By: Andrew Parker
It took six games, but Missouri has finally caught the eye of the Associated Press.
When this week’s rankings were released, Missouri came in at the #22 spot and it is a well deserved position. It was only a matter of time until Mizzou found their way into the top-25.
Missouri started off the year about as bad as they could, with an unexpected loss at Wyoming. Fast forward five games, and Missouri has not looked back. They have looked as dominant as anybody on defense, and the offense is finally starting to find its stride.
It is no secret that Mizzou has only faced the easy part of their schedule, but picking up good wins against South Carolina and Ole Miss are steps in the right direction. We found out that Missouri’s defense can still stay afloat with the loss of senior linebacker Cale Garrett.
Garrett was the heart and soul of the Tiger defense, and his loss created a huge hole in the middle of the field.
Garrett was ranked as the second best linebacker in the country, behind another Missouri linebacker, Nick Bolton. Mizzou was able to show that the defense isn’t lost without their senior captain and came out with a big win against Ole Miss.
Sitting at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in SEC play, Missouri might actually have a legitimate shot at playing in the SEC Championship. Based off of recent projections ran by ESPN, they have the Tigers sitting atop the SEC East in wins, which would punch them a ticket to the SEC Championship game.
With both Georgia and Florida losing, the Tigers jumped to first, but still have a very tough schedule left. They still have to go on the road to Georgia and then play Florida the following week. If Missouri wants to keep climbing the rankings and head into the big games on a roll, it starts this week at Vanderbilt.
Cover photo via: Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports
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