How Missouri Is Preparing To Improve On The Road In 2025

ATLANTA -- Missouri football opens the 2025 season with six consecutive games at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers don't have to hit the road until Oct. 18, when Eli Drinkwitz & Co. head to The Plains to take on Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium, giving the team time to settle into the new season.

"It gives a new quarterback an opportunity to settle in in a new environment," Drinkwitz said. "We've played pretty well at home. Our fans have done an incredible job since we've been there in developing that as a home-field advantage for us, their support, believing in us."

Last season, the Tigers opened the season with four straight at home, going 4-0, but got destroyed in their first road game by Texas A&M in a 41-10 thrashing. Drinkwitz is taking steps this offseason to try and prevent that from happening in Auburn this fall."

"Last year, I feel like I let our team down by being unprepared to go to Texas A&M on the road," Drinkwitz said. "We were a step slow in just about everything we did, starting with me in the decision-making processes with our players. We're going to have to do a good job in fall camp of making sure we're ready when the opportunity does arise to go on the road, make sure our players understand what that routine is going to look like. We've built something into our fall camp training plans to replicate and simulate a road game for 48 hours."

Missouri went 2-3 on the road last year, with the only wins coming against Massachusetts and Mississippi State, two teams that went a combined 4-20 on the year. With Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold at quarterback for Auburn, Hugh Freeze's squad should prove a solid, but not incredibly difficult, test as Missouri's road opener.

"We're going to do a really good job of embracing playing at home for the first six, but also making sure we're prepared for that opportunity when we go to Jordan-Hare," Drinkwitz said.