Missouri’s next home date now has a time and a TV window.
The Tigers’ Nov. 21 matchup with Kentucky will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and air on SEC Network, the Southeastern Conference announced Monday afternoon. It will be Missouri’s penultimate game of the regular season, and it comes after a trip to Athens the week before.
Before Kentucky comes to Faurot Field, Eli Drinkwitz’s team has a much bigger test waiting. Missouri travels to face No. 1 Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 14, with that game set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC.
The Tigers enter that stretch at 6-3 overall and 3-3 in SEC play after a 34-20 loss to Texas on Saturday in Columbia. That defeat likely shut the door on Missouri’s path to the 12-team College Football Playoff field, and it also sent the Tigers out of both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 for the first time this season in Sunday’s updated rankings.
Kentucky will arrive in Columbia with its own issues to sort out. The Wildcats are 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the SEC, but they were beaten 34-6 by Tennessee on the road this past Saturday. Kentucky, coached by Will Stein in his first year with the program, is set to host Florida on Nov. 14 before heading to Missouri.
The Wildcats were No. 6 in the first CFP rankings of the season, though that standing is expected to take a hit after the loss to the Vols.
Missouri’s full schedule also shows its regular-season finale against Oklahoma on Nov. 28 in Columbia, with that kickoff listed as 2:30-3:30 p.m. and the TV designation still to be determined.
In Other News...
Missouris Texas Loss Exposed A Problem The Tigers Couldnt Hide
Missouris 34-20 loss to Texas in a top-25 matchup left plenty to sort through, and the snap counts tell part of the story. On defense, linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez was the Tigers highest-graded player at 81.9, finishing with 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, a busy afternoon that stood out even in a game where Missouri spent long stretches trying to keep pace.
On the other side, Austin Simmons posted the teams best offensive grade at 77.5 while completing 23 of 43 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. The broader picture from the playing-time breakdown is harder to ignore, though, because Missouris rotation on both sides of the ball reflected a team still searching for the right answers in a game that exposed more than it solved. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Just Got A Ranking Snub At The Worst Time
Missouris stumble against Texas cost the Tigers more than a loss in the standings. After sitting at No. 19, they dropped out of the US LBM Coaches Poll entirely and landed as the second team just outside the top 25, a reminder of how quickly one rough afternoon can change the national view of a team in the middle of a big season.
The timing makes the snub sting even more because Georgia is next on the schedule, and that matchup will offer a fast chance to answer it. The updated poll also reshuffled the rest of the national picture, but for Missouri the focus now turns to proving the Texas loss was a detour rather than the start of a slide. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous Loss Exposed One Problem Talent Alone Wont Fix
Missouris 90-84 loss to Saint Louis offered an early reminder that raw talent only goes so far. The Tigers had enough individual ability to stay in the game, and their more experienced players did their part, but the overall picture was harder to ignore. Saint Louis looked like a team that had spent more time together, with continuity among its starters showing up in the places Missouri was still trying to sort out.
For Missouri, the biggest issues were the ones that tend to linger into a long season if they are not cleaned up quickly. The freshmen had trouble with defensive rotations and never found much rhythm shooting, while the Tigers as a group did not always play with the kind of unselfishness and consistency needed to win in conference play. There is enough skill on the roster to make Missouri dangerous, but this game showed how much work remains before that talent starts functioning like a complete team. [Read more 🡒]