What Can Mizzou Gain from Non-Conference Play?: The Extra Point

Welcome to Missouri Tigers On SI's "Extra Point," a video series featuring the site's Missouri beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers provide analysis on a topic concerning the Tigers or the landscape of college sports.

Most non-conference games for Power Four teams are just a chance to host a sacrificial lamb to add an easy win to the record. Especially with the ongoing expansion of the College Football Playoff field, there's not much incentive for teams to book a difficult or entertaining matchup.

But for the Missouri Tigers, the non-conference slate could serve a few purposes this season.

The Tigers will be rolling out a new-look team, replacing starters at 11 different positions, including quarterback. Some of those competitions could extend into Week 1 of the season, seeing how players react in an actual game scenario.

No matter how much the team tries to build chemistry and find an identity in practice, there's no test like an actual game. Expect head coach Eli Drinkwitz to use the early weeks of the season to put his team into a handful of different scenarios to learn the most about his team.

"I think the first part of the season is about eliminating bad football," Drinkwitz said ahead of last season's opener against Murray State. "It's about seeing the issues on tape and figuring out how to win football games and then slowly get those issues off tape, and then figuring out the identity of your team and playing to those strengths.

The early season is also important just for the team to get back into the rhythm of the season and wear off the rust of months without physical contact.

"I think obviously penalties and special team situations and turnovers and tackling are usually the things that show up the most," Drinkwitz said of the errors typical of Week 1 games. "And that's typical for any extended delay in playing the game."

Missouri won't have too much time to throw ideas at the wall though. After opening the season against Central Arkansas, the Tigers will host former Big 12 rival Kansas. Rivalry games, especially with the tension and anticipation for a matchup that hasn't been played in over a decade, are always a recipe for chaos.

Missouri Tigers' 2025 Football Full Schedule

Week 1, Aug. 28: vs. Central Arkansas, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
Week 2, Sept 6: vs Kansas, 2:30 p.m., ESPN 2
Week 3: Sept 13: vs. Louisiana, 3 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+
Week 4, Sept. 20: vs. South Carolina
Week 5, Sept. 27: vs. UMass - Homecoming
Week 6, Oct. 4: BYE
Week 7, Oct. 11: vs. Alabama
Week 8, Oct. 18: at Auburn
Week 9, Oct. 25: at Vanderbilt
Week 10: BYE
Week 11, Nov. 8: vs. Texas A&M
Week 12, Nov. 15: vs. Mississippi State
Week 13, Nov. 22: at Oklahoma
Week 14, Nov. 29: at Arkansas