Paul Finebaum Names SEC Team That's Being 'Completely Overshadowed'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 11:05 AM ET

The 2024 college football season confirmed that the success of several teams in 2023 was not a fluke.

Among these teams is the Missouri Tigers, led by head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who recorded a 10-3 record after finishing the previous season with an 11-2 record. This improvement comes after four consecutive seasons with a .500 record or worse.

One reason for optimism surrounding the Tigers is their ranking of No. 51 in the country for returning production, bringing back 60% of their overall output from last season. However, they only retain 44% of their offensive production, which ranks them No. 100 nationally.

The most significant losses include quarterback Brady Cook, who threw for 2,535 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions, along with wide receivers Luther Burden and Theo Wease, who together amassed over 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns.

On "The Paul Finebaum Show," SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum expressed his belief that Missouri is being overlooked as a contender in the SEC.

"Missouri is being completely overshadowed despite a couple of really good years," Finebaum said.

ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) measures a team's strength and aims to predict its performance for the remainder of the season. This year, the FPI is not particularly optimistic about the Tigers, ranking them as the 13th-best team in the SEC and forecasting a 7-5 record.

With Missouri's recent success and a relatively easy schedule, this ranking may come as a surprise. According to Kyle Wood of Athlon Sports, Missouri has the easiest schedule in the SEC.

The Tigers' first six games will all take place at Memorial Stadium, including challenging non-conference matchups against Kansas, a renewal of a long-standing rivalry, and Louisiana. They will also begin conference play with home games against South Carolina and Alabama.

Later in the season, Texas A&M will visit Columbia, and Missouri will encounter two stretches of back-to-back road games. Notably, the Tigers will compete against three of the four SEC teams that finished with overall losing records in 2024.

The Tigers kick off their season against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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

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