The Top of the Power Conferences Become More Clear, Eye of the Tiger, Week 12

Results from around college football that will impact the Missouri Tigers.

Nov 16, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Nate Noel (8) runs the ball for a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Understandably, the Missouri Tigers fell out of the national rankings after its loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. The heartbreaking loss bumped them out, moved the Gamecocks up and crushed any hopes of a College Football Playoff appearance for the Tigers.

Missouri wasn't the only squad that had its playoff hopes either squashed or lessened. The Tennessee Volunteers grabbed its second loss of the season and gave the Georgia Bulldogs a resume-building win, moving Georgia up and Tennessee down. The Texas Longhorns are now the only one-loss team in the conference and assuming the Longhorns don't lose, they will be a lock for the playoff and the SEC title. The team aside from them in the conference championship remains in question.

Even though the Tigers' hopes of the College Football Playoff are done, they still have the chance to win two more games and earn a nine-win season. Here's how the rest of the college football world impacted the Tigers.

Week 12 Results for Missouri's Future Opponents

Mississippi State: Bye week
Arkansas: 20-10 loss to No. 3 Texas

With only two games left in its season, the Arkansas Razorbacks, by far, are Missouri's most challenging remaining team. They pushed the third-ranked team in the country to the final quarter and only lost by 10 points. The Razorback defense looked tough and the offense did enough to hang around. They are Missouri's biggest challenge in the back stretch of the season.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs still don't pose a major threat to Missouri. They've continuously been blown out the last few weeks and with a true freshman at the helm of its offense, the remaining games on its schedule don't possess much hope.

Week 12 Results for Missouri's CFP Rankings Neighbors:

No. 21 South Carolina: 34-30 win over No. 23 Missouri
No. 22 LSU: 27-16 loss to Florida
No. 24 Army: Bye week
No. 25 Tulane: 35-0 win over Navy

The race down the stretch of the SEC and the teams from the conference that will get at-large byes to the playoff could not look more unclear. The Volunteers dropping its road test with Georgia made that picture even foggier. The Longhorns are the only one-win team in the conference now and that second team could be one of five. The head-to-head matchups will more than likely determine the second spot. If the Longhorns, that picture gets much messier.

The Big 12 is now down to a few teams, but BYU and Colorado are at the top of the bunch. Colorado can't seem to lose right now and BYU just picked up its first win at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks, which opens the conference up a little more. Arizona State and Iowa State both only have two losses, but need more quality wins at this point to be considered for the second conference championship spot.

The ACC seems like Miami versus everyone else, though they have one loss. SMU narrowly escaped Boston College and Clemson barely beat Pittsburgh and both of those squads will battle for the final spot in the conference championship. That being said, the Mustangs currently sit atop the conference with Miami, both of whom have one loss.

A crucial, playoff-defining matchup occurs next week that will reshape the Big 10, between the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers. The winner of that will top the conference with the Oregon Ducks and contend for the championship game.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Where Mizzou Football is Ranked After Week 12
Halftime Adjustments Kept Mizzou Alive Against South Carolina Despite Loss
'Just Didn't Have Enough': Mizzou Let South Carolina Out of Its Grasp in Week 12 Loss