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The Missouri Tigers are enjoying one of their best campaigns in recent times. They have already won more games this year than they did in five of their previous eight full seasons.

There鈥檚 still plenty to play for with games at Mississippi State and against rival Arkansas at home. Then, there will be another bowl game to play.

Truman should keep his head up. The Tigers can still deliver their best back-to-back seasons since 2013-14 under Gary Pinkel.

They can still finish on a high note while continuing to sell prospects and established transfer targets on their program.

But fans of the black and gold are still feeling blue after the gut-wrenching loss at South Carolina. Coach Eli Drinkwitz has raised expectations for this season and beyond.

This time around, the Tigers couldn鈥檛 quite meet them.

Fans dreamed of Mizzou earning a College Football Playoff berth this year 鈥� thanks in part to a schedule that lined up perfectly for them 鈥� but the Tigers never rose to that level.

Had they had the 2023 version of Brady Cook throwing to Luther Burden III and Theo Wease behind consistently firm pass protection, maybe they could have taken a serious run at the 12-team bracket.

But they didn鈥檛 have those elements. Nor did they have dominant running back Cody Schrader, defensive menace Darius Robinson and many other standouts from last year鈥檚 magical 11-2 season.

The Tigers sputtered early. Injuries mounted as this season wore on. Missouri was never at its best in Southeastern Conference play, where each week presents severe tests.

Ask the Oklahoma Sooners, Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats about the league鈥檚 merciless level of competition. They would love to be sitting where Missouri is today.

Drinkwitz has accomplished difficult things at Mizzou. He has upgraded high school recruiting, worked the transfer portal masterfully, energized the fan base, increased attendance revenues, bolstered fundraising, overseen facility improvements, inspired a stadium expansion and forged strong relationships with the university鈥檚 leadership.

Drinkwitz鈥檚 successes as the program鈥檚 CEO have drawn praise from his coaching peers.

He has made progress on the sidelines, too. His game management improved markedly. Instead of finding new ways to lose close games, the Tigers are finding ways to win them.

This season has featured narrow escapes against Vanderbilt, Auburn and Oklahoma. The Tigers seemed ready to steal the game at South Carolina, too, but the Gamecocks took the game back in the final seconds.

Cook鈥檚 brilliant go-ahead touchdown pass to Burden left too much time on the clock, and the Gamecocks rallied to knock the Tigers completely out of the CFP race.

But this season reaffirmed Missouri鈥檚 resilient identity under Drinkwitz. The Tigers began establishing that during their nightmarish 5-5 pandemic season, when they had to scrape together lineups. They persevered through the 6-7 seasons that followed while building toward last year鈥檚 breakthrough.

With the valiant Cook playing through injuries and leading by example, the Tigers toughed it out this season. Their ability to win seven games despite their adversity spoke to the culture Drinkwitz has fostered.

鈥淗onestly, that why I coach,鈥� Drinkwitz said after his Tuesday news conference. 鈥淚 thought that would be one of the strengths of our style, being relational and being intentional in developing a culture and a brotherhood and trying to be less transactional and more intentional in building that.鈥�

He learned some hard head-coaching lessons, made the necessary adjustments and moved the program onto the national stage last year. Now, Missouri has the chance to deliver a solid follow-up season and earn additional respect in the country鈥檚 most treacherous conference.

There is hope for more good times ahead. The sport鈥檚 established powers no longer enjoy the decided edge they built over the years.

In college football鈥檚 old model, the elite programs could leverage their 100,000-per-game attendance, massive donor base, state-of-the-art facilities and well-oiled recruiting machine into perennial success.

Those programs could stack four- and five-star recruits on top of each other, maintain impressive depth and win the league鈥檚 annual war of attrition.

In the old world, Missouri faced a near-impossible climb into the SEC鈥檚 upper tier. The gap was just too great.

That world is gone now, thanks to the wide-open transfer portal and every team鈥檚 ability to fill team needs in free agency. Traditional powers can no longer stockpile talent.

In the new world, Indiana can make noise in the Big Ten and Ole Miss can bid for SEC supremacy. USC and Michigan can sink to .500, Vanderbilt can beat Alabama, Army can roll to a 9-0 start and Florida State can fall to 1-9.

And in the new world, Missouri can stay in the CFP chase. The Tigers won鈥檛 punch their ticket this season, but they can keep burnishing their brand while knowing another chance could come.