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Columbia Daily Tribune
5 biggest Missouri football storylines to watch in December
- Story byColumbia Daily Tribune
- 5 biggest Missouri football storylines to watch in December
The regular season is over, but the fun never stops on the college football calendar.
Missouri football wrapped up its 2025 regular season with a 31-17 win at Arkansas on Saturday, Nov. 29, in Fayetteville, which means the Tigers end the year at 8-4 overall and 4-4 in SEC play.
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Two days before that game, Mizzou announced a contract extension for head coach Eli Drinkwitz , meaning the university and MU fans get to avoid what is already an all-timer of a coaching carousel.
Mizzou will learn its bowl game destination Sunday, Dec. 7. A win in that game would give the Tigers 30 victories since the beginning of the 2023 campaign, which would match the best three-year mark in program history .
Before we get to that, there's still a lot to sort out.
Here are the five biggest storylines to monitor in the month of December at Mizzou.
Eli Drinkwitz contract details, and assistant coach salary pool
Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz celebrates with family after a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Missouri won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
We know the basics on Drinkwitz's new deal: Signed through 2031 with a total compensation package of $64.5 million, which averages out to $10.75 million per year.
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The Tribune has filed a public records request with Mizzou to get the full contract. When that request is fulfilled, we will know more about Drinkwitz's buyout details, bonuses and, quite significantly, what the Tigers' assistant coach salary pool will look like.
A report from Frank Cusumano at KSDK indicated that Drinkwitz will have a top-four-in-the-SEC pot to work with when it comes to hiring and paying assistants. That's not confirmed yet.
According to contracts currently posted to the Mizzou athletics website, several contracts are set to expire Jan. 31, 2026, which is less than two months away now: Special teams coordinator Erik Link, defensive ends coach Brian Early, running backs coach Curtis Luper, wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler and cornerbacks coach Al Pogue are among them.
We'd expect most of those coaches to receive new deals. Link is where Mizzou needs to make a choice. The Tigers special teams have consistently underperformed this season. Among 136 FBS teams, the units rank No. 109 on ESPN's SP+ metric.
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Early signing day is Dec. 3
Early signing day likely became a lot less dramatic after Drinkwitz signed his extension. Coaching changes often mean a recruiting fallout. Mizzou fans don't need to worry about that now.
So, as of Monday, the Tigers are expecting to sign 21 players on Wednesday, Dec. 3. That class is currently ranked No. 25 in the nation by 247Sports, which is No. 11 in the SEC.
The less drama, the better. There is of course the potential for some late inward or outward movement, but this should be a fairly no-frills day in Columbia.
More: A Missouri football recruiting priority list on early signing day
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Who will declare early for 2026 NFL Draft from Mizzou?
Sep 20, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) is sacked by Missouri Tigers defensive tackle Chris McClellan (7) and defensive end Damon Wilson II (8) during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
The transfer portal has changed from a near-month-long December ordeal to a two-week window between Jan. 2 and Jan. 16. That puts it at the back end of most of the options Missouri has for a bowl game.
Before then, Missouri might have some internal recruiting to do with some of its third-year standouts.
Defensive end Damon Wilson II , left tackle Cayden Green and middle linebacker Josiah Trotter each are playing their third season in college football. That makes all three of the players draft eligible.
All three players are ranked inside the top-125 prospects on Mock Draft Database's current consensus big board for the 2026 NFL Draft. Tight end Brett Norfleet , another junior, is No. 207 on that board.
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Can Mizzou get any — or all — of them back? That sure would help the 2026 roster.
Ahmad Hardy : Mizzou record and the Doak Walker Award
Mizzou's superb sophomore tailback is one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the best running back in the country.
There's a distinct Show-Me State flavor to the final trio, too: Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame is a St. Louis native and Christian Brothers College alum, and Kewan Lacy at Ole Miss was a true freshman at Mizzou last season before transferring.
The winner of the award will be announced Friday, Dec. 12.
A quick rundown of each player's stats this season:
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Hardy: 241 carries, 1,560 yards (6.5 p/c), 16 touchdowns
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Love: 199 carries, 1,372 yards (6.9 p/c), 18 touchdowns
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Lacy: 258 carries, 1,279 yards (5.0 p/c), 20 touchdowns
Hardy is also now within reach of breaking the single-season rushing record at Missouri, which was set by Cody Schrader with 1,627 yards in 2023. Hardy needs 68 rushing yards in the bowl game to beat that mark.
More: Is 8-4 a good season for Missouri football? Here's what Eli Drinkwitz said
Does Mizzou need to make a choice at QB for bowl?
Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula (9) runs during the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
Maybe there's a conversation here. Maybe it's already decided.
But Mizzou's plans for 2026 at quarterback should become clear in the bowl game.
Beau Pribula has one more year of eligibility. The Tigers also have given Matt Zollers a taste of the high life, starting two SEC games while Pribula rehabbed his ankle dislocation.
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There is a good chance that Mizzou brings both QBs back for 2026 and lets them duke it out for the starting duties. Maybe they're both happy with that arrangement.
But we're also not naive.
There are clearer paths to starting chances elsewhere and little-to-no restriction on movement. If Mizzou is going to stick with Pribula as QB1 for another year, then Drinkwitz and company are going to have to work hard to retain Zollers, who they have called the future of the program at quarterback.
If the MU staff believes Zollers is ready to lead the offense moving forward, perhaps they give him another start in the bowl game.
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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Five major Missouri football storylines to watch this month
