The Missouri Tigers have played some memorable Homecoming football games: a list

For more than a century, Mizzou football has hosted a Homecoming game, a tradition started by football coach Chester Brewer in 1911.

Since a 3-3 tie to Kansas that year, the Homecoming game hasn’t just been an annual staple of Mizzou’s football schedule. It has captured snapshots of the program’s fortunes throughout different decades — both good and bad.

Homecoming games have featured high peaks and low valleys (the Tigers are 68-40-5). Some of those losses have unfolded in classic Mizzou fashion: mind-boggling, hard-to-fathom exhibitions of silliness that make your local circus look like a corporate business meeting.

Besides, every program’s history is at least somewhat defined by its defeats. Stories of Auburn, Clemson and Florida (all of whom have Homecoming winning percentages similar to Mizzou’s) would be incomplete without mentioning the losses.

Here are a dozen-plus (OK, 14) Homecoming games that capture the history and flavor of Mizzou football.

No. 11: Mizzou 13, Kansas 13 (Nov. 22, 1958)

In terms of silliness, this one is right up there with the best of them.

Mizzou took a 13-0 lead into the fourth quarter, with the first touchdown coming courtesy of a downfield lateral from Ed Mehrer to Jerry Curtright. 

But Kansas scored a touchdown to bring the game within one possession, and with 18 seconds left, KU receiver Homer Floyd scored an 80-yard touchdown to tie the game at 13. A Jayhawk win seemed certain … until MU’s Dale Pidcock blocked the ensuing extra point. 

In the span of a few blinks, Mizzou had gone from a surefire win to a surfire loss to a heart-stopping tie.

No. 10: Middle Tennessee State 51, Mizzou 45 (Oct. 22, 2016)

The Barry Odom Era featured high-flying offenses and defenses that allowed a lot of high flying. Homecoming 2016 was exactly that.

Middle Tennessee State has always been a thorn in Mizzou’s side. The Blue Raiders took the Tigers to overtime in 2003 and almost beat them again 20 years later. 

But MTSU actually got the best of MU in 2016, winning a 51-45 shootout. The two teams combined for over 1,200 yards of offense and 12 touchdowns.

A last-ditch offensive drive from the Tigers fell short well before midfield. Almost seven months to the day of its men’s basketball team upsetting Michigan State in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in St. Louis, MTSU spoiled Homecoming about two hours west down I-70. The loss represents Mizzou’s last at Homecoming.

No. 9: Nebraska 16, Mizzou 14 (Oct. 30, 1965)

Nebraska dominated that regular season, going 10-0 before losing to Alabama in the Orange Bowl. The Cornhuskers won eight of their 10 games by more than one possession.

Mizzou’s efforts were more impressive considering that the Cornhuskers had outscored their first six opponents by 177 points.

In fact, MU’s near-takedown of a Goliath was so impressive that, despite sitting at 4-2-1 and coming off a loss, the Tigers entered the following week’s AP poll at No. 9 (the AP poll wouldn’t include 20 teams until 1968). It also probably helped that Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 9 all lost that week.

Mizzou ended the season strong, winning its last three regular-season games in dominant fashion before beating Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Its final AP ranking of No. 6 tied for the second-highest in program history.

Four games from 1972-76 ...

These four games come in tied, so we’re listing them all.

• No. 8: Mizzou 20, Colorado 17 (Oct. 28, 1972)
• Mizzou 13, Oklahoma State 9 (Oct. 20, 1973)
• Mizzou 9, Arizona State 0 (Sept. 28, 1974)
• Iowa State 21, Mizzou 17 (Oct. 16, 1976)

Mizzou football in the 1970s was defined by beating good teams, losing to not-so-good teams and tallying mind-boggling results. These four games exemplify such.

In 1972, Mizzou lost 62-0 to No. 6 Nebraska, then upset No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 7 Colorado in consecutive weeks. Naturally, the Tigers finished 6-6.

The following season, Mizzou started 6-0, including a win over No. 2 Nebraska. The Tigers followed with a 13-9 victory over Oklahoma State (which finished 5-4-2) on Homecoming. However, MU would stumble down the stretch, losing four of its last five regular-season games (two of which came against unranked teams).

In 1974, Mizzou put together the following four-game stretch. The Tigers beat No. 7 Arizona State, lost to unranked Wisconsin by 39 points, beat No. 5 Nebraska and lost to unranked Oklahoma State by 24 points. They’d finish the season 7-4.

In 1976, Mizzou tallied what is arguably the greatest 6-5 season in college football history. The Tigers beat five teams ranked in that week’s AP poll, but three of their losses were to unranked teams, including Iowa State on Homecoming. If there’s any consolation, the Cyclones finished the season 8-3.

No. 7: Mizzou 7, Oklahoma 6 (Nov. 18, 1939)

Paul Christman was a legendary quarterback who logged some legendary games at Mizzou. This day, however, was not one of those games, as he completed just seven of 15 passes for 39 yards.

Lucky for him, MU’s defense and special teams picked up the slack. In the third quarter, Oklahoma lined up to punt in its own end zone. MU’s Charley Moser was able to get a hand on the punt, and the ball went straight up into the air. Like a basketball player grabbing a rebound, Bob Orf leapt over a crowd of men and came down with the ball for the first score of the game. Ron King converted the extra point to put Mizzou up 7-0.

In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma scored a touchdown. But OU kicker Dick Favor did Mizzou a favor by missing the ensuing extra point. The Tiger defense stonewalled a late-game drive from the Sooners, and for the first time since the Big 6 was created in 1928, the conference title went to Mizzou. The Tigers would play in the Orange Bowl, where they’d fall to No. 16 Georgia Tech 21-7.

No. 6: South Carolina 27, Mizzou 24, 2 OT (Oct. 26, 2013)

Entering Homecoming, Mizzou was 7-0 and ranked No. 5 in the nation. Entering the fourth quarter, the Tigers led No. 21 South Carolina 17-0.

And then it all fell apart.

The Gamecocks offense went on three straight scoring drives, while the Tigers stalled. In the first overtime, both teams traded touchdowns, and in the second overtime, South Carolina kicker Elliott Fry put his team ahead with a 40-yard field goal. 

Andrew Baggett, who missed a 46-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, had a chance to extend the game with a 24-yard chip shot on the ensuing possession. But his kick doinked off the left upright, and stunningly, Mizzou was undefeated no more.

This game didn’t end up costing Mizzou much in the long run. It still made the SEC title game, losing by 17 points to Auburn. Had the Tigers won that game, they likely would have met Florida State in the BCS national championship.

No. 5: Mizzou 21, Auburn 17 (Oct. 19, 2024)

This past October, Homecoming was saved by quarterback Brady Cook. That sounds normal until you realize Cook wasn’t physically in Memorial Stadium for most of the contest.

Cook, who went down with an ankle injury early in the first quarter, spent much of the game at University Hospital before making a Willis Reed-esque return late in the third quarter. 

With Mizzou down 17-6, Cook led a quick scoring drive on the back of a 78-yard catch-and-run by Mookie Cooper. Late in the fourth quarter, Cook led a 17-play, 95-yard, game-winning touchdown drive that featured a 14-yard scramble on third-and-7 and a completion to Luther Burden III on fourth-and-5.

Since 2023, Mizzou is 10-1 in one-possession games, which helped the program achieve consecutive double-digit win seasons for just the third time in its history. This thriller was one of its wildest acts.

No. 4: Mizzou 41, Kansas State 38 (Nov. 1, 1969)

Mizzou’s and Kansas State’s football histories aren’t exactly glamorous. But in 1969, they met with a lot on the line. MU was ranked No. 14 in the nation, having suffered its first loss of the season to 3-2 Colorado the week prior. KSU was ranked No. 12, having entered the AP poll for the first time ever the week prior.

The high-powered offenses were on fire in this game, as they combined for 1,300 yards of offense. MU’s John Staggers had a passing touchdown, receiving touchdown and kickoff return touchdown. 

The Wildcats erased a 16-point deficit, taking a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter, but Mizzou rattled off consecutive touchdown drives to take a 41-31 lead. Dispute a late push from the Wildcats, an interception by MU’s Jerry Boyd in the final minute sealed a 41-38 Mizzou victory.

The two teams would go in opposite directions after this game. MU whooped its final three opponents to clinch an Orange Bowl appearance, where it would lose 10-3 to No. 2 Penn State. 

Kansas State wouldn’t win another game, ending the season on a four-game losing streak and missing the postseason entirely.

No. 3: Kansas 23, Mizzou 7/Mizzou 1, Kansas 0 (Nov. 19, 1960)

This was the closest Mizzou has ever come to winning a national championship, as the Tigers entered the 1960 regular season finale undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country. Since the national champion was determined by AP poll voters at the end of the regular season, a win over Kansas would mean some new hardware — and respect — for the Tigers.

But the hardware never came their way, as the Jayhawks romped to a 23-7 victory on the back of fullback Bert Coan, who scored two touchdowns.

A national title eluded Mizzou, but the story wasn’t done. After the season, the NCAA punished Kansas for tampering with Coan when he was transferring from TCU. Bud Adams, a KU grad who would go on to own the Tennessee Titans, paid for a plane ticket that took Coan to an All-Star game in Chicago. 

The NCAA made Kansas forfeit two games, including its win over Mizzou. The Tigers would beat No. 4 Navy in the Orange Bowl, but the damage had already been done.

No. 2: Mizzou 27, Iowa State 24, OT (Oct. 15, 2005)

What happened on the field was noteworthy enough.

Mizzou went up 14-0 early, as two defensive touchdowns had Memorial Stadium rocking. But Iowa State would score 24 unanswered points and deliver a literal knockout blow when Brad Smith exited the game with a head injury.

With the Tigers in disarray, a freshman backup quarterback named Chase Daniel entered the game and righted the ship. He led two lengthy scoring drives, the latter of which ended with a game-tying four-yard touchdown pass to Sean Coffey with 20 seconds left that sent the game to overtime.

After ISU kicker Bret Culbertson missed a 43-yard attempt on the opening drive of OT, Adam Crossett buried a 26-yard field goal to complete an epic comeback. He ran to the opposite 25-yard line as a tribute to Aaron O’Neal, a freshman MU football player who died of heatstroke after a workout that August. O’Neal wore No. 25.

What amplified this game was all that happened in the months — and years — to come. Mizzou finished the season 6-5 and made a 21-point comeback to win the Independence Bowl over South Carolina. 

From 2006-14, the Tigers reached new heights, winning 70% of their games, appearing in four conference title games and finishing in the final AP poll five times. The early part of that success was led by Daniel, the same quarterback who captained Mizzou to the win over Iowa State.

Had the Tigers not come back against the Cyclones, they might not have made a bowl game, and Gary Pinkel would’ve had four losing records under his belt in just five seasons at Mizzou. All of the future success might not have happened if MU didn’t beat Iowa State.

No. 1: Mizzou 36, Oklahoma 27 (Oct. 23, 2010)

This wasn’t just a pantheon win in program history. This was one of the best days in program history.

ESPN’s College GameDay made its first (and only) trip to Columbia, a rare instance of Mizzou being the center of college football. An estimated 18,000 people packed Francis Quadrangle, which shattered the show’s previous attendance record. 

Many stuck around for the Homecoming parade, then ventured to Memorial Stadium to watch Mizzou play Oklahoma under the lights. The Sooners were ranked No. 3 in the AP poll, but No. 1 in the BCS.

It didn’t take long for the Tigers to electrify. Gahn McGaffie took the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, and Memorial Stadium became a hurricane of elation. Both teams went back and forth for most of the game, as the score was within one possession until the fourth quarter.

Down nine points with two seconds left, Oklahoma tried a desperate series of laterals in hopes of shrinking its margin of defeat. But a forward lateral from OU quarterback Landry Jones skipped out of bounds, and Memorial Stadium became a frenzied sea of gold. 

Fans poured onto the field in celebration. Marching Mizzou started a dance party at midfield. A dog was even given the Lion King treatment.

The goalposts in the north end zone were taken down and brought to Harpo’s. The yellow sticks had never made this kind of journey before, as they were being carried by people in a spontaneous wave of celebration. Parts of the goalposts are still scattered in different establishments throughout town.

This game didn’t have the same kind of historical ramifications as the previous two on this list. Mizzou finished 10-3 with an Insight Bowl loss to Iowa. But the collective awesomeness of that day, from College GameDay to the Homecoming parade, made this the best Homecoming game in school history.

Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 4:50 PM.