Over/Under Prop Bets for the ‘23 Missouri Football Season

As of mid-July, sports betting is now legal in 34 out of 50 states (and Washington D.C.) in the United States of America. The increased popularity of the pastime has inspired countless amounts of people to join the ranks of sports fandom. Of course, they do so for reasons that are financially motivated rather than emotionally, but that is neither here nor there.

Nowadays, everybody seems to dabble in placing parleys and finding that perfect underdog. So, if any Mizzou fans would like to try their luck at looking into the future, here are five hypothetical prop bets that are sure to have major impacts on how the Tigers fare in 2023.

Brady Cook Over/Under 24.5 Total Touchdowns

14 passing touchdowns. Six rushing touchdowns. That’s what Mr. Cook recorded in 2022, although he scored all but one of those touchdowns with a torn labrum. The presumption is that the Chaminade High School product will take a step forward in 2023, specifically with his consistency through the air.

Kirby Moore’s offense should take some pressure off of Cook’s shoulders, and having a true offensive coordinator to work with may help him as well. Of course, a receiving core of Luther Burden, Theo Wease, Mekhi Miller and Mookie Cooper (among others) is a major plus, and the return of Cody Schrader at running back provides a stabilizing presence in the backfield.

The moral of the story is that Cook has all of the experience and pieces around him to put forth his best season as a Tiger. With how effective he was towards the end of the season and the potential for Cook to dominate as a runner at times, I’ll take the over with 26 TDs.

Mizzou Over/Under 1.5 True Road Wins

This could be the difference between a good and great season for Mizzou. Under Eliah Drinkwitz, Mizzou has only managed to win three conference games away from home. That would be South Carolina (twice, ‘20, ‘22) and Vanderbilt (once, ‘21). To escape the realm of mediocrity in the SEC, the Tigers are going to have to pull off some upsets.

The road slate features Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Georgia and Arkansas. Year-in and year-out—even though the Commodores are an improving program under Clark Lea—the Vandy game is considered a must-win.

Where does win No. 2 come from? Kentucky has had Mizzou’s number since joining the SEC, Arkansas will be looking for revenge with one of the nation’s best QB-RB duos, and Georgia in Athens speaks for itself.

One win away from home likely secures a bowl berth, but that’s not what Missouri fans want out of year four from Drinkwitz. In order to truly eclipse expectations, the Tigers either have to take down LSU or Tennessee at home or pull off a second win away from the friendly confines of Faurot Field. As of now, I have to take the under.

Ty’Ron Hopper Over/Under 14.5 Tackles for Loss

The force of nature that is Ty’Ron Hopper racked up 13.5 tackles for loss in ‘22, so this is really a question of if you think he can surpass the standard he set last season. Hopper will likely go down as the most successful transfer of the young Drinkwitz era after this season, and rightfully so. His sideline-to-sideline ability and ferocity at the point of attack were noticeable from game one against Louisiana Tech, and he played a pivotal role in the defense’s drastic improvement last season.

For me, why not bet the over here? Barring injury, it’s safe to assume that Hopper is going to have a similar impact in ‘23, and with an offseason as a bona fide leader of the defense, he should only be more comfortable within Blake Baker’s scheme. While not impossible, it’s not necessarily easy to scheme a dominant linebacker out of the game, so other teams having years of film on him makes little difference.

It’ll be close, but I’ll put Hopper down for 15.5-16.5 tackles for loss.

Over/Under 1.5 Players with 700+ Receiving Yards

This stat may in part come down to how successful Brady Cook is over the course of the season, but it will also show if the Tigers can showcase more variety in the passing game.

Dominic Lovett paced Mizzou with 846 receiving yards last season, but the next highest was Barrett Banister with 457. Luther Burden added on 375 receiving yards as he adjusted to the college game and the coaching staff figured out how best to utilize his skillset. He figures to make a considerable leap as a sophomore and emerge into WR1, but the second player is where this prop gets interesting.

Oklahoma transfer Theo Wease has plenty of experience in playing at a high level and is capable of making a major impact. After flashing late in the season, Mekhi Miller appears poised for a breakout sophomore season, while Mookie Cooper is hoping that 2023 can be the year he finds his groove in Columbia. All three of those players could become the reliable second option to Burden, and for Cook and this offense to have success, it may be mandatory that at least one of these guys does so.

While I think the receiving core will be far more balanced, I just don’t see two guys getting over the 700-yard mark. Burden should get over that milestone, but I see Wease, Cooper and Miller splitting the remaining targets in similar fashion to 2022.

Mizzou Over/Under 11.5 Interceptions as a Team

For context, the Tigers recorded 11 interceptions in 2022.

You could look at this prop in two ways. On the glass-half-full side, Mizzou returns one of the best cornerback duos in the country and an uber-experienced group of safeties. All in all, this is a secondary that should terrorize opposing quarterbacks and cause plenty of havoc on the back end.

For the glass-half-empty perspective, everybody that the Tigers will play knows about the level of talent that exists in the back end. That may mean that teams challenge Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw less than they did last season, or maybe they just overall take less risks in their play-calling. Through no fault of its own, the Mizzou secondary may actually cause itself to record less interceptions in 2023.

Now that I’ve successfully overthought this one, I’ll take the slight under at 10 interceptions.