I am of two minds with this team:

*From the broader perspective, Cook is a wonderful story. He loves the University, and has poured his heart into the program, often playing while physically compromised. That deserves plaudits.
*Drinkwitz has done a lot to raise the profile of the team. He's brought in recruits with a national profile, and the University has made a financial commitment to the football program that dwarfs its previous budgets.
*The offense was significantly better in the second halves of most conference games. That shows an ability to recognize and exploit an opponents' weakness or wear them out with superior physicality.
*The defense came into today as a top 20 unit nationally, giving up only 315 yards per game without much in the way of NFL talent on that side of the ball. They're fifth in the nation in third down defense. By those metrics, it's one of the better defenses in the country.

But why did the whole seem like so much less than a sum of the parts?

Taylen Green is from Lewisville, Texas. He played at Boise, but there is no reason why he should be so much more comfortable throwing the ball in a snow game than a kid who grew up in St. Louis. He utilized the middle of the field in a way that Cook has never been able to, which is extremely frustrating when you have receivers like Burden and Wease.

Why does every first half begin with the offense in disarray? Why do they need halftime, or a scoop and score by the defense to wake them up? The tools are all there for an elite offense, but you can't have one if it only functions for half the game.

Why is the team so risk averse? Why does the defense not travel? (462 yards vs. South Carolina, 338 in 18 minutes of possession for Miss St, 486 for Alabama, 512 vs aTm)

Why is Luther off the field so much? Why can't Moore scheme him open by using him in motion and with rub routes?

If this were 9-3 in a vacuum, it would feel a lot more rewarding than it is. Unfortunately, the conference is a dumpster fire this year, and they had a perfect opportunity to take advantage of an easy schedule, a generational offensive talent, and favorable NIL laws. Missing the playoffs when the path was so easy raises questions about the program's ability to do it when it isn't, because there isn't more of a cakewalk than 2024.

He’s needs to the QB position right. No arguments there. Was going to be hard to usurp Brady Cook this year without the second coming of Chase Daniel. However, you’re correct, the Drew Pyne era, as short as it was, was a failure on Drink. However, it’s not his fault Sam Horn had to get Tommy John while he was playing baseball for Mizzou. As we all know, we hope people can grow into their role. He landed a 4* last year. Zollers coming in. Horn healed. No reason to think our QB position won’t be better next year.

Last two years with drink we’ve been a top 20 team. ATM was bad but don’t remember that game? We were a hairline away from taking the lead early.


Drink is the best thing to happen to this program and it’s not even close. Even Pinkel and his jumbo wine wouldn’t disagree.

The path seems easy in April 2024. Turned out much more difficult in November. Can’t judge by the early season predictions.

I’m not even trying to turn this into an anti Drink thing but this is completely asinine to say right now good lord….

Anyways, I feel like the story of this season will be “what if”, just sucks we won’t be in the CFP because I actually believe with the parity in CFB and how they’re playing they could actually make some noise in it and play with most of the teams that’ll be in it.

Have to get the QB right next year, I hope Zollers will be healed by then….do wonder if they’ll go in the portal and look for someone.

Cleveland Heights four-star running back Marquise Davis has flipped his commitment from Kentucky to Missouri, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

He was pledged to the Wildcats since May 1, but is now set to head to Columbia, adding to a top-20 recruiting class under Eli Drinkwitz and Co.

Davis is the No. 193 overall prospect and No. 14 RB in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 7 player in Ohio.

On3 ranks Davis higher than other recruiting services. He checks in as the No. 148 recruit, No. 7 RB and No. 6 player in Ohio in the 2025 On300.

That damn South Carolina loss hurts as much as any loss this program has had since the OU loss in the Big 12 championship game.

Win that !@#$ing game and we're in the playoff. And we had the thing on our racket.

I will never understand why we played that drive so soft. Mizzou is a better team than South Carolina and if they play on a neutral field, I think Mizzou wins 7 of 10 games. Even at SC, I think we split and that particular game is one we SHOULD'VE had.

What a kick in the dick.

I hope Drink stays long enough to make the playoffs, I think he can and he has absolutely elevated the program and is the right guy for this new era of college athletics...he gets it, he can recruit, he gets social media. I imagine I am like most fans regarding this year though- even early before Cook was injured, the offence, which was expected to dominate, never clicked. They never really dominated, but got dominated twice. The 2024 Tigers were somewhat a victim of very high expectations. 9-10 wins are great for this program, they just didn't pass the eyeball test. I expect a poratal QB to start next year for continuity.

12 passing touchdowns all season is just WILD to me.

With that WR group, with the size and short area ability, to have 1 passing touchdown a game is pretty damn unacceptable. Even on YAC alone they should've done that. And Norfleet should've been a good red zone target in his own right.

I think almost all of it comes down to Cook just missing too many throws he should've made. The Cook era is essentially over so I can go ahead and appreciate the story and his love for the University while also just saying - damn, that kid was NOT good enough this year. Even when he was healthy, he simply missed too many makeable throws.

This really seemed like a season where we should've put up 25-30 passing touchdowns over the course of the season with another 15-20 rushing. The offense just never quite worked the way it should've.

For Luther Burden to be a consensus draft pick, we sure didn't seem to play like he was our main target. Too many times it gave the appearance that Cook's first read was Wease.

Why didn't we build around making Burden target #1?

It almost seemed like they tried to keep Burden in reserve for 'gotta have it' moments.

Because he gets himself CRUSHED. And has since his Freshman year. You try to make a volume player out of him and you'll get him for 7 games, IMO.

The guy just doesn't know how to take a hit. That's what worries me most about his long-term NFL prospects. He's going to get lit up a bunch at the next level and yeah, he's a physical guy, but can he really keep subjecting himself to that kind of impact? He just plays so violently.

Wease is a freaking stud as well. Let's not act like he is some scrub.

Never said he was....but Burden was consensus AA and was a big catch for Mizzou.

Wease had made some good plays...and might even catch on as a Justin Watson type player in the NFL.

But Burden was supposed to be the next Jeremy Maclin for Mizzou.

And he did have some great "gotta have it" moments, but they were too infrequent. Like you I am not sure of his ability to take the hits in the NFL...and he sure as hell needs to squash his ability to get taken out of his game by someone getting inside his head.

Who is next up at QB after this year? Do we have to go to the portal?

Didnt we get some amazing recruit out of high school and then he got hurt?

Four-star wide receiver DaMarion Fowlkes switches from Pittsburgh to Missouri

https://www.rockmnation.com/2024/12/...rom-pittsburgh

"Fowlkes is a fast, shifty receiver who looks to have plenty of experience in the return game as well as getting the ball in various looks out of the backfield. And it would be a stretch to call his route tree college-ready, it’s definitely more versatile than the typical “go-route-at-all-costs” look that many high school receivers bring to the table. He’s comfortable receiving the ball in the middle of the field, and is a physical enough YAC runner that he can fight off tacklers in the open field. I think there’s a little bit of Mookie Cooper in his game, especially if he can put a little more speed in his legs."

Lost a big one today. Lamont Rogers decommitted. Looks like aTm is trying hard to get him and will likely succeed.

Batoon did the same thing against Arkansas. On 4th and 13 he rushed 3, spied Green, and dropped everyone else. He goes soft on big plays, and the CBs are generally giving 8+ yards of cushion.

It hurts not having Rakestraw and KAD, but as a secondary coach by trade, that part of the defense was abysmal. If not for a perfect play by Charleston, they give up another TD late and close in that game, too.

Cook should have gone down at the 1, but in that weather, I get it.

That was known. Not really a loss at this point.

Sam Horn has 2 years of eligibility now. He had TJS in the middle of February and was expected to be out 12-15 months. He might be back in time for Spring ball at the earliest or he for sure, barring any setbacks, be ready for their training camp.

I'm thinking he will get first shot at starting unless they get someone good in the portal. We should be able to bring in a big name you would think.

We got a 5* QB out of Pennsylvania. Had a pretty significant injury that ended his Sr year of high school, but reports I've seen are that he will be ready for next season.

The transfer portal is so gay

Fansided

Predicting the 5 best QBs who will hit the transfer portal this offseason and why
Which signal-callers could be looking for a new team in the coming months?
By Wynston Wilcox | Dec 2, 2024

Texas v Texas A&M
Texas v Texas A&M / Alex Slitz/GettyImages
The college football season is quickly coming to a close. And as it does, speculation on who will enter the transfer portal is dominating all the non-College Football Playoff discussions. We all know quarterbacks are a premium.

And several quarterbacks are looking at finding a new place to either grow or revive their careers. It should be a loaded transfer portal for quarterbacks, so let’s take a look at five potential signal callers that could end up with a new team.




5) Conner Weigman, Texas A&M
Conner Weigman came into the season as the sure-fire player to lead the Texas A&M Aggies to the College Football Playoff under first-year coach Mike Elko. But after falling flat against LSU, he was benched mid-game and then lost his starting spot to Marcel Reed.


Reed started every game the rest of the way and will most likely start the bowl game too. That means Weigman, a former five-star prospect, either reluctantly accepts his backup role or looks to start elsewhere.

With several teams in the market for a new quarterback, he’ll most likely hit the portal. Wiegman had a drop off from his first two seasons, but can still help a program succeed. As teams like Ohio State, Miami and potentially LSU look to retool at quarterback, Weigman could be a name that circulates as a feasible replacement.

4) John Mateer, Washington State
John Mateer will be one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in this transfer portal cycle in my opinion. He had a phenomenal year at Washington State and will have two more seasons of eligibility.


I’m not sure if he will immediately make the jump to an SEC or top-tier Big Ten school. But he could land at a Big 12 school to get one more year against better competition before making the leap. Maybe he ends up at a smaller Big Ten school.

Indiana could be a team that looks at adding him, or even a school like Wisconsin as they look to bounce back as well. He could even be an intriguing option for Lincoln Riley who’s biggest question mark is the quarterback. Marcus Freeman could also pluck a quarterback from a for the third-straight year too.

Mateer threw for 3,129 yards and 29 touchdowns in the regular season this year against seven interceptions. Wherever he lands, he will be a prime candidate for QB-needy teams this winter.


3) Maddux Madsen, Boise State
These next few games are going to be critical for Boise State. It’s going to be equally as critical for Maddux Madsen. He’ll have a chance to show everyone Ashton Jeanty isn’t the only talented player on the offense.

He’s thrown for 2,556 yards with 21 touchdown passes and just three interceptions this season. While his numbers aren’t screaming Power 4, he also had a generational talent in the backfield that dominated the offense.



If Madsen can light up UNLV as well as make a strong showing in the CFP, he could perk some ears up on luring him away from Boise State. A former five-star prospect in Malachi Nelson transferred last season from USC. Madsen ended up being him out for the starting job.

This could be a similar situation to Texas where Boise State has two quarterbacks it would like to play. And the decision could be made for them via the transfer portal.

2) Haynes King, Georgia Tech
Don’t let this season’s stats fool you, Haynes King is one of the top quarterbacks that could be on the move this winter. If nothing more, his game against Georgia proved he can compete with the best of them.


Not even Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning looked as good as King, who threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns in the eight-overtime game. This season, King has a shade under 2,000 passing yards, 11 touchdown passes with one interception.

What makes King intriguing is his dual threat ability. He has 578 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns as well. If he manages to lead Georgia Tech to a win in its bowl game like he did with two top-10 wins over Florida State and Miami, he could be playing his way into the portal too.

Georgia Tech has a logjam at quarterback with both Aaron Philo and Zach Pyron getting playing time this year as well. King hitting the portal could clear that up.



1) Quinn Ewers, Texas
At this point, I’d be shocked if Quinn Ewers ends up in the NFL Draft this April. While he was heralded as one of the top prospects in college football to start the season, his draft stock hasn’t quite taken off.

According to Mel Kiper, he’s the sixth best quarterback prospect with both Carson Beck and Drew Allar ahead of him. While that doesn’t mean a team drafts him before either, it also means he’s probably not a first or even second round pick.



And with NIL, he could probably make more with another season in college than if he was drafted outside of the first round. If he does come back to college, he would have no problem finding a new team.

Texas seems like they’ve pretty much committed to Arch Manning moving forward so it’s not likely he’ll play with the Longhorns. With Steve Sarkisian going back and forth between the two multiple times, he seems less committed to Ewers.

The draft isn’t out of the question by any means, but Ewers may value another year of development to improve his draft stock and can still get paid in college. That said, it's a very different story if Texas goes on a College Football Playoff run.

MU flips Jones from Nebraska at the last second what a steal

Sounds like Mizzou is in the drivers seat for the QB out of Cal, Mason Miller.

Not sure that's really a difference maker, but he's potentially a solid veteran if Sam Horn isn't ready to go or decides to stop playing football (as some have suggested he might).

Pretty sure you're referring to Miller Moss, whom I don't know a lot about but saw some pictures of his mom in my Mizzou friends text thread. I guess Drink started following her on IG LMAO

Anyhow, he'd clearly be a stopgap but he says he wants to go to a school that can compete for a conference title and I doubt he'd come here if he wasn't promised the job. Or maybe he would? But I feel like unless we have a complete no brainer come in than I'd like to at least SEE what Horn can do when healthy and given the opportunity rather than just a short leash.

D'oh!

Yeah, Miller Moss.

(I do love me some Mason Miller, though - dude throws GAS)

Holy Moses - just found Moss's mom on the googles.

Yeah - let's make sure to get that one signed...

Ope fong saying trending back our way. Gotta love NIL

I saw that Jamarion Morrow also flipped to aTm yesterday. But I'm guessing that was known as well since we flipped Davis away from Kentucky.

Late add - 5* DE Javion Hilson out of Florida. Great get this late in the cycle.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bucs</a> QB Baker Mayfield lost a bet to team reporter Casey Phillips as Oklahoma lost to Mizzou over the weekend and thus had to wear this today 😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/ogie8WCQPO">pic.twitter.com/ogie8WCQPO</a></p>&mdash; PewterReport 🏴*☠️ (@PewterReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/PewterReport/status/1864361908804923591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

****ing crazy the talent we have at edge rusher now. Nwareni was the #1 recruit of his cycle and Hilson is 16th nationally.

Drink can recruit like a mofo. It's ****ing crazy.

LMAO

That had to sting a bit.

Need to see a BIG step forward from Nwareni next season if you want to keep getting recruits at that level.

Looks like he only played in 4 games last season so his redshirt is still intact. I wonder if that was always the plan.

But we're gonna need a lot out of him next season with Walker gone (which doesn't bother me much, Walker was good for a really stupid play for every good one he made), not just from a productivity standpoint but for the recruiting wars next season.

Don't think DL recruits going against us aren't hearing about how he barely played this season. If he doesn't make a leap next season, it's gonna be used against us a ton.

I think Nwareni might have been a big reason he came here. He specifically mentioned Drink, the DL coach, and Nwareni. He said "They've got Wiliams Nwaneri up there, too, me and him are pretty cool."

Damn this is awesome.

You wanted him fired

Yeah I've said that, but I've given him props for his recruiting many many times.

Also take your bitch ass to the Nebraska thread.

Looking at the recruiting class rankings, Mizzou is at 19 with only 17 signed recruits. Not bad. Everyone else has at least 29, most are closer to 25.

I have a feeling once we factory in the transfer guys Missouri is gonna move up a few spots.

She's a smokeshow for sure. Just found out his dad is EIGHTY ONE years old hahahahaha. Apparently he's some loaded architect. Color me not shocked after seeing his mom.

Eh, his mom isn't even close to what I'd consider a smoke show and she looks like she is over 50. Though, if she is that old than she is significantly more attractive than most women that age.

RT Armand Membou is declaring for the draft. He's a top 100 player in the draft.

Also where does this dumb ass "True Son" shit come from. I ****ing hate it so much.

🎶Skies above us are blue🎶

Literally the alma mater.

Getting Moss in for the first visit would be awesome. Hope that plan holds and they can close on him.

Need help at WR. Now that I’ve seen Kevin Coleman in person (I went to the Egg Bowl over Thanksgiving while visiting family in the Memphis area), I hope he enters the portal and comes to Mizzou now that Burden is gone.

He is EXPLOSIVE. Great long speed and his stop-start is dynamic.

He’s what Mookie Cooper thought he was.

I think the idea is if they manage to land Moss from the portal, he would recruit some receivers to follow him.

Yeah, I think we hit the transfer portal for another blue-chip WR.

If not, we'll need a BIG step forward from Courtney Crutchfield, but he has the talent for it. Will be interesting to watch him develop.

I think many expect Olugbude to contribute right away. Not saying we don’t need more or someone Moss, but still it’s nice to hear.

Nashville for the bowl I would assume since Alabama got dropped out of the playoff.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Purdue is targeting UNLV’s Barry Odom to be its next head coach, sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YahooSports</a>. The deal is not finalized, but the sides are working towards an agreement.<br><br>Odom went 19-8 in two seasons in Las Vegas and was 25-25 at Missouri before that.</p>&mdash; Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) <a href="https://twitter.com/RossDellenger/status/1865769117736710408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Purdue is gonna need to commit a lot of NIL for Barry to stand a chance.

I approve

Looks like Iowa in Nashville
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/PowerMizzoucom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PowerMizzoucom</a> that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mizzou?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mizzou</a> football will play Iowa in the Music City Bowl <a href="https://t.co/9ABg97FZSj">https://t.co/9ABg97FZSj</a></p>&mdash; Jarod (@jarodchamilton) <a href="https://twitter.com/jarodchamilton/status/1865855633708527879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nashville - lots of fun but done it several times.

Iowa - ugh.

Don't imagine I'll go to this one.

Its official
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nashville bound��<a href="https://twitter.com/MusicCityBowl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MusicCityBowl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MIZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MIZ</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STP</a> <a href="https://t.co/SFvw6N7gRR">pic.twitter.com/SFvw6N7gRR</a></p>&mdash; Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/MizzouFootball/status/1865865417694249372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Meh

Not really an exciting match up but at least they weren't rat ****ed.

Nashville is awesome. Can’t wait.

Mizzou vs Iowa will be a big deal down here at the Lake. Lots of Iowa transplants. Heck there is a Iowa bar almost across the street from a Mizzou bar. Should be a fun afternoon.

Dunno who all isn't playing for yall but Iowa isn't very good. Playing their 4th string QB best player on iffense declared for the draft. Their defense is pretty good tho

It should be a pretty good match up. LB3 being out will change things up so it'll be interesting to see how the gameplan changes.

I was expecting to hear more opt outs by this point.

Will be taking my two teenage daughters again, but first time for them in Nashville. Anyone have thoughts on fun things to for a 15 and 13 year old? I’ve been there numerous times but only to bars.

Nwaneri into the portal.

I'm so tired of this NIL Annual Free Agency shit.

College football needs to get this figured out quickly.

Iowa has zero passing game. Like none. Stop the run and win.

Yeah, it's a mess. It was bullshit before with these players not earning anything but its getting a little out of control. It's not about endorsements or jersey sales, etc. It's about how much money will you give me upfront before I've done shit and then how much more can I squeeze out of you 6-12 months later when it's getting dangled in front of me from another team.

Would be insanely frustrating and difficult to be a coach these days and basically re-recruiting an entire roster every offseason.

Rankings didn't match up with his actual talent.

What a little bitch. Yeah you're right. How it was before wasn't the best, but this is the complete opposite end of the spectrum and it's not the best. They need to get somewhere in the middle.

The thing with Nwareni is he came to MU and got a big payday quick because of Missouri's NIL laws. Now he can run off anywhere.

And get another bundle of up-front money.

I really think they need to make them stay for 2 years at least, unless the HC leaves or whatever and then allow them to make one more move.

I don’t see the issue.

I'm not.

Mizzou benefits from it more than it suffers.

Nwawieri was about the third-best true freshman DE in the class. He's a project, but there is a high possibility of a looks-like-Tarzan-plays-like-Jane situation with him.

His HS coach is now a coach at Nebraska. Visited there multiple times too let's goooo!

how did we ever beat Nebby...

NIL and the portal are both fine. They need to give programs the death penalty for tampering, though.

He's in the portal because another program floated a bag of money.

He's not really wrong. Beating Nebraska isn't some big deal. They suck worse than Iowa.

Well, it sucks to lose him. But, he really didn't do much last year. We have Hildon and Langev. That probably factored in his decision.

Some rumors Lacy might be going in the portal too….I hope not, that’d suck.

It just makes everything so transactional.

This is no different than a coach bouncing after 1-2 years for a better situation.

And who's ever been a big fan of that?

"Man, alcohol is really bad for you but it's legal so we should probably just go ahead and legalize black tar heroin while we're at it..."

A shitty situation existing doesn't mean that other situations that are shitty shouldn't be addressed.