No. 19 Missouri heads into its SEC opener with a road test that suddenly looks a lot bigger than it did in the preseason.
The Tigers will travel to Starkville on Saturday to face No. 24 Mississippi State, a team that was picked 15th in the SEC preseason poll but has sprinted out to a 3-0 start and earned its first ranking under Jeff Lebby. It’s a sharp turn for a program that won two games in 2024 and five last season, and now gets to show off a hot start at home with a handful of home games still ahead.
For Missouri, the challenge starts with Kamario Taylor. The sophomore quarterback has given Mississippi State the kind of spark that can tilt a game fast, piling up 1,010 total yards - 832 through the air and 178 on the ground - with 12 total touchdowns and just one interception while completing 68% of his passes.
Taylor, a Macon, Mississippi, native who grew up about 40 minutes from Starkville, brings a dual-threat profile that fits the Bulldogs’ offense perfectly. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school and attended the Manning Passing Academy both as a high school player and later as a counselor. At 6-4, 230 pounds, he’s become the face of a program that is trying to build on real momentum for the first time since the sudden death of Mike Leach in December 2022.
Mississippi State’s offense has been rolling with him. The Bulldogs are second in the country in yards per game at 544.7 and 10th in points per game at 47. The receiving group gives Taylor plenty of targets to work with, too: Anthony Evans III has 294 yards and three touchdowns, Sanfrisco Magee has 132 yards and three scores, Zion Ragins has 159 yards and three touchdowns, and former Missouri threat Marquis Johnson has 136 yards and two touchdowns.
That speed is no accident. Jeff Lebby’s system is built on spreading defenses out and attacking with tempo, a veer-and-shoot approach tied to the coaching tree of Josh Heupel and Art Briles. The alignment forces defenses to cover a lot of grass, and it creates the kind of space that can turn a routine play into a chunk gain.
Taylor has been especially efficient with that setup, ranking 14th nationally at 10.1 yards per pass attempt. Evans is 19th in the country in receiving yards and is averaging 14.7 yards per catch.
The ground game has its own force in junior Fluff Bothwell, the South Alabama transfer who rushed for 677 yards and six touchdowns for Mississippi State last season. This year, the 5-10, 230-pound back has 290 rushing yards and two scores while averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
Missouri’s defensive front will have to keep Taylor from turning broken pockets into big plays. He has been sacked four times this season, including three times against South Carolina, and there have been moments when he has held the ball a little loosely in the pocket.
Mississippi State’s defense has been more about disruption than consistency. Zach Arnett, back in Starkville after being fired as head coach before spending time at Ole Miss, UNLV and Florida State, is again working with a unit that mixes looks and pressures. Along with co-DC Matt Brock, the Bulldogs show everything from four-man fronts to odd fronts, often drop into three-man rushes with eight defenders in coverage, and will blitz when the situation calls for it.
Missouri could see a lot of single-high safety looks, with cornerback Kelley Jones at the center of things on the back end. At 6-4, 205 pounds, Jones has shown enough in both man and zone coverage to be viewed as a projected top corner in next year’s NFL Draft.
The Bulldogs have also gotten production from several defenders up front, including former Florida State tight end/defensive end Amaree Williams, who has 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks; DT Will Whitson, who also has 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack; and Texas transfer DT Jaray Bledsoe, who has 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. All-SEC safety Isaac Smith and linebacker Jalen Smith are important pieces in the box.
So far, Mississippi State has allowed 333 yards per game and 100 rushing yards per game, numbers Missouri will try to test in what should be the Bulldogs’ toughest offensive matchup of the season to this point.
Even with Missouri carrying the higher ranking, the Tigers are listed as the underdog by sportsbooks. Their uneven showing against Troy and stretches of sloppy play have taken some shine off their start, while Mississippi State’s unbeaten run and Taylor’s emergence have changed the feel of this matchup.
Davis Wade Stadium should bring the full SEC treatment as well, with more than 60,000 fans and the signature cowbells waiting for Missouri. The Tigers are looking to clean up the mistakes that have shown up early and bounce back from their worst offensive performance of the season in a primetime spot.
The game will be on SEC Network, with Texas A&M-LSU and USC-Oregon also on the night slate.
In Other News...
Mizzou Womens Golf Just Delivered A Home Statement Tigers Fans Will Love
Missouris womens golf team made a loud early-season statement on its home course, rolling to a runaway win at the Johnie Imes Invitational. The Tigers finished 22-under par and beat the field by 32 strokes, the kind of margin that turns a tournament into a showcase. Senior Addie Dobson led the way with a tournament-record-tying 15-under par effort to claim the individual title, while four Mizzou players finished among the top five.
For a program that has made this event feel almost like a yearly homecoming, this one carried extra weight. It was Mizzous 11th title at the Johnie Imes Invitational since 2007, and it came with the sort of depth that can travel well once the schedule gets tougher. The bigger question now is how far this group can carry a performance that dominant once it leaves familiar ground. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Brings A Problem Mississippi State May Not Be Built To Handle
Mississippi State is spending the week getting ready for one of the more revealing early tests of the SEC season, a home matchup with Missouri that features two undefeated teams and a clear sense that the Tigers arrive with the kind of offense that can expose weak points. Coach Jeff Lebby and his players have already spent time on Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons and the Tigers offensive strengths, while also trying to sort through their own injury concerns and defensive plan before the game kicks off in Starkville.
For Lebby, the stakes go beyond just another conference game. He is still looking for his first SEC home win, and the Bulldogs are trying to string together back-to-back SEC victories for the first time under his watch. Missouri, meanwhile, brings in a front that has made life difficult for opposing defenses, which is exactly the sort of problem Mississippi State will have to solve if it wants to keep this strong start rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Enters SEC Play With One Warning Sign Fans Can't Ignore
Missouri heads into SEC play unbeaten through three games, and the early returns have been encouraging enough to justify real optimism around Columbia. The Tigers have outscored opponents 119-52 while blending in a wave of transfers and freshmen, a transition that has gone about as smoothly as the staff could have hoped on the surface.
Still, Eli Drinkwitz has reason to keep pushing the details before Mississippi State arrives. Missouri has shown some of the same warning signs from game to game, with slow openings, penalties and occasional defensive lapses threatening to undercut the overall progress. For a team trying to hold onto momentum once league play starts, the margin for error is about to get a lot smaller. [Read more 🡒]