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Mizzou Football Omitted from Another Post-Spring Ranking

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By A. Kazmierczak | Last updated May 8, 2025 2:01 PM ET

With Spring camp in the rearview mirror and the transfer portal window closed, college football prognosticators around the country have enough information to begin revealing their 'way-too-early' Top-25 rankings.

ESPN Senior college football writer Mark Schlabach released his such rankings Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the Missouri Tigers football program did not make the cut.

Schlabach listed Penn State as his No. 1, followed by Clemson at No. 2 and Texas, the highest-ranked SEC school at No. 3. In all, he had eight SEC teams - Georgia (4), LSU (6), Alabama (9), South Carolina (13), Florida (19), Texas A&M (23), and Ole Miss (24) - in his ranking, the most of any conference.

Schlabach listed Penn State as his No. 1 school, followed by Clemson at No. 2 and Texas, the highest-ranked SEC school at No. 3. In all, he had eight SEC teams - Georgia (4), LSU (6), Alabama (9), South Carolina (13), Florida (19), Texas A&M (23), and Ole Miss (24) - in his ranking, the most of any conference.

He's not the only guru to leave Mizzou on the outside looking in. Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt also omitted the Tigers from his post-Spring Top 25, as did 247Sports.com.

Mizzou lost a number of key starters from last year's squad, including starting quarterback Brady Cook, leading rusher Nate Noel, and their top two wide receivers, Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. However, Eli Drinkwitz and company reloaded by bringing in a transfer portal class - highlighted by five-star edge-rusher Damon Wilson II - that 247Sports.com ranked seventh overall.

The Tigers (10-3, 5-3 SEC) ended last season ranked 22nd in the final AP Top 25 Poll. If Mizzou hopes to crack the rankings this fall, they'll need to rely on a number of new names to get them there.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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