We break down the 14 teams that make up the SEC. The Missouri Tigers 2022 Football Preview is part of Gridiron Heroics’ first-ever SEC football preview. Check it out, team by team.
SEC CONF. PREVIEW: Overall SEC Conf. Preview
SEC EAST PREVIEWS: Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | Mizzou | South Carolina | Tennessee | Vanderbilt
SEC WEST PREVIEWS: Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | LSU | Mississippi State | Ole Miss | Texas A&M
Missouri is always an interesting program to watch within the SEC. The Tigers have proven they can knock off the elite, but over the past decade? They’ve also shown that they can be a consistent bottom-half program.
What will Mizzou do in 2022?
THE TEAM: MISSOURI TIGERS
THE MENTOR: Eliah Drinkwitz (3rd year, 11-12 record)
THE 2021 RECORD: 6-7 overall (3-5 in SEC)
THE AFTERLIFE: LOST Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (lost to Army 24-22)
THE FIVE STUDS (STATS): DB Kris Abrams-Draine (37 tackles, 3 INTs): OL Javon Foster (13 starts); DE Trajan Jeffcoat (10.5 sacks, 17 TFLs); DE Isaiah McGuire (12 TFLs, 6 sacks, 42 tackles); PK Harrison Mevis (37 FGs — 88 percent made);
THE GOOD: There is some legit talent on this roster — specifically on the defensive side of the ball. NFL scouts know exactly who Kris Abrams-Draine is. He’s a junior corner — and he will likely not be at Mizzou for much longer because of how pro scouts view him. The instincts are there.
To continue with the defensive star theme, you have to love what is happening on the defensive line. Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire are two defensive ends who will crush you from start to finish — and the pain will not go away quickly. These two are potential stars.
The defense is a starting part, talent-wise. Who knows? Maybe Mizzou can pin opponents to 20ish points per game and scrum it out to eke out seven or eight wins. There’s nothing wrong with winning defensively, right diehards? Especially when your offense is trying to find itself.
THE BAD: It’s not fun to know you’ve lost to a United States Service Academy in a bowl game (Army) when you’re an SEC team. It’s bad for business.
And it doesn’t help that eight bowl teams are on the schedule for the Tigers.
The biggest problem for Mizzou is that the SEC is brutally tough. You put this program in many of the other FBS conferences and they’d be above the fold. But look at who the Tigers have to deal with.
The quarterback situation is interesting. Will Brady Cook be the next big one for the Tigers? Potentially. Potentially not.
The SEC pedigree isn’t there (here?). Mizzou started off SEC play about a decade ago with a bang. Truly. That’s not an easy act to follow. The Tigers need some positive surprises this fall, will it happen?
Also: Scoring points in the SEC isn’t a simple thing, and this is a program that doesn’t have all those answers yet for 2022. Mizzou should be a decent defensive club, but will the offensive balance materialize?
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HOW DOES THIS TEAM LOOK:
To be honest? This looks like a team that could be a tough out, but not an impossible opponent to knock off — from an SEC standpoint. Can it knock off its non-SEC opponents? Of course. Can it handle the majority of its in-league opponents? That’s debatable.
It’s hard to see a Missouri team with some serious talent on the defensive side of the ball not making a bowl game, but it likely will be pre-New Year’s.
BIGGEST NON-CONF GAME OF THE YEAR (AND WHY):
This is so, so, so easy: No brainer: Sept. 10 at Kansas State. This has all the makings of a game that has bowl-game implications. This isn’t an impossible game for the Tigers, but it’s hardly a gimme. It’s regional, it has recruiting implications (lots of implications, right?). This is a — no — the biggie.
BIGGEST CONF. GAME OF THE YEAR (AND WHY):
Let’s go with Arkansas on Nov 26. It’s at home, it’s a regional rival, and there’s no reason to think Arkansas is a no-brainer loss. But it’s very possible the SEC picture for Missouri comes into late November and resolution is still cloudy, right? Don’t be surprised if this is the biggest game on the sked, in retrospect.
DARKHORSE THREAT ON THE SKED (AND WHY):
Kentucky at home on Nov. 5. Look, we all know Kentucky is very strong this year, but this is still Kentucky (traditionally a bottom-half SEC East opponent) — and it’s at Missouri. If the Tigers want to show they are a top-half SEC East team? This is the opportunity. Yes, the SEC East outside of Georgia may be weaker than some years — but Mizzou doesn’t have the pedigree to be cocky (yet).
THE HAPPY HISTORY NUGGET:
In 1960, Mizzou went 11-0 under Coach Dan Devine (who if you remember from the movie Rudy coached Notre Dame in the 1970s). The Tigers won the 1960 Big Eight (Kansas had to forfeit) and won the Orange Bowl.
WHICH TEAMS WILL THEY BEAT?:
My guess: The no-brainers are La. Tech, Abilene, Vandy, and New Mexico State. That leaves two more wins to get to bowl eligibility, get an extra month of practice for a young roster, and build a team. Mizzou should win these four.
The 50/50 types?: Kansas State, Kentucky (even though the Wildcats are legit in 2022 — don’t forget that, but it’s in Columbia), maybe even Tennessee in Knoxville. It’s not like the Vols have been consistent world beaters in a while — though the Vols blew out Mizzou last year. Lastly? Arkansas, mentioned above.
WHICH TEAMS WILL THEY LOSE TO?:
The no-brainer losses: This is easy – Georgia isn’t going to happen. We all know that. And can Mizzou really go to Florida, South Carolina, and Auburn and win? Even though these three programs aren’t exactly at the top of the world at this moment? We all know that home games in the SEC are massive advantages, so inherently we all know that road games are brutal. I could see Mizzou ( this year’s team) going into a Fla./SC/Aub trifecta with a slight chance to take one of those three.
My guess is? The coaching staff is hoping for that. They won’t say it but in closed-door meetings? Trust me that’s what they’re thinking.
FINAL RECORD, POSTSEASON PREDICTION?:
To me, this Mizzou season has 6-6 and a pre-New Year’s bowl game against a G5 team written all over it.
INTERESTING MIZZOU LINKS:
Aug 16 — Matt Stahl, Columbia Daily Tribune: Focused on La. Tech (Stahl is a true reporter, FYI)
Aug.16 — Matt Stahl, Columbia Daily Tribune: Final week of preseason camp
Aug.16 — Chris Kwiecinski, Columbia Daily Tribune: Five Mizzou Position Battles to Keep an Eye On
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