Missouri football 2025: Win total, SEC outlook and why Eli Drinkwitz is raising expectations

After Missouri posted consecutive double-digit win seasons for just the third time in program history, a step backward wouldn't surprise many -- but that isn't the approach Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers are taking for 2025. Instead, they're aiming for even more. Expert Gabe DeArmond from Power Mizzou joined Bud Elliott on the Cover 3 College Football Summer School series to preview expectations for the Tigers this fall.

What are the stakes for Missouri in 2025?

Missouri's list of offensive departures from last season is daunting on paper. Quarterback Brady Cook is gone, along with top wideouts Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr., leaving major production to replace. For most programs, that kind of turnover would signal a rebuild. But, after landing the No. 7 transfer portal class in the country, the Tigers look more equipped to reload than start over.

"They went out and hammered the transfer portal," DeArmond said. "And in no way are they approaching this year like that's their plan [to go 7-5]. I get the feeling around Columbia, like Eli Drinkwitz is openly talking about, 'We're trying to do things that have never been done.'"

So, what would that actually look like in 2025? For starters, winning 10 or more games for a third straight season -- something Missouri has never accomplished in program history. Beyond that, Drinkwitz aims even higher: an SEC title and a College Football Playoff berth, which would be program firsts as well. Maybe that's ambitious for the Tigers, but Drinkwitz is not afraid to publicly set the bar high.

Breakout player everybody needs to know

Missouri likely won't name a starting quarterback until August, with former Penn State backup Beau Pribula and redshirt junior Sam Horn -- a former four-star recruit who has yet to make a start -- expected to battle for the job. Pribula expects to win the starting job after taking a lucrative NIL deal to make the move from Happy Valley to Columbia, and his dual-threat skill set could give Missouri's offense a dynamic edge it lacked at times last season.

"Missouri's offense, when it was good the last couple years, was when Brady Cook used his legs well," DeArmond said. "That wasn't always designed runs, that was scrambles and everything. It suffered, I thought, when Brady wasn't as much of a threat in the run game. Clearly, that is -- I don't want to say Beau's strength, because I don't know that we've seen him throw enough to say he's not a passing quarterback, but it's just what we know he can do."

Pribula appeared in 23 games over the last two seasons at Penn State, primarily as a running option, totaling 94 carries for 571 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also completed 37 of 56 passes for 424 yards and nine touchdowns with just one interception.

Win total outlook

Missouri's projected win total for 2025 sits at 7.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with juice on the under. The oddsmakers clearly expect regression in 2025, but while outside expectations may be tempered, the schedule -- featuring the same SEC opponents as last year, just with home and away flipped -- gives the Tigers a real chance to make noise again.

"I don't think Missouri has a single game on the schedule that you look at and say there's no way you can win that, but they've also got about seven of them that they look at and say they could lose," DeArmond said.

Missouri doesn't have its first road game until Week 8 (!!) at Auburn. The Tigers face Alabama at home the week before, following a tune-up game against UMass and a bye. That's an incredibly fortunate draw for Drinkwitz and Co. There are plenty of toss-up games on the schedule, too -- including Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. Missouri's 2025 outlook really is wide open, with plenty of potential for surprise.

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