For the majority of its 2018 season, Missouri did not sniff the AP Top 25. While the Tigers came closer in the ranking than in recent years past, it wasn’t until Mizzou finished its season with a bid to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, that the Tigers were finally ranked.
The last time Missouri was in a top-25 poll was during the Gary Pinkel era. During that span, the Tigers were consistently ranked in the top-25, and quickly gained more respect from the media, than they have since joining the ranks of the SEC.
Suffice to say, after its second gut-wrenching bowl loss in back-to-back years, the Tigers disappeared from the AP’s end-of-season ranking.