The Tigers have won double-digit games in back-to-back seasons, but they were predicted to finish near the bottom of the SEC.
Tigers Coach Eli Drinkwitz Says Mizzou Has 'Something to Prove' Mindset Ahead of '25 Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Underdog narratives in sports can be contrived, like when Travis Kelce claimed nobody believed in the Chiefs after a Super Bowl victory or when Kirby Smart said the same following Georgia’s most recent national championship. But there’s nothing manufactured about Missouri’s feeling of disrespect.
Despite being tied with Ole Miss for the third-best record in the SEC over the last two seasons (21-5), the Tigers were picked to finish 12th in the 16-team conference. (Athlon Sports’ prediction for Missouri mirrored the preseason SEC media poll.) The Tigers were also one of five teams to not receive a vote to win the conference.
Coach Eli Drinkwitz invoked a Nick Sabanism at SEC media days when asked about Missouri not receiving the same level of respect as other teams in the conference.
“I think it's rat poison either way,” Drinkwitz said. “Praise and blame are both the same. You can't care about it either way. We have a 'something to prove' mindset. Whether you're talking about our coaching staff, our players, we all have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder.”
The Tigers lost their starting quarterback, leading rusher and top two receivers from the 2024 team, which went 10-3 and beat Iowa in the Music City Bowl. Those departures certainly contribute to the notion that Missouri won’t be able to replicate its recent success, but Drinkwitz hit the transfer portal hard.
Running back Ahmad Hardy (ULM) is getting preseason All-SEC buzz, edge rusher Damon Wilson (Georgia) was a big get and the Tigers added pass-catchers and brought back a formidable offensive line to protect quarterback Beau Pribula (Penn State).
Beyond the personnel moves, Missouri will again benefit from playing perhaps the easiest schedule in the SEC. The Tigers’ first six games are at home, including the renewal of the Border War rivalry against Kansas. Missouri’s toughest games against Alabama, South Carolina and Texas A&M are also all at Memorial Stadium.
That’s even more reason to believe a third consecutive 10-win season could be on the way, which is the expectation Tigers players shared for the team.
“We're really establishing a death row defense,” said senior defensive end Zion Young. “I know you've all seen a lot of that last year and the year before that, but the best is yet to come — and it's on its way.”
Drinkwitz said the biggest difference between his first year on the job in 2020 and now is that he no longer cares what others think about him. While he declined to engage too much in talk about Missouri’s perception, one of the leaders of the defense shared their thoughts.
“We might be a little bit undertalked about,” senior defensive back Daylan Carnell said. “We're not really too much worried about it. We'll let the pads do the talking when the season comes. Yeah, they sleep. We're going to wake them up.”
Related: College Football Bowl Projections for 2025-26
Related: SEC Football 2025 All-Conference Team
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
