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Mizzou enters CFP rankings for first time under Drinkwitz

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A 50-48 victory over Arkansas and a 5-3 record have pushed the Missouri Tigers into this week’s College Football Playoff selection committee rankings, with MU coming in at #25 in the announcement made Tuesday night.  In the Associated Press poll, Missouri has eight points, good for the #34 spot nationally, while 88 points in the coaches poll has the team at the #27 spot.

Under first-year coach Eliah Drinkwitz, the Tigers have showed consistent improvement throughout the 2020 season, rallying from an 0-2 start to win five of their six games, all while battling issues for eligibility brought by contact tracing with COVID-19.

Missouri’s first victory under Drinkwitz came in a victory over defending national champion LSU at Faurot Field, with wins to follow against Kentucy, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas.

The Georgia Bulldogs, a talent-rich program ranked #9 in this week’s CFP announcement, will visit Columbia this Saturday, playing Mizzou in an 11 o’clock kick on the SEC Network, with 9 o’clock pregame on KTTN FM 92.3.  The Tigers will finish the regular season at Mississippi State on Saturday, December 19th, playing the Bulldogs with the kickoff time and television designation expected to be announced late this weekend.

Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Ohio State hold the top four spots in this week’s rankings, used to determine the teams that reach the national semifinals, with a chance to advance to the national championship game in January.  Texas A&M and Florida remain in the 5th and 6th positions, with Iowa State moving up to #7, followed by Cincinnati.  Georgia is ninth and Miami at #10.