It’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Missouri football fans. The Tigers have a lot of hype coming into the 2024 season after their big 2023 year, and they have their sights set on the College Football Playoff.
We're almost there. Another long college football offseason is almost over as the calendar now reads August, and the first games will begin on the 24th. College football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but this offseason was a bit easier than others because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July.
First off, there are going to be some rules changes this year in college football, and some fans aren’t going to like them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning, like in the NFL. If you are like most college football fans, you're getting sick of the amount of commercials that we see during games. Well, the two-minute warning is just another way for TV Networks to pack another break into the action.
There are more changes, however, and these are ones that more fans in favor of, but some still don't like them. College football is going to look completely different next year because of expansion to the College Football Playoff to 12 teams and conference realignment. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has made things look a lot different. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West, but they aren't actually in the conference.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams, and some think that things could be heading in the direction of two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of just four. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
Missouri football is coming off of a strong 2023 season
Missouri football typically isn't looked at as a threat in the SEC, and while it would be surprising to see them win the conference this year, they are expected to be a top team. The preseason AP Poll came out on Monday, and the Tigers are ranked #11 in the country. There are four SEC teams ranked above them in the top-10, but that is par for the course in this loaded conference.
The good news for Missouri is that they don't need to win the SEC to achieve their goals this season. Obviously, winning the SEC is a goal of theirs, but with the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, this season would be a success for the Tigers if they make the playoff. They didn't make it to the playoff last year, but with this new CFP format, they would've qualified for it.
That's the beauty of this new College Football Playoff. You don't have to panic when you lose one game now because that doesn't mean your season is over. If a schedule is hard enough, a team could go 9-3 and still make the playoff. This opens the door for a lot of teams that probably weren't going to have much of a chance of making the playoff if the four-team format had continued. Missouri football is one of those teams.
There will be 12 teams in the playoff this year, and Missouri is hoping to be one of them. However, they have one flaw that could stop them from qualifying.
Defense
The biggest issue that this Missouri football team has is their defense. The defense had an overall solid year last year, but if it had been a little better in their two biggest games, they could've finished last season 12-0. They were that good on offense.
Don't take this the wrong way, Missouri fans. The Tigers defense was good for the most part last year, but in order to take the next step, there can't be games where the opponent is scoring nearly 50 points on the road. That is what happened when the Tigers played LSU last season. Those kind of games just can't happen, and that's what the defense needs to fix this season if they are going to win big.
The Missouri football offense has dangerous weapons and they should be in very good shape, so if the defense plays well in their biggest games, this will be a very good football team and the Tigers will be able to compete with anyone in the SEC. Let's take a look at some of the biggest contests on this schedule.
The two toughest games this year for Missouri are probably at Texas A&M and at Alabama. The Tigers also host Oklahoma, and that will be another tricky matchup for the defense.
Playing the Crimson Tide on the road will be an incredibly tough game to win, but home against Oklahoma and at Texas A&M are very winnable football games. If the defense shows up and plays well, it's hard to imagine the Tigers losing those games, and they can finish the season with an 11-1 record.
If Missouri plays good defense this year, they can beat anybody.
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