Mizzou Football Makes the AP Preseason Top 25 Poll. Here's What That Means for the Tigers' Schedule.

Missouri football was ranked No. 25 in the preseason AP top 25 Poll, putting the Tigers as the 25th-best team in the FBS.

This marks the 12th time in program history Missouri was ranked top-25 in the preseason, and the second time since Eli Drinkwitz took over as head coach in 2020. This is the first time the Tigers have been ranked exactly No. 25 in the preseason poll.

Eight other Southeastern-Conference foes join the Tigers, all of which joined the Tigers on the preseason coaches poll as well. The SEC leads the poll with nine teams.

Full AP Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Indiana
7. Miami
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14 (tie). BYU
14 (tie). USC
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. SMU
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri

First five out

Clemson
Florida
Boise State
Arizona
TCU

Missouri will play five teams ranked in the preseason top-10, all of which will be in the last seven games of the season and three of which will be at home: vs. No. 8 Texas A&M, vs. No. 5 Texas, At No. 9 Ole Miss, at No. 3 Georgia and vs. No. 10 Oklahoma. Missouri has lost its prior matchup with four of those five opponents, with the lone win being over Ole Miss in 2019.

That's a much tougher schedule than last season's slate, as the Tigers played four opponents ranked in the preseason top 25, one of which was no longer ranked by the time their game against Missouri rolled around.

Missouri also has not beaten a ranked SEC opponent since its 36-7 beatdown of No. 13 Tennessee in 2023. It'll now have plenty of opportunities to snap that streak in 2026.

Numbers wise, Missouri's most evenly-matched opponent on its 2026 schedule is Florida, who comes in two spots below Missouri by missing the top-25 cut. The Tigers and Gators will clash at Memorial Stadium in Week 5, where Missouri will be fresh off a four-game stretch against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kansas, Troy and Mississippi State. Florida, on the other hand, has a bit more of a challenging first four games, playing Florida Atlantic, Campbell, Auburn and No. 9 Ole Miss.

Missouri's homecoming game against Florida could prove as a test early on in its SEC gauntlet to see how fairly the Tigers stand against quality opponents, given the Gators begin the season on the borderline of being ranked.

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