If you’re still doubting Missouri, Rece Davis has a message for you. After surviving a double-overtime nail-biter against Auburn, the No. 15-ranked Tigers may have looked a little winded and out of rhythm. But as the dust settled, the bigger picture looked far scarier for the rest of the conference. Because Eli Drinkwitz’s team is pulling victories out of his hat when it shouldn’t. And in the SEC, that’s how legends start.

An X post on October 24 shared Rece Davis’ comments on Missouri football. “I think Missouri is a legitimately really good team and a contender in the SEC. They need to prove they can win a game like this when the stakes are high…I think it’s an opportunity to erase some narratives.”

The ESPN host wasn’t tossing compliments for TV flair. He warned the league that Mizzou’s ceiling would remain untouched. For a program that hasn’t sniffed the SEC Championship since 2014, losing back-to-back title games to Alabama and Auburn, Missouri’s resurrection feels personal. This time, they remain wholly committed and can only stop themselves.

Remember when Rece Davis warned Alabama earlier this season not to overlook Mizzou? “You know they’re really good, they’re unbeaten,” said Davis. Sure enough, Alabama escaped by just three points, 27-24, in a game that felt like a heavyweight fight that ended before the knockout punch. That narrow loss aged beautifully. Missouri’s defense now ranks fifth nationally, tormenting offenses with a mix of grit and precision. And Davis isn’t the only one buying stock in the Tigers. 

Fellow College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit nodded to Eli Drinkwitz’s leadership and the team’s newfound edge. “I think Drink does a good job of getting his team to play with a chip on their shoulder,” he said. “They’ve done a really good job with the portal. Damon Wilson, you could argue, is making as much of a difference as anybody in the SEC. You put [Damon Wilson] and Zion Young up there up front and they’re physical against the run, which is going to be, to me, a game within the game.”

With the national spotlight suddenly fixed on Missouri’s every move, the chatter wasn’t just about the Tigers’ play. It was about their head coach, too.

Eli Drinkwitz responds to coaching rumors 

As rumors swirled about potential job offers elsewhere, Eli Drinkwitz went full politician. When Paul Finebaum poked about the coaching chatter, he said, “It’s probably no more distracting than trying to decide if you’re going to run for United States Senate.”

Laughter followed. Finebaum, stunned, called it “the most atypical political answer” he’d ever heard, with “full of emotion and truth.” And that’s precisely what makes the Mizzou HC different. He turns noise into punchlines. 

“The reality is, we addressed it as a team, we addressed it as a staff,” Eli Drinkwitz added in a more serious tone. “All that stuff is fake right now. The only thing that matters is us playing Vanderbilt.” So when Missouri walks into Nashville for a top-15 showdown, don’t consider it like another SEC matchup. Think of it as a statement game, a chance for the Tigers to turn Rece Davis’s chilling prophecy into a warning realized.

Because the last time Mizzou was this close to the top, the SEC wasn’t ready for the roar. This time, it better be.