It has been 54 years and two leagues since Missouri last won a conference championship. This year could potentially be the one that ends that streak for the Tigers, though, according to Greg McElroy.
McElroy assessed several conference title droughts during a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’. For Missouri, he noted how they have had opportunities to resolve that record but have been unable to in those chances since their last one in 1969.
“Missouri has not won a conference championship – now, they’ve been to the SEC Championship multiple times in the last decade and change. But they haven’t been able to actually win those SEC Championship appearances,” McElroy reminded.
“They haven’t won a conference championship since 1969. That was in the Big 8,” recalled McElroy. “Can Missouri potentially get it done this year? That is a real question mark.”
Mizzou has made a pair of title game appearances apiece in the Big 12 and the SEC. They lost 38-17 in 2007 and 62-21 in 2008, both to Oklahoma, in the Big 12 Championship. They then lost 59-42 in 2013 and 42-13 in 2014, each to Alabama, in the SEC Championship.
However, this could be the season that the Tigers finally achieve that feat again. Much of that belief, including McElroy’s, come from the fact that they’ll be returning several key pieces from last year’s offense that finished Top-30 in the country at 32.5 ppg.
“They bring back the best wide receiver in the sport in Luther Burden, they bring back their quarterback in Brady Cook. They have a really solid contingent of offensive linemen,” McElroy noted.
With that said, there were also some significant losses, specifically on the defensive side of the football. How that unit carries over from last fall to this one could be pivotal for if they want to accomplish this.
“I think there are some massive gaps in the defense potentially. Big voids that need to be filled like Darius Robinson, Kris Abrams-Draine. Their corners? They were amazing there in the back end defensively. And, really, at all three levels defensively,” said McElroy. “They also have to replace their defensive coordinator.”
Mizzou was last a co-champion with Nebraska in the Big 8 in the final year of the 1960s. Now, in 2024, they have a season in front of them where they could put themselves in position to possibly win one at all, let alone outright, for the first time in over a half century.
“This could be the year,” stated McElroy
“Hey, if you look at their schedule, there’s certainly a possibility, if not a probability, that this team reaches double-digit wins in the regular season,” McElroy said.
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