Missouri’s November 7 matchup with Texas now has a start time, and it’s an early one. The SEC announced that Mizzou and the Longhorns will kick off at 11:00 a.m. CST in Columbia.
The TV assignment is still in flux. The game will air on ESPN or ABC, with the final network to be determined by the results of this Saturday’s games.
Both teams are headed into the weekend with some movement in the rankings. Missouri sits at No. 23 in the latest AP Top 25 poll after its bye week, while Texas climbed eight spots to No. 11 following a 34-27 win over Ole Miss. Before the Tigers and Longhorns meet, Missouri is at Arkansas, and Texas hosts Mississippi State on Saturday night.
The timing also makes for a busy stretch around campus and beyond. The night before Mizzou and Texas square off, Mizzou and SLU basketball will be in St. Louis, setting up a packed weekend for Tigers fans.
There’s also been a notable update on the injury front. Ahmad Hardy is back practicing, and there’s already been some speculation about when he might return to game action. With Eli Drinkwitz’s “two weeks of full practice” standard in play, the Texas home game could be the target for his official return - though there’s also the possibility he could be ready sooner.
That practice update is one more thing to watch as Missouri moves through its bye-week aftermath and into a stretch that now has a firm kickoff time attached to it.
In Other News...
Eli Drinkwitz Sounds Alarm On What Missouri Could Be Facing Soon
Eli Drinkwitz is already looking past Missouris current run and toward a transfer portal window he believes could reshape college football in a hurry. Speaking during the SEC teleconference, the Tigers coach said the next portal period may be the most volatile in the sports history, with more players expected to enter than ever before.
Drinkwitz pointed to the growing role of agents in players decisions as a major reason for the coming turbulence. For Missouri, and for every other program trying to build a roster in a rapidly changing landscape, the warning is less about one offseason than the new reality of roster management. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Simmons Brings One Mindset Into Mizzou's Arkansas Test
Austin Simmons has tried to keep Missouris Week 9 trip to Arkansas from becoming something bigger than it needs to be. The Tigers quarterback said his approach is to treat it like any other football game, with the focus staying on execution and following the plan rather than getting caught up in the moment. It is a simple message, but one Missouri can use as it continues navigating a road test in a conference stretch where composure matters just as much as talent.
The setting gives that mindset some weight. Missouri has handled itself well in recent road action, while Arkansas comes in with some momentum after a recent conference win, which should make this another sturdy SEC measuring stick for the Tigers. For Simmons, the challenge is less about rhetoric than whether Missouri can carry that steady approach into a game where the details tend to decide everything. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Special Teams Have One Focus Before The Arkansas Rivalry Game
Brunno Reus has spent Missouris bye week doing what punters rarely get much credit for: drilling the details that can change field position in an SEC game. After a strong start to the season, the Tigers specialist took a hard look at his first-half performance and pointed to his own mechanics as the main place to sharpen up, especially on the punt drop and on those shorter kicks that can turn into tricky moments if the timing is off.
Reus also has been working closely with kicker Blake Craig, keeping the communication open as Missouri fine-tunes its special teams heading into the Arkansas rivalry game. For a team that has leaned on hidden-yardage edges all season, the Tigers know the cleanest version of that unit matters even more now, and Reus appears focused on making sure his part of it is ready. [Read more 🡒]