After a lengthy offseason that saw numeorus transfers brought in, coaches and players alike depart, and a number of tough position battles won, the Missouri Tigers will at long last play football later this week.
The past two seasons have been very impressive for Mizzou, by any standards. In two straight years, they have found themselves highly ranked, winning double-digit games, and even winning two major bowl games, most notebaly agaisnt Ohio State in 2023, who would go on to win the National Championship the following season.
All thats great, but how do they continue that momentum into a fully new season, one without much of the players that made those runs so special?
Theres a number of factors that head coach Eliah Drinkwitz will be keeping in mind as he coaches the start of his sixth season with the Tigers from the sideline. Above everything that'll happen in the game, the most important thing to get Mizzou started off right is with their quarterback situation.
1. Establishing the QB1 Early
All offseason long, fans of the team, as well as players have watched as the two top quaterback prospects battle it out for the week 1 starting spot.
On the one hand, redshirt junior Sam Horn has pateintly waited his turn behind now-New York Jet Brady Cook for the past three seasons, ready at every moment, and also practicing for his own moment, which was assumed to be this season.
However, the team was lucky enough to bring in senior Beau Pribula this past offseason, who transferred from Penn State, after their star quarterback Drew Allar decided to stick back with the Nittnany Lions for an extra season. Pribula saw an opportunity to play significant minutes for a top program in the SEC Conference, and ran with it.
Both of them big names and fan favorites, and coaches rave about them equally. However, neither one has yet to win the starting job, and recently, Coach Drinkwitz announced that both would play agaisnt Central Arkansas to see who is more "game-ready".
While it is nice to see confidence in both players, two quaterbacks with different candences and styles can be a bit confusing for an offense.
If the Tigers are serious about taking this one home, they'll need to put the Bears away early, and going back and forth on their quaterbacks mid game is no way to succesfully get that done.
2. Take Advantage of the O-Line
Recently, coaches have noted a lot of potential from an offensive line unit that lost talent in the offseason. With Armand Membou being drafted with a top pick, and Marcus Bryant joining him in the NFL later on in the draft, it seemed as if this group could be slightly underwhelming in 2025.
However, recuritment did their job and brought in replacements, while offensive line coaches did their job as well, and suddenly, the room looks deeper than it has in past seasons.
For one, they brought in highly-touted guard Cayden Green, who last played for the Oklahoma Sooners, making just five starts.
He's been projected to be one of the top lineman this season, and, even after switching to tackle for the first time in his career, was named to the first team Coaches' Preseason All-SEC team, and the AP and ESPN All-American squad. Expectations are truly high for him.
The team also brought in Dominick Giudice from Michigan, and have seen impressive strides from Curtis Peagler and Connor Tollison, who also started last season.
The Tigers have made it clear that their second unit is among the strongest in the NCAA as well, meaning they have depth that some programs can only dream of.
So, with a line this deep, why not get your young running backs involved early, lessening the pressure of the two quaterbacks who will be playing significant snaps.
The run game might easily be the bread and butter of the offense this season, so using the strong offensive line to their advantage might be one of the keys to victory come Thursday night.
Overall, this team has a lot to do in game 1 to prepare themselves for whats to come later on in the year. Drinkwitz has built up a strong program of guys ready to play ball, now they just need to piece everything together, and get started right.
As long as they stay true to the two things above, the sky is the limit for this program in general, not even just for Thursday night's duel.
Drinkwitz and co. will look to avoid the upset versus Central Arkansas on Thursday evening, from Faurot Field in Columbia.