Victoria Montgomery
Missouri kicker Robert Meyer kicks the football against South Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. Meyer took over the position of starting kicker after Missouri’s Blake Craig tore his ACL during the first game of the season against Central Arkansas.
Missouri Tigers football enters their 114th homecoming football game with a season record of 4-0, fresh off a 29-20 win over South Carolina. Last season’s homecoming matchup was a nail-biting comeback win against Auburn, but this year’s opponent should cause less trouble.
The University of Massachusetts Minutemen return to Columbia after their bout in 2024 for the program’s second game in history against each other. Last season, the Tigers won decisively 45-3. Missouri boasts an all-time homecoming record of 68-40-5 going into its matchup with UMass.
Scouting the Minutemen
UMass enters this contest 0-3 coming off a bye week. Graduate student Grant Jordan and redshirt junior Brandon Rose are the only two quarterbacks who have taken meaningful snaps for the Minutemen. Each have zero touchdowns and one interception apiece.
Redshirt junior Rocko Griffin is the lead man in the backfield, tallying 149 rush yards, one touchdown and 4.7 yards per carry. However, the Missouri defense should shut down Griffin as they have held their opponents to just 2.9 yards per carry.
On the defensive end, UMass is letting up 38.67 points per game and have looked particularly shaky when passing. In three games, opposing offenses have averaged 276 passing yards per game and the Minutemen defense has allowed 11 total passing touchdowns.
Keys for the Tigers
Missouri should continue what has been working — feeding the running backs. The rushing attack has outweighed the passing game 1,192 yards to 1,025 yards. Sophomore Ahmad Hardy and redshirt sophomore Jamal Roberts combined for 214 rushing yards against South Carolina.
This game should also serve as an opportunity for graduate quarterback Beau Pribula to improve his accuracy after throwing an interception in two consecutive weeks.
The defense should continue to ride its momentum after coming off a season-best five sacks. Missouri’s pass rushers need to create pressure and force turnovers, as they’ve totaled four sacks and two turnovers against their other two mid-major opponents.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, from Faurot Field.
Edited by Killian Wright | [email protected]
Copy edited by Chase Pray | [email protected]
Edited by Alex Gribb | [email protected]