What a Win Over Auburn Would Mean for Mizzou's 2024 Goals

A loss to Auburn would be nearly fatal for Missouri's playoff hopes.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe (3) tackles Missouri Tigers running back Nate Noel (8) in the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

When the No. 19 Missouri Tigers take the field against Auburn Saturday, it will mark 28 days since Missouri last won a SEC game — a 30-27 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The victory is far removed in the timespan of college football that the perception double-overtime win over the Commodores has since transformed. Since Vanderbilt fought Missouri, then ranked in the top 10, to wits end, the Commodores have gone undefeated in the SEC - including a upset over a No. 1 team.

Let Vanderbilt serve as an example though that the only rankings that matter are the ones decided at the end of the season. What was initially deemed as an ugly win for the Tigers can now be seen as a resume-building victory.

But, the real rankings that determine any postseason fate — the College Football Playoff rankings — begin on Nov. 5. Including the upcoming matchup against Auburn, Missouri only has two games on its schedule until the committee casts their first ballots.

The final impression Missouri will leave for the voters is a roadtrip to Alabama. The next week, the Tigers will have a bye week before hosting Oklahoma in Week 11.

"Its an opportunity for our team to get ourselves back going in the right direction within the SEC," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said of the Auburn game.

Unlike the scheduling after a brutal 31-point loss to Texas A&M, Missouri won't have an under equipped non-conference opponent waiting on the other side of tough SEC teams. The Tigers took advantage of a simple 'get right' game against UMass in Week 7 following their first loss of the season.

"I think it's just a springboard for our confidence, moving into Auburn," quarterback Brady Cook said after the 45-3 win. "We needed it. We needed to get some good plays on tape. Feel that sense of winning again."

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (12) looks to pass against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the first half at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

On the outside, everything about this Missouri team is still held in question after being exposed in the loss at Kyle Field. Anything shown against UMass ultimately doesn't hold much weight.

A dominant win against Auburn would allow Missouri to regain a good amount of the ground it lost against Texas A&M. This Week 8 game for Missouri could wound up being as important for it as a Week 7 win over Kentucky was in 2023.

Battling the rain and a Kentucky offense firing on all cylinders, Missouri found itself down 14-0 early in the second quarter. Facing a fourth down, instead of giving Kentucky the potential to make it a 21-0 game, Missouri ran a fake punt that ended with wide receiver Marquis Johnson scoring a 39-yard touchdown.

The gutsy call was not only the turning point for the game — with Missouri proceeding to go on a 38-7 scoring run — but also for the season. The win on the road made the Tigers bowl eligible.

Two months later at the Cotton Bowl, wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. identified the early flounders against Kentucky the toughest adversity the Tigers faced all season. Drinkwitz identified it as a season-defining moment that revealed the character of the team.

The week before the Kentucky matchup, Missouri had lost 49-39 to LSU, failing to execute in the fourth quarter. Some took it as confirmation to beliefs that Missouri wasn't ready to compete with the top level of the SEC.

Even if Kentucky wasn't exactly a top-end challenge for Missouri, the Tigers played three quarters of their best football of the season on primetime television.

Frankly though, Missouri showed much more potential before the middle of October in 2023 than it has so far in 2024. Last year, the passing attack looked nearly unstoppable against Vanderbilt in Week 5. The win over Kansas State in Week 3 was a resillent win over a tough opponent.

Though the win over Vanderbilt looks prettier in hindsight and the offense looked efficient against Boston College but Missouri is yet to play four quarters where it has looked like its 2023 self.

The rout in Kentucky didn't come out of nowhere. The Tigers were just able to put all the pieces together from the potential they had flashed earlier on.

Yet, Missouri will have the same opportunity against Auburn to prove it can respond and easily put away teams. Dipping below .500 in SEC play would create quite the uphill battle for playoff hopes. With Alabama on the horizon, the loss to Texas A&M could quickly snowball into a terrible October for the Tigers.

In order to keep its playoff hopes alive, Missouri will need to head to Alabama with all the momentum it can find and avoid losses in trap games. Both factors will be decided in Week 8 against Auburn.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Hugh Freeze Describes Difficulty of Game Planning for Brady Cook
Auburn's Hugh Freeze Provides Fuel for Mizzou's 'Lesser Roster'
Roommates to Rivals: RB Nate Noel Faces a Familiar Foe Against Auburn