No. 18 Missouri gets one of its biggest home tests of the season Saturday when No. 7 Texas comes to Columbia, with both teams sitting at 6-2 and 3-2 in the SEC and a lot still hanging in the balance.
The matchup lands at a time when the conference race is tightening up. Missouri heads to No.
2 Georgia next week, while Texas goes to LSU, so this one fits the profile of a game that could shape the rest of the year for both sides. The loser will be staring at a third loss, a number that carried real weight in last season’s 12-team College Football Playoff field, where Alabama was the only three-loss team included.
Missouri has made Memorial Stadium a real edge. Eli Drinkwitz’s team is 25-4 at home since 2023 and is riding a 25-game sellout streak there.
The Tigers have also been ruthless in Columbia this season, beating Texas A&M and No. 8 Florida convincingly and rolling past Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Troy.
Across those four home games, Missouri has outscored opponents 153-54.
“I don’t ever take that for granted with these fans,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday.
Texas, though, has already shown it can handle a tough road stage. The Longhorns beat No.
14 Tennessee 20-17 in Knoxville when they were ranked No. 1, and they have not lost a true road game this season after going 2-3 away from home a year ago. Under Steve Sarkisian, Texas is 14-9 on the road after opening 1-6 across 2021-22.
Sarkisian said earlier this week that home field still matters.
“Home-field advantage should be an advantage,” Sarkisian said.
The Longhorns come in off a 31-3 win over Mississippi State, a game in which Sarkisian highlighted Arch Manning’s downfield explosiveness and a defense that piled up seven sacks. Rasheem Biles and Maraad Watson also earned weekly conference recognition after the win, with Biles posting eight tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.
Missouri’s defense had its own disruptive performance in a 34-10 win over Arkansas, turning four turnovers into 24 points. Darris Smith added a touchdown when he recovered an early fumble in the end zone.
On paper, Texas has more firepower than Arkansas, especially at receiver with Cam Coleman, Emmett Mosley V and Ryan Wingo in the mix. Drinkwitz knows the challenge that presents.
“They put a ton of pressure on you,” Drinkwitz said. “And if you push them to the post, that’s probably Arch’s best throw. I’m glad I’m not the defensive coordinator.”
There is uncertainty around that group, though. Coleman and Wingo both finished the previous game with shoulder injuries, and Drinkwitz said Missouri would prepare as if both were going to play. Texas also might be without starting running back Hollywood Smothers, who left the Mississippi State game with shoulder and knee injuries that could keep him out for weeks.
Sarkisian said the Longhorns’ depth showed up against Mississippi State and called it “a heck of a team win.”
Quarterback play gives this game another layer. Manning has the name recognition and the buzz, but he ranks 65th of 141 quarterbacks in Total QBR.
Missouri’s Austin Simmons sits 36th in that category, which gives the Tigers a possible edge if the game turns into a quarterback duel. Drinkwitz made clear he trusts his guy.
“We have a lot of trust in what Austin does with the ball in his hand,” Drinkwitz said.
For both teams, the margin for error is shrinking fast.
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