Mizzou Fans? You Won't Believe How Close They Were To The Playoff FOUR Times

Alright, college football diehards, buckle up! The talk of an expanded College Football Playoff is getting real, like, RIGHT NOW. The Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 are all in for a massive 24-team field, but the SEC is still pushing hard for just 16. We're not here to dissect that fight today, though. We're here to ask the burning question for any fan base, especially those who've been on the outside looking in: If this new 24-team format was already here, how would YOUR team have fared? And for Mizzou fans, the answer is going to hit different. They were knocking on the door, not once, not twice, but FOUR separate times since 2014!

The Wild West of Expanded Playoff Rules

The College Football Playoff has been a rollercoaster, right? It kicked off in 2014 with just four teams, then cranked it up to 12 over the last two years with all sorts of auto bids and at-large spots. Now, a 24-team setup is on the table, and nobody, not even Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz, knows the exact rules yet. We could be talking an all at-large system where the top 24 teams get in, or some combo of automatic qualifiers with varying numbers for each conference. It’s a mess, but the stakes are incredibly high, and it means everything for teams trying to crash the party.

Four Seasons of What If

Mizzou has never actually made the CFP, even with their #9 ranking in 2023 after a 10-win season and that epic Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State. But based on our look back, an expanded playoff changes their history big time. We're talking four hypothetical berths since 2014. Imagine this: In 2014, they went 10-2, hit the SEC Championship, and finished #16. That's a safe bet in a 24-team field! Fast forward to 2018, an 8-4 record with a red-hot 5-1 finish got them to #23. They'd have been in, probably playing #10 Florida, a team they smoked 38-17 that season! Winner gets #7 Michigan. Then there's 2023: 10-2, only losses to LSU and Georgia, and #9 in the CFP. They definitely make a 16 or 24-team playoff, hosting #24 SMU before a potential clash with #8 Oregon. And even 2024, with a 9-3 record and a #19 ranking, puts them squarely in a 24-team bracket. They'd be heading to Oxford to play #14 Ole Miss, with #3 Texas waiting.

Breaking Through: Drinkwitz's Vision

Those four seasons show how close Mizzou has been. In other years, like their 5-7 in 2015 or the 6-6 in 2019 that led to Barry Odom getting fired, the results weren't there. But four theoretical playoff appearances in 12 seasons? That's a game-changer. Eli Drinkwitz, now in his seventh season, knows the score. He put it perfectly earlier this month, "We've got to break through. That, for me, is the challenge, breaking through. We've been close in a lot of different aspects. We've been close to making the playoff." He knows it's about keeping that relentless drive. "You just have to keep swinging," he said, like a rock cutter, where every single blow counts. For Mizzou, this expanded playoff isn't just a bigger field, it's a chance to finally smash that rock and get into the conversation year after year. The anticipation for what this new era of college football holds, and how Mizzou will capitalize, is off the charts!

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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.