Greg McElroy analyzes Missouri's chances to make College Football Playoff in 2024

Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy took some time to break down the chances of some of the conference’s top teams’ possibility of making the 12-team College Football Playoff field next season.

One of the teams McElroy is giving a coin-flip chance at making the field of 12 is a team that would have been part of said field had the expansion happened in 2023, the Missouri Tigers. And if you’re wondering why, look no further than the weapons they have on offense, like quarterback Brady Cook and the man behind the vision, head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

“Yeah, they went 6-7 2022. Eli Drinkwitz headed into the 23 season maybe a bit on the hot seat, but they were rewarded with an 11-win season and the victory over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl,” said McElroy. “They bring back some of their most impactful players in Brady Cook, [and] Luther Burden at wide receiver; they have a legitimate chance to be a College Football Playoff contender this upcoming season.”

“Now, they have to replace some key starters on defense, which is not ideal. You have to replace [Ty’Ron] Harper, who is outstanding at linebacker [and] was a Butkus Award finalist, and replace Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw, two of the best corners in the SEC. They’re also gonna have to find a way to adequately replace Cody Schrader, who was one of the best running backs in the country and led the FBS with 125 yards per game. They added Marcus Carroll, who ran for over 1300 yards and 13 touchdowns from Georgia State, and they added Nate Noel from Appalachian State, who Eli Drinkwitz knows really well.

While Missouri did an excellent job recruiting out of the transfer portal and from the high school level, one of the bright spots from their 2023 run is set to see a dramatic change. Missouri’s defensive coordinator Blake Baker decided to return to the place he once called home, Baton Rouge, LA, to become the LSU Tigers’ next defensive coordinator.

And that could be an area of concern. However, according to McElroy, their strength of schedule might make up for that and allow the Tigers to start the season off strong. Their first four games to open up the 2024 campaign will be in their home confines of Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.

“Losing defensive coordinator Blake Baker to LSU hurt significantly with their schedule, which is pretty dang manageable,” he started again. “You get Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College, and Vandy to start things out; all four of their first four games are at home. Then you go to A&M, you got UMass followed by that, Auburn at your place, Oklahoma at your place as well, [and] then you finish with some road games at Alabama, at South Carolina, at Mississippi State, and then Arkansas to finish things up.”

Given the totality love of the situation and taking in all possible variables, McElroy sees the 2024 season-ending pretty well for Drinkwitz and his Tigers.

“I think Missouri is well-positioned to build on what they did in 2023… I think things look pretty damn good for Eli Drinkwitz heading into 2024.”