College Football Playoff Rankings 2018: Selection Sunday Top 25 projections
By Zach Bigalke
Missouri closed the 2018 regular season on a four-game winning streak, in the process pushing themselves up into the penultimate College Football Playoff Top 25. They will remain in the rankings this week when the selection committee puts together their final rankings to set up the postseason picture.
The Tigers offense was predicated on an offensive line that did a great job of protecting standout quarterback Drew Lock. Averaging just over one sack allowed per game, Missouri gave Lock the space to finish in the top 20 nationally in passing yards and touchdowns. In the process, the offense averaged nearly 37 points and 470 yards per game en route to eight wins.
A three-game swoon in late September and early October, including losses to SEC East rivals Georgia and South Carolina, kept the Tigers from really competing for the division crown. But they also downed Purdue on the road, something Big Ten champion Ohio State couldn’t manage this year, and also knocked off AAC West champ Memphis in non-conference play to land in the final Top 25 of the regular season.