georgia and currently 15th-ranked LSU before they meet Missouri.
Missouri has shown on both sides of the ball that it is capable of defeating both Tennessee and Florida, and the final game of the regular season against Arkansas (2-6), which is reeling after its 7-3 loss to Mississippi State last week.
Even if it were to lose to Georgia, Mizzou would still be 7-2, which would keep them in line for one of the SEC’s higher-profile bowl games. But the Tigers would need to win at least two, and probably all three of its remaining games after that.
That would get Mizzou to bowl season with a 10-2 record. And that could set Tiger fans up for some serious end of the year fun and excitement.
Bowl Projections
Athlon: Music City Bowl — Dec. 30 vs. Maryland
Mark Schlabach, ESPN: Texas Bowl — Dec. 27 vs. West Virginia
Kyle Bonagura, ESPN: Liberty Bowl — Dec. 29 vs. Iowa State
247Sports: Mayo Bowl — Dec. 27 vs. Clemson
USA Today: Citrus Bowl — Jan. 1 vs. Wisconsin
CBS: Music City Bowl — Dec. 30 vs. Maryland
FOX: Gator Bowl — Dec. 31 vs. Miami
College Football Network: Reliaquest Bowl — Jan. 1 vs. Iowa
2023 Missouri Tigers Football Remaining Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 4, 2023 (Saturday) | 2:30 PM | Away | #1 Georgia | Athens, Ga. |  |
| November 11, 2023 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | #21 Tennessee | Faurot Field | |
| November 18, 2023 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | Florida | Faurot Field | |
| November 24, 2023 (Friday) | 3:00 PM | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | |