Nobody should expect much other than a Missouri romp when the No. 24-ranked Tigers welcome Southeast Missouri State into Columbia on Saturday, but the game offers the first look at the two-time defending SEC East champions and should give at least some idea how Mizzou has addressed some of its bigger concerns from the offseason.

The Redhawks, who haven’t made the FCS playoffs since 2010 and finished just 5-7 and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley last year, shouldn’t provide much more than a tuneup for the Tigers and a $385,000 payday for the Southeast Missouri athletic department.

But at least it’s game action for a Missouri team that has some serious question marks at positions such as wide receiver. And the Redhawks aren’t completely devoid of talent, featuring a few players who had opportunities to play at FBS programs.

Here’s a look at five players fans of both Missouri and Southeast Missouri State should be familiar with heading into Saturday’s season opener.

1.RB Russell Hansbrough (Missouri): The leading returning rusher on a Missouri team that could favor the run more after losing their top three receivers from a year ago. Hansbrough is overshadowed in the SEC East by Georgia’s Nick Chubb, but after rushing for 1,084 yards last year he could be a contender for all-conference honors this season. The Tigers probably won’t want to give future opponents much to see on film from this game, which could lead to a vanilla playbook and lots of handoffs to Hansbrough, at least until the score is out of hand and the backups come in.

2. QB Tay Bender (Southeast Missouri State): If the Redhawks are going to have a chance in this one it’s likely going to have to be because of an outstanding game from their new quarterback. Bender, a three-star recruit and the No. 20 dual-threat quarterback in the country coming out of high school, was once an early enrollee at Kansas State. But he left the Wildcats before what would have been his freshman season and transferred to Iowa Western Community College before transferring again this year to Southeast Missouri. The talent is certainly there for Bender and he may be able to keep the Mizzou defense off balance.

3. QB Maty Mauk (Missouri): For Missouri, Mauk is always a player to keep an eye on because it’s hard to guess which version of the Tigers quarterback is going to show up. Will it be the absolute mess who threw for 97 yards and four interceptions against Georgia last year or the Maty Mauk capable of leading the Tigers to six straight SEC wins to close out the 2014 regular season. The passing game overall is a concern and Mauk threw for less than 200 yards eight times last year. This game needs to be one in which Mauk can be efficient and gain confidence.

4. LB Kentrell Brothers (Missouri): With 122 tackles last year, Brothers leads all returning players in the SEC and is looking for another huge season to wrap up his Missouri career. Like the offense, the Missouri defense probably isn’t going to use to many sophisticated packages or blitzing schemes if they don’t have to, so the Tigers will rely on solid, steady tacklers such as Brothers to do their job and make plays without a lot of glitz and glamour. You might have to pay attention to notice how well Brothers is doing, otherwise you’ll be surprised to see him with double-digit tackles by game’s end.

5. CB Kenya Dennis (Missouri): Dennis led the Tigers with five interceptions last season and also had nine passes defended. He’s developed into a leader of the secondary and the defense as a whole. Considering the Redhawks will be relying heavily on their quarterback to keep it close, the Tigers would love to see a dominating performance out of their defensive backs and that starts with Dennis.

OTHERS TO WATCH ON MISSOURI: C Evan Boehm, S Ian Simon, TE Sean Culkin, WR Nate Brown.

OTHERS TO WATCH ON SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: RB Tremane McCoullough, K Ryan McCrum, DL Marlon Hampton.