Missouri Tigers vs. Troy Trojans: Kickoff time, TV, betting line, five things to know
The details
Kickoff: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Columbia, Missouri
TV: SEC Network
Betting line: Missouri by 25½
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Five things to know:
Troy comes to Columbia 2-2 after a tough loss to Arkansas State on Saturday: The Trojans are off to a slow start under first-year coach Chip Lindsey, who replaced Neal Brown after he went to West Virginia. The Trojans won 10 or more games in Brown’s final three seasons but dealt with some attrition and key graduation losses when he left.
Troy offense is as good as Missouri’s: The Trojans rank No. 12 nationally in total offense and is led by senior quarterback Kaleb Barker, who set a school record for completion percentage in 2018 at 73%. The Trojans haven’t scored less than 35 points in all four of its games.
Troy’s defense is not as good as Missouri’s: The Trojans rank No. 71 in total defense and have been inconsistent. The Tigers are up to No. 3 nationally in total defense and are playing at an elite level. Odds are MU’s defense is more likely to get off the field.
Yasir Durant and Trajan Jeffcoat could play this week: Barry Odom said Durant would play against South Carolina and then he didn’t, but said the injury was serious. Both would be huge additions, but MU should be able to win without them. Durant hurt his neck against SEMO and really pushed MU’s staff to let him play against the Gamecocks. Jeffcoat has been out since August with a sprained elbow and would give MU more depth on the defensive line.
A win would make MU 4-1 for the first time since 2015: Odom has struggled to get off to hot starts while coaching at MU and even though he can’t erase the Wyoming game, 4-1 would get MU on the outside looking in of the top 25 polls and set the Tigers up to still flirt with a 10-win season.
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 12:46 PM.