Missouri Tigers 2024 College Football Season Preview
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
The Missouri Tigers are coming off a historic season for the program after finishing 11-2 including a 14-3 win over No. 7 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to close out the year. The only two losses came at home against LSU (49-39) and on the road at Georgia (30-21). Now that 2024 has arrived expectations are extremely high as the Tigers return the majority of the team from last season and have a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff in their sights.
The offensive unit put on a show in 2023 as Missouri racked up over 32 points a game led by quarterback Brady Cook. The senior field general threw for 3,317 yards and 21 touchdowns while adding another 319 yards and eight scores on the ground. The main weapon at Cook’s disposal is junior wide receiver Luther Burden III who snagged 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023. Another rising star is sophomore tight end Brett Norfleet who was an All-SEC freshman a year ago.
Missouri’s defense gave up 20.85 points per contest a year ago and looks to be even better in 2024 under their new defensive coordinator. The leader up front is Johnny Walker Jr. Walker had 43 total tackles including 9.5 for a loss and five sacks a year ago. Senior linebacker Chuck Harris, who had 53 tackles and two sacks in 2023, will be the player to watch in the middle of the field. Senior safety Joseph Charleston is the leader of the secondary after producing 60 total tackles and a forced fumble in 2023.
Missouri opens the season with a four-game homestand including three non-conference games against Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College, and the opening SEC matchup against Vanderbilt.
The first road contest falls on Oct. 5 for the Tigers as they travel down to College Station to take on Texas A&M before making the rare road trip up north to battle the Minutemen of UMASS on Oct. 12.
On October 19, Missouri will host Auburn for an all-Tigers battle on the gridiron.
The biggest test of the season will come on the final Saturday in October when the Tigers travel to Alabama. The showdown should be a fight between two top contenders in the SEC.
After a bye week, Missouri will host former Big 12 rival, and one of the newest members of the SEC, Oklahoma, which should be another game between two ranked teams. The last two road trips of the year will be at South Carolina on Nov. 16 and at Mississippi State on Nov.23. The Tigers will then close out the regular season on Nov. 30 against rival, Arkansas, at home in Columbia.
Missouri has a very favorable schedule despite the back-to-back games against Alabama and Oklahoma. With an experienced team, look for the Tigers to make a deep run not only towards a conference crown but potentially a deep run in the College Football Playoffs.
Photo credit: University of Missouri Athletics; quarterback Brady Cook.