Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 55. Missouri
Mizzou
Mizzou! I’ve always liked Missouri football, when I first became a fan, Jeremy Maclin was flying around the field and Chase Daniel was dropping dimes for the 2007 and 2008 teams that won a combined 22 games. Not just them, but players like QB Brad Smith (2002-05) who became the first player in NCAA history to throw for 8000 yards and rush for 4000 yards in a career. Those were the glory years for Missouri in the time span of this series, but the true golden days were under coach Dan Devine 1958-70, going 92-38-7 with 4 top 10 finishes and an unclaimed national title in 1960. Missouri actually finished #1 in one BCS computer’s rankings in 2007 as well.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
| 3 | Missouri | 2007 | 42.502 | 12-2 |
| 4 | Missouri | 2013 | 41.314 | 12-2 |
| 15 | Missouri | 2010 | 29.316 | 10-3 |
| 17 | Missouri | 2014 | 26.256 | 11-3 |
| 19 | Missouri | 2008 | 20.838 | 10-4 |
| 27 | Missouri | 1998 | 15.326 | 8-4 |
| 29 | Missouri | 1983 | 11.37 | 7-5 |
| 36 | Missouri | 2018 | 10.324 | 8-5 |
| 32 | Missouri | 2011 | 10.116 | 8-5 |
| 37 | Missouri | 2006 | 8.676 | 8-5 |
| 43 | Missouri | 2003 | 4.483 | 8-5 |
| 47 | Missouri | 2009 | 3.019 | 8-5 |
| 42 | Missouri | 2005 | 0.667 | 7-5 |
| 47 | Missouri | 1997 | -0.392 | 7-5 |
| 45 | Missouri | 1987 | -7.393 | 5-6 |
| 65 | Missouri | 2022 | -9.477 | 6-7 |
| 67 | Missouri | 2012 | -9.527 | 5-7 |
| 65 | Missouri | 2017 | -9.602 | 7-6 |
| 64 | Missouri | 2019 | -10.3 | 6-6 |
| 72 | Missouri | 2020 | -10.97 | 5-5 |
| 77 | Missouri | 2021 | -13.11 | 6-7 |
| 63 | Missouri | 2004 | -13.17 | 5-6 |
| 62 | Missouri | 1996 | -14.807 | 5-6 |
| 68 | Missouri | 2002 | -15.108 | 5-7 |
| 74 | Missouri | 2015 | -15.734 | 5-7 |
| 70 | Missouri | 1984 | -19.439 | 3-7-1 |
| 89 | Missouri | 2016 | -22.482 | 4-8 |
| 73 | Missouri | 1993 | -22.572 | 3-7-1 |
| 79 | Missouri | 1990 | -23.436 | 4-7 |
| 83 | Missouri | 2001 | -24.369 | 4-7 |
| 81 | Missouri | 1999 | -24.716 | 4-7 |
| 83 | Missouri | 1992 | -25.363 | 3-8 |
| 76 | Missouri | 1988 | -25.396 | 3-7-1 |
| 76 | Missouri | 1991 | -27.402 | 3-7-1 |
| 80 | Missouri | 1995 | -30.086 | 3-8 |
| 86 | Missouri | 1994 | -31.525 | 3-8-1 |
| 89 | Missouri | 2000 | -33.484 | 3-8 |
| 85 | Missouri | 1986 | -33.975 | 3-8 |
| 93 | Missouri | 1989 | -43.196 | 2-9 |
| 99 | Missouri | 1985 | -48.108 | 1-10 |
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 18982 (55th)230-244-5 record
0 conference titles
7-10 bowl record
9 consensus All-Americans
80 NFL players drafted
Mizzou’s had 5 really good years, and a lot of average years. All of the top 5 seasons were under coach Gary Pinkel, the winningest coach in school history with a 118-73 record. Surprisingly they never won a Big 8, Big 12, or SEC title, but finished 2nd or lost in a conference title game 5 times. Zou’s had some truly special players to make the All-American team, all of whom we’ll cover below except for C Rob Riti (1999), who is one of the strongest football players of all time, recording a 1000 lb squat during his time at Mizzou. 3 different TEs made the consensus All-American team from 2007-10, and a pair of pass rushers did the same in 2013 and 2014. The greatest Tiger NFL players include DE Justin Smith, DT Sheldon Richardson, WR Jeremy Maclin, C Mitch Morse, and DE Aldon Smith. If you go back even further, the list includes NFL Hall of Famers TE Kellen Winslow and DB Roger Wehrli.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1985 (1-10 overall, 1-6 Big 8)
First year coach Woody Widenhofer was hired after losing his last 10 games at USFL’s Oklahoma Outlaws, a streak that would extend to 17 by midseason at Mizzou. They tried to give 2021 Nebraska a run for their money, losing 5 of their first 7 games by one possession. Those included 23-27 to Northwestern, 17-21 to Texas, and 20-28 to #7 Nebraska. Widenhofer finally broke his own curse at the start of November, scoring a late touchdown and 2 point conversion to beat Iowa State 28-27. ISU’s 57 yard FG for the win came up short, and Mizzou players rushed the field celebrating their unbeaten record in November. The last 3 games featured wild swings, losing 6-51 to eventual national champion Oklahoma then nearly beating #10 Oklahoma State 19-21. They finished 1-10 while surprisingly having 6 players land as 1st/2nd Team All-Big 8. One of those 1st Team selections was OT John Clay, who’d go on to become a consensus All-American the next year.
5. 2008 (10-4 overall, 5-3 Big 12)
Missouri entered the year with serious national title aspirations, ranked #6 in the preseason AP Top 25 with two Heisman contenders in QB Chase Daniel and WR Jeremy Maclin. The season started with a bang, taking a 25 point lead at one point over #20 Illinois before winning 52-42. Maclin had a kick return TD and Daniel had nearly 400 total yards. It seemed like a fairly soft opening schedule, but aside from #20 Illinois, Missouri beat eventual WAC 2nd placed team Nevada 69-17, eventual MAC champion Buffalo 42-21, and eventual 9-4 Nebraska 52-17. Missouri was 5-0, averaging 53 PPG and #3 in the country. A shocking 23-28 upset loss at home to #17 Oklahoma State pretty much ended their national title hopes, with Daniel throwing 3 interceptions in the 2nd half. A 31-56 loss to #1 Texas the next week was the final nail in the coffin, showing there were levels to this game. Luckily with their win over Nebraska and a weak Big 12 North, Missouri won 4 of their last 5 to finish 9-3 and make their 2nd straight Big 12 title game. In a rematch of the previous years’ championship against #4 Oklahoma, the Sooners still had Missouri’s number, winning 62-21. Daniel and Maclin were able to end their college careers on a win, beating #22 Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl 30-23 in OT.
Daniel finished his career as the Big 12’s second all-time leading passer with 12,515 yards. He was an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection, completing 73% of passes for 4335 yards 39 TD 18 INT. Maclin was a consensus All-American, catching over 100 passes for 1260 yards and 13 TD, plus 293 rushing yards, plus a kick return and punt return TD each. TE Chase Coffman was also a consensus All-American and won the John Mackey Award, catching 90 passes for 987 yards and 10 TD. LB Sean Weatherspoon led the NCAA in tackles with 155, adding 5 sacks, 13.5 TFL, 3 INTs, and 2 TDs. Maclin, Weatherspoon, and DT Ziggy Hood were all 1st round NFL picks over the next 2 years.
4. 2014 (11-3 overall, 7-1 SEC)
Fresh off a surprise 2013 SEC title game appearance in just their 2nd season in the conference, Missouri said—wanna go another round? While they didn’t come with the same firepower as the 2013 squad, they consistently did enough to keep winning games people thought they’d finally slip up on. A 3-0 start was better than originally thought, with opponents UCF and Toledo each getting 9 wins. A 27-31 loss to Indiana dropped Mizzou from #18 to unranked, but a 21-20 upset at #13 South Carolina put them right back in…only to lose 0-34 to Georgia. Florida fans will remember Mizzou’s next game well. In one of the most wild statlines you’ll ever see, Missouri had just 119 yards, but beat Florida 42-13 in the Swamp. 4 of their 6 touchdowns came on a kick return, punt return, interception return, and fumble return. And they forced 6 turnovers for the game. Cult hero QB Maty Mauk completed just 6 of 18 passes for 20 yards with an interception, yet had a 42-0 lead in the 3rd quarter. It was just Georgia and Missouri competing for the SEC East now, and after Georgia dropped a game and Missouri won the rest of their games, the Tigers repeated as SEC East champions. The title game wasn’t very close, losing 13-42 to a clearly superior #1 Alabama team. But another nice 33-17 win over #25 Minnesota was Mizzou’s 3rd win over a top 25 team and their 11th win on the season.
Mizzou finished #14 and 11-3, winning games by the skin of their teeth with 27.8 PPG while giving up 21.1 PPG. Mauk completed just 53% of throws but for 25 TD and 13 INT. RBs Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy split time equally, combining for 2008 rushing yards and 14 TD. Murphy was an all-purpose All-American, with 2 kick return TDs and 1 punt return TD. DE Shane Ray won SEC Defensive POTY and was a consensus All-American, leading the SEC with 14.5 sacks and 8 TFL. 2nd Team All-SEC selections were 1000 yard WR Bud Sasser, future NFL Pro Bowl C Mitch Morse, and 8 sack 11.5 TFL DE Markus Golden. These Gary Pinkel teams were STUPID stacked.
3. 2010 (10-3 overall, 6-2 Big 12)
“Watch daddy sling it.” - Blaine Gabbert. An anecdote from former Tennessee Titans teammate Taylor Lewan gave us insight to the confidence of Gabbert, Missouri’s 5th best all-time recruit. Mizzou got off to a sneaky 6-0 start, only getting up to #18 in the AP Poll, but the BCS computers took notice, ranking them #11. That set up a game against #1 Oklahoma in ESPN College GameDay’s first visit to Missouri. The Tigers set a record crowd of 18,000 for the morning show, returned the opening kickoff for a TD, and scored 16 straight points in the 4th quarter for a 36-27 win. That would be the last time Missouri had national title hopes on the year, as they immediately dropped games to Nebraska and Texas Tech, but won out in the regular season to finish 10-2 before losing to Iowa in the bowl. Gabbert threw for 3186 yards 16 TD 9 INT, going 11th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. DE Aldon Smith went 7th overall, earning 1st Team All-Big 12. Smith had a 58 yard interception return in the Oklahoma game and would go on to have 42 sacks in his first 43 NFL games. TE Michael Egnew was a consensus All-American, leading all tight ends with 90 catches for 762 yards and 5 TD.
2. 2013 (12-2 overall, 7-1 SEC)
Super random season. Missouri was in their second year in the SEC, picked 6th in the SEC East. A 5-0 start came against exactly who you’d expect a team picked 6th in their division to go unbeaten against: Murray State, Toledo, Indiana, Arkansas State, and Vanderbilt. #7 Georgia came in as 7 point favorites over #25 Missouri, having already beaten #6 South Carolina and #6 LSU in 2 of their last 4 games. Instead of Georgia getting their 3rd win over a top 25 opponent, Missouri came out on top 41-26. They rose to #14, then dominated #22 Florida 36-17 by outgaining them 500-151 in yards. They rose all the way to #5 and became a national title contender before falling 24-27 in 2OT to #20 South Carolina, missing a 24 yard FG to lose (the laces were facing the wrong way on the hold). Missouri needed to win out against a tough schedule to keep their dream of an SEC title alive—and they did. 31-3 over Tennessee, 48-17 over Kentucky, 24-10 over #24 Ole Miss, and 28-21 over #19 Texas A&M. I think a lot of people remember the 2007 Missouri team for being so close to the national title, but the 2013 team was one game away as well. #5 Missouri lost to the #3 Auburn team of destiny 42-59. Auburn RB Tre Mason ran for 304 yards and 4 TD on 46 carries. As usual though, it was a happy end to a Mizzou season, beating #13 Oklahoma State 41-31 in the Cotton Bowl. They had their second highest finish in team history at #5 with a 12-2 record.
Senior QB James Franklin finished his career with a 19 TD 6 INT (plus 4 rushing TD) season, while backup Maty Mauk kept things running with 11 TD and 2 INT himself. RB Henry Josey was 2nd in the SEC with 16 TDs, rushing for 1166 yards on 6.7 YPC. Former #1 overall recruit, the 6’6 WR Dorial Green-Beckham had 59 catches for 883 yards and 12 TD. DE Michael Sam won SEC Defensive POTY and was a consensus All-American, logging 10 sacks and 8 TFL, with a big 3 sack game against Florida. A whopping 6 players from this team were drafted in the first 2 rounds of the next 2 NFL Drafts.
2013 Missouri is my 153rd best team since 1983.
1. 2007 (12-2 overall, 7-1 SEC)
2013 was good…but 2007 was a special year. A 5-0 start included wins over eventual Rose Bowl participant Illinois, 38-25 over Ole Miss, and 41-6 over #25 Nebraska. A 31-41 loss to Oklahoma would be foreshadowing for later in the year. QB Chase Daniel and freshman WR Jeremy Maclin combined to be perhaps the most deadly combination in the country, averaging 43.8 PPG in their final 6 games, going 6-0 against #22 Texas Tech, Texas A&M, #2 Kansas, and more. The Border War of #3 Missouri vs #2 Kansas was by far the biggest in the series’ history, with the winner going to the Big 12 title game with a shot at the national title. They outgained the Jayhawks by over 100 yards, Daniel going 40/49 for 361 yards and 3 TD in a 36-28 win. That set up the NEXT biggest game in Missouri history, #1 Missouri vs #9 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title and a spot in the national title game. Daniel struggled against OU’s defense, and the Sooners wound up winning 38-17, sending Missouri to the Cotton Bowl. Against Heisman runner up Darren McFadden and Arkansas, it was Missouri RB Tony Temple that stole the show, rushing for 281 yards and 4 TD on just 24 carries, to McFadden’s 105 yards on 21 carries. Missouri romped to a 38-7 win, finishing as the #4 team in the country and was maybe the best team not to appear in the title game that year.
The offense took home ALL the honors. Daniel completed 68% of passes for 4306 yards, 33 TD 11 INT. That earned him Big 12 Offensive POTY, 2nd Team All-American, and a 4th ranked Heisman finish. WR Jeremy Maclin literally did everything (as just a freshman!), earning consensus All-American honors with 375 rushing yards and 4 TD, 1055 receiving yards and 9 TD, 1 kick return TD, and 2 punt return TDs. TE Martin Rucker was also a consensus All-American, racking up 84 catches for 834 yards and 8 TD. If that wasn’t enough, C Adam Spieker was also a 3rd Team All-American and Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year. But I’m still not done, SS William Moore was 2nd Team All-American, leading the NCAA with 8 interceptions!
2007 Missouri is my 136th best team since 1983.
5th Quarter
Thoughts on 2013 and 2007 Missouri being top ~150 teams of the last 40 years? Would that 2007 team have won the national title if there was a hypothetical playoff that year? Who was the most important player on that team, was it Daniel, Maclin, one of the linemen, William Moore? Was the move to the SEC a good decision for Missouri now that we have over 10 years of data? Who was better, the 2007 or 2013 team? Who was the best TE between the 3 consensus All-Americans of Martin Rucker, Chase Coffman, and Michael Egnew? Thoughts on that 42-13 win over Florida in 2014?
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
