Missouri under 9.5 wins suggested by betting analyst

FanDuel has Missouri‘s over/under win total during the 2024 regular season set at 9.5 wins. On Thursday, ESPN sports betting analyst Tyler Fulghum weighed in on oddsmakers’ lofty expectations for the Tigers.

“Expectations are high in Columbia,” Fulghum said. “Nine and a half is a high win total for a school like Missouri in the SEC. We haven’t seen this since Gary Pinkel was there with James Franklin and Marcus Lucas — some of those guys that won the [SEC] East a couple of years right when they got into the conference.

“This is an exciting time to be a Tiger fan because of Brady Cook and Luther Burden,” Fulghum continued. “They play Alabama. They play Oklahoma. That’s about it as far as really difficult on the schedule spots and they get Oklahoma in Columbia.”

Missouri finished the 2023 season with an 11-2 overall record, capped off by a win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Prior to last season, head coach Eli Drinkwitz had not led the Tigers to more than six wins in a single season.

Brady Cook and Luther Burden were largely responsible for Missouri’s massive leap forward. The quarterback-wide receiver combo gave opposing defenses headaches last year and hope to do so again in the 2024 campaign. Nonetheless, Fulghum is concerned with Missouri’s losses on defense.

Can Missouri overcome its defensive losses?

“The losses on defense for Eli Drinkwitz might be too much to overcome,” Fulghum said. “You not only lost your top pass rusher in Darius Robinson, your top two corners, including Ennis Rakestraw to the draft. You lost [defensive coordinator] Blake Baker, who was so highly regarded as Eli Drinkwitz’s defensive coordinator that we saw [LSU] Coach [Brian] Kelly down in Baton Rouge say, ‘I’m going to pay you more money than any other coordinator the entire country to fix my defense.’

“Blake Baker’s loss, I think, will be felt significantly, even though [new DC] Corey Batoon is well-respected around the country. It’s just you have to prove it at this level if you’re Batoon. The defense, I think, and an emotional hedge play as well, has me saying Mizzou tops out at nine wins this year.”

As of this report, FanDuel has Missouri as a -180 favorite to record less than 9.5 wins and a +146 underdog to surpass the over/under. Missouri will commence its 2024 season with a matchup against Murray State at 8 p.m. ET on Aug. 29. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.