MIZZOU
The Missouri Tigers have filled out some of their upcoming schedules, but the games aren’t exactly against big-time opponents.
According to a report from FBSchedules.com, the Tigers recently added five total non-conference games to their future schedules.
Per the report, the Tigers will take on MAC foe Buffalo in Columbia on Sept. 7, 2024. Missouri also reportedly added games against Southeast Missouri (SEMO), Murray State and South Dakota to their schedules.
In addition to playing SEMO in 2019, the Tigers will now play their in-state foes in 2021 and 2023. The game against Murray State, an Ohio Valley Conference squad like SEMO, will occur in 2024. The South Dakota contest will take place in 2022, with all games being played at Faurot Field.
As SEC conversations continues to center around moving to a nine-game conference schedule, the Tigers are making some interesting scheduling decisions.
Probably the programs who demanded the least pay-out. That new south addition is great but it’s going to soak up a lot of cash.
So why schedule opponents no one wants to freaking see? Kind of hard to get fans excited about SEMO and South Dakota. This is what I hate about Mizzou, we rarely have interesting non con games. And it certainly doesn’t help recruiting.
Thanks for adding a very good point. Personally i think it’s a gamble that fans will attend with more wins late in the year better than evenly matched football games. Yes that makes less excitement for x-players and coaches, or even studied fans, but Sterk was hired on his black ink record. I really think he will succeed at that and ultimately black ink is what will give Missouri the option to stay competitive in SEC football and every other sport. My humble opinion.
Our other sec compadres have pretty much taken every available power multi directional in Louisiana and Arkansas state, not to mention Troy, open dates instead of weak ads teams mizzou schedules like. Memphis, UFC, and those nobodies in the mac, who consistly pull off upsets vs D1 power houses. Yeah , seems strange.
I’d like to see MU spread the games around to other in-state schools besides only SEMO. MSU was good, doesn’t Warrensburg and Kirksville have teams. It’s good for fan-base, recruiting in-state, coach-coach relations with high schools. And of course I’d like to see Kansas and Illinois every year in KC and STL.
Why would anyone want the tigers to play somewhere besides Faurot Field? Neutral site games ruin college football.
Faurot was such a badly maintained stadium for so long, it made sense to play the offsite “home” games, but has largely been rectified and will be “fixed” as of 2020, so I agree, the game and thus “game day” experience is tied to the local of the home team. In the SEC that is especially true and is part of the need for Mizzou to “step it up” for the SEC.
Northwest Missouri State will hopefully be in the hunt for another Division II championship this year. That’s an amazing record they have. It’s does not make sense for them to play a program that has rule advantages. And it not good for Mizzou even to win these games against anyone but Division I opponents.
Not everyone wants to land in CoMo 8 times a year. People in KC and STL, two large markets for media, recruiting, donors, future fans, all appreciate an annual game – a game that Kansas and Illinois like for the same markets. Ruin is not really a decent description of results for a neutral site, but especially for MU’s situation. It also brings student enrollees to CoMO. Illinois and Kansas are better foes than Middle Tennessee and meets our Power Five reguirements. More reasons? Less payola than for a chumped up softee schedule.
Stadium condition is about a #4 reasons for fans to go or not go, and “college game day experience” can still happen 6 times a year with 1 FCS at home, a paid off W at home, and 4 SEC homers. Neutrals in STL and KC with real rivalries are better for MU as a school and as a football team than reciprocal travel every other year to a non-rival.