2025 Missouri Football Predictions: Tigers Ranked 15th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

By RJ Young
Updated Aug. 10, 2025 9:41 p.m. ET

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

  • Who do I think is good?
  • Why do I think they're good?
  • What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where Missouri lands in my Ultimate 136.

Missouri Tigers ranking: 15
Last year’s ranking: 10
Top player: RB Ahmad Hardy: Finished 12th in FBS in rushing yards with 1,351 last season; Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year last season and a Freshman All-American selection.

[Missouri's 2025 schedule]



RJ's take: The Tigers are a force in the Eli Drinkwitz era. The program cemented back-to-back double-digit winning seasons for the first time since 2013 and 2014, and that is in large part due to how quickly and efficiently Mizzou adapted to the NIL era. They saw a market inefficiency, and they exploited it.

The addition of former Penn State QB Beau Pribula adds an element we haven't seen from Drinkwitz in some time — a playmaker in the pocket with a set of wheels. Pribula rushed for 242 yards on just 38 rushes with nine touchdowns at PSU last year and will look to partner with WR Kevin Coleman, who accounted for 932 yards receiving at Mississippi State in 2024. However, a lot of Mizzou’s success is likely to depend on Hardy, who rushed for 1,351 yards last year — tops among true freshmen. The defense looks sneakily great with nine returners from last year’s defense that allowed 20.4 points and 318 yards per game.

With a whopping eight home games on the schedule and road matchups at Auburn, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Arkansas, there’s reason to believe Mizzou can contend for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

Missouri Win Total Odds: Over 6.5 (-170) Under 6.5 (+138)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.