For the third season in a row, Missouri will start its season on a Thursday night when it hosts Murray State for the pair's third all-time matchup.
No. 11 Mizzou is fresh off an 11-2 season and is viewed as a contender to make the College Football Playoff.
Murray State is coming off a 2-9 season and an offseason that saw them add over 60 new players and a new coaching staff.
Kickoff Information
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo.
TV: SEC Network (Matt Barrie, Dan Mullen and Harry Lyles Jr.)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, Howard Richards, Chris Gervino)
Series history: Missouri 2-0
Spread: Missouri -47.5
Mizzou Injury Report
TE Jordon Harris: Questionable
DB Ja'Marion Wayne: Questionable
About Murray State
Ironically, the biggest advantage Murray State has going is that this current iteration of the team is brand new. Sixty-five players new players join the roster alongside a new head coach, two new offensive coordinators and a new defensive coordinator. So, the Racers have the element of surprise in this contest.
Jody Wright, the man leading the Racers as the head coach, has never been a coordinator in his career. He won a couple of championships at Alabama as a Director of Player Personnel, spent some time in the NFL as an offensive and defensive assistant for the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, respectively, and was South Carolina's tight ends coach the last two years.
If the Racers are anything like the Gamecocks then they'll want to throw the ball. Last season, they were 24th in the FBS in passing yards per game at 278 and 34th in pass attempts per game at 34.3.
Also, the tight ends could be a focal part of the offense like they were for South Carolina last year. Tight ends Trey Knox and Joshua Simon were the second and third leading receivers, respectively, behind wide receiver Xavier Legette.
Knox had 37 receptions for 312 yards and two touchdowns while Simon had 28 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
Jimmy Ogle, one of the Racers' offensive coordinators, was Jacksonville State's head coach from 2000-21 but has spent the last two years coaching high school football.
During Eli Drinkwitz's Media Day press conference last Sunday, he said the Racers are the team's most difficult Week 1 challenge in his five seasons of being Mizzou's head coach.
"Probably the most difficult opening game that we faced since I've been here," Drinkwitz said. "They have a whole new staff. Around 60 new players that they acquired, whether they were from high school or through the transfer portal. So, it's a real challenge to have any idea of what they're going to do schematically, whether we're talking offense, defense or special teams.
"It's not just the coaching staff, it's the combination of coaching staff and new players. This is a new area in college football. You could have a replacement of coaches before, but you could have been able to go back and looked at previous tape and say, 'Okay, well, they're returning this guy, this guy and this guy.'"
He also said the team has been looking at Hudl tape to find anything on Murray State's presumptive starting quarterback Jayden Johannsen.
Johannsen transferred from the South Dakota School of Mines where he was a Harlon Hill Award (NCAA Division II MVP) finalist in 2022.
In addition to Johannsen, so many players have joined the team at key positions that the Tigers are piecing together tape to see what they can study for their Week 1 opponent.
"They've showed us a little bit of everything," Mizzou safety Daylan Carnell said. "So, we're prepared for anything. It's not like really one thing we're keying in on. They have been showing us a bunch of different things that we could see so we're ready for it all."
At defensive coordinator, the Racers brought in Ryan Smith, who comes over from Florida A&M after helping lead the Rattlers to a Celebration Bowl (HBCU National Championship) win over Howard as their defensive coordinator.
FAMU had the second-best defense in the FCS at 260 yards per game. It ranked in the top 10 in the FCS in sacks, red zone defense and passing defense while ranking in the top five in interceptions, rushing defense, defensive touchdowns, tackles-for-loss, scoring defense, third down defense, and defensive pass efficiency.
On the field, one of the few returning players, defensive back Kanyon Walker, will lead the defense. Walker was named to the preseason Missouri Valley Football Conference team alongside offensive lineman Ashton Flinn. Walker recorded 54 tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass deflections in 11 games.
Bold prediction
Mizzou forces at least two turnovers.
Before you say that's not all that bold, in the Tigers' last five games versus FCS opponents they've only had multiple takeaways once. That came in 2022 when they had two versus Abilene Christian. In the other four games, they had one takeaway in three of them and no takeaways in the other one (last season versus South Dakota).
Even though Mizzou has to prepare for this game blind almost, it still shouldn't have a problem imposing its will and athleticism to make plays.
Bold predictions record: Last season: 11-8
Game Prediction
Jarod: Missouri is on a mission and obviously can’t afford to lose this game. It’ll be going into this game blind and it may take a couple of offensive and defensive possessions to figure out the Racers, but it should cruise to victory after that. I'll take Mizzou to win 41-6.
Gabe: First off, I'd never bet a game with a 47.5-point spread. I won't be shocked if Missouri covers it. I think the talent gap is that big. But I also think it's the first game with a lot of new faces, especially on defense, and there will probably be a couple of hiccups at some point or another. I think Mizzou can score almost at will in this one. Let's go 54-13 Tigers.
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