For the first time since 2008, No. 9 Mizzou (1-0) will host Buffalo (1-0) in what is the two programs' second all-time matchup.
Last week, Missouri cruised to a 51-0 win over Murray State, while the Bulls defeated the reigning Patriot League champs, Lafayette, 30-13.
Kickoff Information
Time: Sept. 7 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo.
TV: SEC Network+ (Lowell Galindo, Fozzy Whitaker)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, Howard Richards, Chris Gervino)
Series history: Missouri 1-0
Spread: Mizzou -34.5
Mizzou Injury Report
TE Brett Norfleet: Out
About Buffalo
The Bulls are entering their second game with Pete Lembo as the head coach. Lembo was the special teams coordinator for South Carolina (2021-23), Memphis (2019-20) and Rice (2018) for the last six seasons.
He helped the Gamecocks have one of the better special teams unit during his three-year stint in Columbia, South Carolina with the team recording 14 blocked field goals in his tenure. Previously, South Carolina had just eight blocks from 2016-2020.
The Gamecocks were 20th in the nation in punt yards per game at 223.0 on 5.3 attempts per game. They were also 17th in field goal percentage at 85.7%.
Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude comes to the team after spending last season at Virginia as a senior offensive analyst. The year before that he was hired to be the offensive coordinator at Old Dominion but resigned before the season. His last stint as an offensive coordinator was 2019-21 at Georgia Tech where he introduced the Yellow Jackets to the spread offense.
For Buffalo, you can expect them to do some zone-reads and read options to supplement the run game. In the passing game, expect a couple of deep shots sprinkled in among a slew of short passes to the sideline.
Quarterback C.J. Ogbonna has experience playing at Faurot Field. He was on the 2021 SEMO team that lost 59-28 to the Tigers in Week 3 of that season. He completed 7-of-14 passes for 56 yards and an interception but had a game-high 96 yards on 12 carries.
"That's going to be the challenge this week. Obviously, we've got to do a good job in the read game," Drinkwitz said. "They try to get on your edges through zone read, plus-one run schemes and options. So, we're going to have to be disciplined and multiple in the way we're challenging those reading schemes."
Joe Bowen is entering his first season with the Bulls as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after spending the last two seasons at Miami (OH).
In 2022, Miami led the Mid-Atlantic Conference in total and scoring defense. Last season, he helped lead the school to the MAC Championship with the nation's 26th-ranked defense.
The RedHawks had linebacker Matt Sapolek, the 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, leading Bowen's defense, and now he has linebacker Shaun Dolac, a MAC Defensive Player of the Year caliber player in his own right, at his disposal.
"(He's a) really good player. A guy that pops all over the tape," Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. ... "You can tell he studies tape and that he's a very smart, physical player at the point of contact. They utilize him in the box, out of the box and they pressure with him. So, he's a really good player. It's going to be a real challenge for us. He's consistent with what you see in our league. He's a guy that as we work off combo blocks, we're going to have to make sure we can get to him. Otherwise, he'll make the tackle, and we're going to have to know where he is in pass coverage and not make a mistake with the ball because he's got really good hands."
Dolac was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week last week after recording 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. He missed all but four games last year but the year he was a first-team All-MAC selection.
Bold prediction
1. Brady Cook gets at least three touchdown passes.
One of the very few negatives about Mizzou's blowout win over Murray State was quarterback Brady Cook's deep throw inaccuracy. He overthrew four deep passes, which would've all led to touchdowns.
He still had a solid game going 19-of-30 for 218 yards and a touchdown. He also had four carries for 22 yards and a touchdown.
We believe Cook bounces back and puts three touchdown passes on the board.
Bold predictions record: Last week: 1-0, Season 1-0
Game Prediction
Jarod: Is this an uptick in competition over Murray State? Yes. Will Mizzou struggle? No. Missouri should have its way in just about every facet of the game. Buffalo has inexperienced receivers and Ogbonna isn't the most efficient passer. The Bulls will likely get on the board, but I don't think their score will affect the outcome of the game. Missouri gets the win 44-7.
Gabe: This won't be last week. It won't be 21-0 five and a half minutes in. I'm not confident enough to make a red solo cup proclamation on it, but I think it will be a game a little bit longer. That said, this isn't a game I can see a path to Missouri losing and I expect to see backups for the fourth quarter. I think the passing game gets going and settles some of the fears from last week. 45-13 Mizzou wins but doesn't quite cover.
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