Mizzou fans got a little changeup thrown at them on Wednesday afternoon with the announcement that the Tigers’ Week 3 home nonconference matchup with Troy will now be a nighttime kickoff instead of an early afternoon affair at Faurot Field.
The Tigers, who enter the 2026 season with a No. 25 ranking in the Preseason AP Poll, will now face Troy at 7 p.m. ET on Sept. 19. Originally, Mizzou was set to face the Trojans at 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network+, but despite the switch in kickoff time to under the lights SEC Network+ is still expected to carry the game, according to the report by PowerMizzou.com.
There was no immediate reason provided for the sudden time change just 24 days before the game matching the SEC’s Tigers against the Sun Belt’s Trojans. The September clash will be the 5th all-time meeting between the 2 programs and their first matchup since 2019. Mizzou rolled to a 42-10 victory over Troy in Columbia in that showdown, and the Tigers are 3-1 in their history against Troy, with the only loss coming in 2004 at Troy.
Interestingly, this is the 2nd consecutive year that Mizzou is moving the kickoff time for its Week 3 matchup. Last season, the Tigers moved their Week 3 game against Louisiana up 3 hours because of a forecast of extreme heat in Columbia.
Mizzou opens its 2026 season with a Thursday night showdown at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 3, with the game kicking off at 8 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Mizzou will be trying to become relevant in the SEC title discussion this fall, and the Tigers will of course be battling for a College Football Playoff spot, too. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the best odds for the elite teams to be part of that 12-team CFP field come December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
