Will Missouri make the College Football Playoffs under Drinkwitz?

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz enters his sixth season in town after posting at least 10 wins in back-to-back seasons.

Things haven’t gone this good for the Tigers since coach Gary Pinkel roamed the sidelines competing for Big 12 titles in the mid-to-late 2000’s and SEC Championship game appearances in 2013, 2014. Drinkwitz’s first three seasons didn’t amount to much but is 21-5 over the previous two years.

With expectations on the rise, Nate Edwards of SBNation’s Missouri site discusses if a College Football Playoff appearance is possible at the SEC’s most northern program.

Will Mizzou make the College Football Playoff under Eli Drinkwitz?

"100% I do believe that.

"No. 1, I think he's going to be given time to do so."

"No. 2, I believe the Playoff is going to expand and force-feed 4 SEC teams in."

Full show: https://t.co/DwOFc2qtFj https://t.co/9ZbWzPUkMF pic.twitter.com/M5n5WqnR08

— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) March 7, 2025

“I do believe that,” Edwards said. “No. 1, I think he’s going to be given the time to do so. No. 2, the playoff is going to expand and force feed four SEC teams. Regardless of of politics, I kind of feel like Missouri is going to be one of the top four teams in the SEC at some point in the next five years but I have no clue how he’ll do there.”

Missouri didn’t quite meet expectations in 2023 after winning 11 games including an upset bowl victory over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Edwards mentioned that it feels good for Tigers’ fans when not making the playoffs but still feeling good about where things stand.

“This year, I was like, guess [the Tigers] can try again next year when the playoff expands again,” Edwards said. “And if you’re a Missouri fan of my age it should shock you how comfortable it feels that even a down year missing the playoff and you still feel good.”