Mizzou football faces reigning national champ LSU and Alabama in updated 2020 schedule
The Missouri Tigers now know exactly who they’re playing this fall in their revised 2020 schedule — and compared to what it was before, suffice to say it’s no cakewalk.
The Southeastern Conference announced Friday the Tigers’ two newest opponents: the Alabama Crimson Tide at Faurot Field and reigning College Football Playoff national champion LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
It doesn’t matter if Mizzou fans want Bama — they get Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide anyway. And don’t forget the reigning national champs, in Ed Orgeron’s Tigers. The USA Today coaches’ preseason poll had LSU ranked No. 5; Alabama was No. 3, the SEC’s highest-ranked team.
The league altered its schedule last week because of the COVID-19 pandemic, going from its normal 12 games (eight conference, four non-conference) to a 10-game, SEC-only slate.
MU athletic director Jim Sterk said flexibility was key as the SEC adjusted to the difficulties presented by the novel coronavirus.
“We made every effort to create a schedule that is as competitive as possible and builds on the existing eight Conference games that had already been scheduled for 2020,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “This schedule is a one-year anomaly that we have developed under unique circumstances presented by the impact of COVID-19.”
Mizzou last played LSU during the 2016 season, and LSU won 42-7. The Crimson Tide and Tigers matched up during the 2018 season, when a Drew Lock-led Mizzou squad lost 39-10 on the road.
The Tigers’ original schedule had included Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, BYU and Louisiana-Lafayette for MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s first season at the helm. Now, they’ve traded those relatively easier games for a pair of brawls against the SEC’s elite.
Mizzou still has its six SEC East opponents on the schedule, too, in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Kentucky. And the Tigers’ annual protected rival, Arkansas, is also still there, with that game likely to be played at Faurot Field instead of Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. Mississippi State was the Tigers’ rotational SEC West opponent.
The next step is to figure out when the Tigers will play each of their opponents. The league said it plans to announce those dates within the next two weeks.
Mizzou’s season opener was pushed back to Sept. 26 instead of its previously scheduled date of Sept. 5. Sterk said that change was made primarily in case there were any outbreaks among football teams as other students began to return to their respective campuses.
Mizzou also saw two games, Vanderbilt (Sept. 12) and at South Carolina (Sept. 19), changed to accommodate the new start date of Sept. 26.
The Tigers are scheduled to kick off training camp Aug. 17. Football players and staff members will be tested at least twice per week during the season as part of the SEC’s COVID-19 protocols.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 5:24 PM.