Mizzou opens up at No. 22 in first College Football Playoff rankings

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After a 6-2 start to the season, the Mizzou football team debuted at No. 22 in the first College Football Playoff ranking of the 2025 season, on Tuesday night.

The College Football Playoff rankings are really the only ones that truly matter, once they first get released about midway through the year. It will all come down to the final rankings, which will be released on Dec. 7. Those will determine the seeding for the playoffs and which four teams will receive a first-round bye.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company are still in the fight, as their two losses on the year have come against quality opponents in No. 4 Alabama and No. 16 Vanderbilt. However, even so, Coach Drink acknowledged, after the loss to the Commodores on Oct. 25, that his team is likely not playing for a conference championship anymore. So, now the focus flips solely to making the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Sitting at No. 22, there is definitely some work to do and the Tigers' first opportunity will come on Saturday, as they host No. 3 Texas A&M at Faurot Field.

In order to make the playoff, Mizzou is in must-win territory in its final four-game stretch, in which the team will face the No. 3 Aggies, Mississippi State, No. 12 Oklahoma and rival Arkansas.

You can find a full look at the first College Football Playoff ranking of the 2025 season below.

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Texas A&M
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Ole Miss
7. BYU
8. Texas Tech
9. Oregon
10. Notre Dame
11. Texas
12. Oklahoma
13. Utah
14. Virginia
15. Louisville
16. Vanderbilt
17. Georgia Tech
18. Miami
19. Southern California
20. Iowa
21. Michigan
22. Mizzou
23. Washington
24. Pittsburgh
25. Tennessee

Up next - Mizzou will host Texas A&M at Faurot Field, on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. on KMIZ.