Missouri gets one last nonconference tune-up Saturday before SEC play arrives, and Troy is the team standing in the way at Faurot Field.
No. 22/20 Mizzou enters the week at 2-0 after knocking off Kansas 38-21 in Lawrence, a win powered by a strong performance from new starting quarterback Austin Simmons. Troy is also 2-0, with victories over Sam Houston and Alabama State, and it brings a familiar name to Columbia: the Trojans beat Missouri back in 2004.
The matchup gives the Tigers a different look on offense and defense than they saw against Kansas. Troy’s quarterback, Goose Crowder, is a pocket passer rather than a runner, and the Trojans will mix in slow mesh under new offensive coordinator Adam Austin. That’s the run-pass option look where the quarterback and back slowly work toward the line before deciding whether to hand it off or pull it and throw.
“(Austin will) run some slow mesh, which is, I think, a very difficult scheme to go against,” MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “I've faced it several times when I was at NC State against Wake Forest, so he does a really good job of what his scheme is and has ownership of it.”
Crowder has completed 26 of 51 passes, a 50.9% clip, with four touchdowns and no interceptions through two games. This is his sixth college season.
He started as a West Virginia commit before transferring to Troy in 2023, and injuries have interrupted parts of his career. Even so, he has played in 28 games.
“The quarterback this week is going to dial up our seams if we don't get those corrected, and if we don't stay attached man-to-man, he's going to eat us alive,” Drinkwitz said. “So we’ve got a lot of work to do there, and they’re going to get one-on-one opportunities this week.”
On the other side of the ball, Troy’s best defensive weapon looks like edge rusher Donnie Smith. Missouri has protected Simmons well so far - he has faced only five pressures and taken one sack in two games - but Smith presents a real test for the Tigers’ tackles. Drinkwitz called him “an outstanding player” and said, “Surprised that he's still there, to be honest.”
Smith already has 10 quarterback pressures this season. Last year, he led the Sun Belt with 11 sacks, a total that ranked in the top 10 nationally.
There’s also a coaching connection in this one. Drinkwitz has faced Troy once as a head coach, during his lone season at Appalachian State in 2019. The Trojans were coached that day by current Missouri offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, and App State rolled to a 48-13 win on the way to the Sun Belt title.
Troy enters this game in Gerad Parker’s third season as head coach. The Trojans finished 8-4 in the regular season last year, won the Sun Belt championship, then lost to James Madison in the title game. This season, they opened with a 24-21 win over Sam Houston and followed it with a 34-17 victory against Alabama State.
Missouri should have the edge here, and the expectation is that the Tigers keep rolling. The prediction: Missouri 45, Troy 13.
The Tigers have not lost a nonconference regular-season game since 2022, and they haven’t dropped one to a non-Power conference opponent in the Eli Drinkwitz era. Saturday looks like another chance to keep that streak intact, with backups potentially getting work in the fourth quarter if Missouri handles business the way it should.
In Other News...
Missouri May Have Found The Pass Rusher It Desperately Needed
Missouris defense got a welcome jolt in the Border War, and it came from a player who is still just scratching the surface of what he can become. Defensive end Daeden Hopkins was named Co-SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after he spent the game harassing Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall, finishing with eight pressures in the matchup. For a Missouri front that has been searching for more consistent disruption, Hopkins performance stood out as the kind of edge presence that can change how an offense has to play.
Hopkins, a 19-year-old underclassman, has already piled up 12 pressures this season and sits among the nations top players in that category. Eli Drinkwitz has pointed to the work ethic and development behind the jump, noting that Hopkins has added weight while also becoming more reliable against the run. The bigger question now is whether this was a breakout night or the start of Missouri finally having the pass rusher it has been trying to find. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Wrestling Schedule Sets Up A Season Tigers Fans Will Track Closely
Mizzou wrestlings 2026-27 schedule is now on the books, and it gives fans a clear early look at a season that should keep interest high from start to finish. The Tigers will have seven home events on the calendar, along with a slate of road tournaments that includes stops at the Keystone Classic and the National Duals Invitational, before the Big 12 Championship arrives late in the year. The season is set to begin with the Missouri Duals on Nov. 2, giving the program an immediate chance to set the tone in front of its home crowd.
The biggest date on the wrestling calendar, though, comes in March 2027, when the NCAA Championships will be hosted by the University of Missouri in St. Louis. For a program like Mizzou, that kind of spotlight adds another layer to a schedule already built around familiar in-state interest and high-level competition. By the time the postseason rolls around, Tigers fans will have had plenty of chances to track how this group handles the grind, and whether the long run toward St. Louis looks as promising as the schedule suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Drinkwitz Knows Mizzou Has Two Problems That Could Get Exposed Fast
Missouris loss to Kansas in the 122nd Border War came with a pair of glaring issues that were hard to ignore, and they were the kind that can snowball quickly once SEC play starts to tighten the screws. Special teams had a rough day, and the secondary was uneven enough in coverage to leave head coach Eliah Drinkwitz with more than one area to clean up after a rivalry game that exposed some familiar stress points.
Drinkwitz said he took responsibility for the problems and noted that changes have already been made to address them, which matters because the schedule ahead will not offer much room to breathe. Missouri has to get sharper in a hurry, especially with cornerback play still searching for consistency and the margins getting thinner against tougher opponents. [Read more 🡒]