Mizzou football vs. Murray State: Five things to know before Tigers’ season opener
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: College football is back!
Football returns in fewer than 48 hours at Faurot Field under some Thursday Night Lights. The Missouri Tigers are gearing up to open their season with just their third ever meeting with the Murray State Racers.
Thursday’s game kicks off a campaign filled with high expectations for the Tigers, who went 11-2 last season and won the Cotton Bowl.
Here’s everything you need to know before Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers welcome the Racers to Faurot Field…
Mizzou football vs. Murray State game details
Kickoff: 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29
Where: Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium (Columbia)
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Tiger Radio Network
Early betting line: Mizzou is a 48-point favorite (via Action Network).
Over/under: 57.5
Five Things to Know
The oddsmakers like a blowout ... again. There might still be some sour feelings from the last time Murray State came to Columbia in 2013. Under coach Gary Pinkel, the Tigers opened their season with a 58-14 win over the Racers. Mizzou finished 12-2 that year with a win over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl, while Murray State went 6-6 and finished tied for fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Racers are projected to finish last in their conference. Western Illinois finished last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in its final season in the league. But with the Leathernecks’ move to the OVC, there’s an open spot at the bottom ... and the conference poll gave it to the Racers in their second season in the league. Murray State is projected to finish last, one year after tying for tenth with Indiana State (both teams went 1-7 in conference play).
This is the second-largest opening line on the CFB slate this week. With Mizzou as a 48-point favorite, Thursday’s game just narrowly falls behind two matchups, both with a 48.5-point line according to FanDuel: Ohio State/Akron (OSU -48.5) and Arkansas/Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Arkansas -48.5).
The Racers have a new look. This is head coach Jody Wright’s first season at the helm of the Racers, and his first stop as a head coach. Wright’s resume includes stops with Alabama and South Carolina, as well as the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. Notably, Drinkwitz called it “the most difficult opening game” he’s faced since arriving in Columbia. “There isn’t really a way to watch Murray State film because they’ve got brand new offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators. Plus 60 new players,” Drinkwitz said at Sunday’s news conference. “You can watch their schemes from last year and try to see what their players are but they’re not going to be running the exact same stuff.”
QB Jayden Johannsen will make his Murray State debut on Thursday. Along with a new head coach and some 60 new players, there’s a new quarterback in town, too: 2022 Harlon Hill finalist Jayden Johannsen. A transfer from South Dakota Mines, Johannsen threw for 2,543 yards with a 65% completion percentage (233-for-357) and 29 touchdowns with the Rockers last season.
This story was originally published August 28, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
