Mizzou’s Homecoming kickoff is set.
The Tigers’ SEC home opener against Florida on October 3 will start at 2:30 p.m. CST in Columbia, with the game set for ABC or ESPN depending on how this Saturday shakes out. Mizzou is on the road at Mississippi State for its SEC opener, while Florida hosts Ole Miss in The Swamp.
That same TV announcement package also brought clarity for a pair of Mizzou basketball dates. In the SEC/ACC Challenge, Mizzou’s matchup with Pitt on Tuesday, December 1 is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
CST on the SEC Network. Mizzou women’s basketball will be at Florida State on Thursday, December 3, with that game also set for 6:00 p.m.
CST on the ACC Network.
On the football side, the Tigers are walking into a Top 25 matchup after barely getting past Troy and still climbing from No. 20 to No. 19 in the AP poll. Mississippi State checked in at No. 24, turning this weekend’s road trip into a ranked-versus-ranked showdown. Mizzou needs a much cleaner showing if it wants to leave with a win.
The matchup also brings back a familiar warning sign for the Tigers’ defense. Since Eli Drinkwitz took over in Columbia, Mizzou has already seen versions of this kind of offense - most notably against Josh Heupel’s Tennessee teams and Jeff Lebby’s Mississippi State attack. In those five games, the Tigers have given up an average of 36.4 points and 524 yards, along with six passing touchdowns of 20-plus yards.
There was also a little movement in the broader Mizzou sports conversation this week. In volleyball, the Tigers came out of a hard weekend against Dayton and Toledo with losses that didn’t look disastrous on paper, even if the final points went the other way.
Dayton entered the weekend 6-4 and Toledo was 7-1, and both matches pushed Mizzou to the limit. That’s why the Nebraska opener looms as such a sharp early test, especially with the Huskers coming off a 15-9 season and a 7-6 mark in Big Ten play.
Nebraska returns seven players: Maria Taranova, Conley Raidt, Katie Spencer, Catherine Gagnon, Reya Lee Coe, Tiziana Rossini and Emma Rizzetto.
There was basketball chatter, too. In the non-conference preview, SIUE head coach Brian Barone drew praise for the job he’s done in Edwardsville, with the point made that making the NCAA Tournament would lock him in as the guy there for as long as he wants. And on the recruiting front, Cam Barnes - who plays at Lee’s Summit West and with MoKan Elite in the summer - was highlighted for the winning traits he brings, including screening, defense and finishing around the basket.
Kamario Taylor was also singled out as looking like “the real deal.”
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 🡒]