The Missouri Tigers 2024 football season begins against Murray State on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 11 in the preseason, setting up a good momentum for the hope of reaching the playoffs.  With the first game approaching, Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz is calling for fan support at Faurot Field.with a goal of a sell out crowd for their season opener.

The Missouri fans did just that, making this week’s game the sixth consecutive home sellout dating back to last year. 

“I know next week versus Murray State is the most important game we have and we need to sell it out,” said Drinkwitz. “We need to show the rest of the country we’re serious about our program.”

The Racers will make the trip from the Bluegrass state of Kentucky to take on Missouri in a unique Thursday night matchup. The Tigers have made the Thursday night opener somewhat of a modern tradition. This marks the third consecutive year the Tigers kickoff their season on the weekday.

The Tigers are 3-2 in their season openers over the last five years — having won the last three — and are currently sitting at 3-1 in season openers under the Drinkwitz regime. In turn, each victory has helped Missouri make a Bowl game appearance. 

As many Tiger fans know, last season culminated in a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State. While returning with a strong crop of talent from the season prior, the Tigers welcomed in several transfers expected to make an immediate impact. 

“We want to see an explosive offense,” Drinkwitz said. “ We want to see an offense that creates pressure through tempo. We want to see an offense that executes in situational football.”

Some new names to keep an eye out for are Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green and SMU transfer Marcus Bryant who will bolster the offensive line. They will be blocking for the incoming heirs to 2023 All-American Cody Schrader; transfer running backs Nate Noel from Appalachian State and Marcus Carroll from Georgia State. 

The Tigers’ week one depth chart cemented the idea that Missouri would split lead running back reps going into the season.

“I think those guys have good complementary football skills and they know how to play off each other,” Drinkwitz said.

Tiger fans will get their first look at Defensive Coordinator Corey Batoon’s newly implemented system. Michigan State transfer defensive end Zion Young and Florida transfer defensive tackle Chris McClellan will make their first appearances with the Tigers. They should each get plenty of opportunities to make some noise on the defensive front.

“Defensively, we want to see a group that stops the run, is multiple on third downs, wins situational football and is really good at tackling and taking the ball away,” said Drinkwitz.

The restyled secondary will showcase their capabilities this week as the Tigers will lean on an experienced position room, featuring junior Dreyden Norwood, graduate senior Joseph Charleston and junior Daylan Carnell. Junior Clemson transfer cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. will take the field alongside rising sophomores Nicholas Deloach Jr. and Marvin Burks Jr. who are stepping into larger roles.

“I think everybody wants to be excited to play,” Drinkwitz said. “You want those guys to have great energy on game day, […]  but you want to focus on the play mentality and make sure that you’re executing every play to the very best of your abilities.

Murray State appears to be a worthy first opponent for a largely unproven defense as the Racers will be looking to bounce back from a 2-9 record the season prior. Jody Wright is the new Head Coach for Murray State and brings SEC and NFL experience along with him. 

The difficulty in the matchup comes with the uncertainty of the Murray State squad. With a brand new coaching staff and an influx of new players, the Missouri coaching staff has plenty of ground to cover while preparing their team for game day.

Missouri coaches spent several days scouring the internet collecting past game film from any place they could find to give their guys as much information as they could.

“Coach Wright is an excellent football coach,” Drinkwitz said. “He does an outstanding job. He’s got experience in both SEC [and] pro level, and it’s been tremendous at all the different places and stops that he’s had before.”

Wright has a tall task to get the Racers back on track after averaging just 16.64 points per game  in 2023. Their defense allowed their opponents to double their scoring output throughout the season. They can spoil the Tigers season with a week one upset as they both appear to be entering new eras within their football programs.

“We just want to see how we compete compared to another team,” Drinkwitz said.  “Ultimately this is the measuring stick. You practice to get better, you don’t play the games to get better. You play the games to decide whether or not you’re going to win or lose. We’ll see where we’re at after we play this game.”

The teams will go head to head at Faurot Field 7 p.m, on Thursday, Aug. 29. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

Copy edited by Emma Short

Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com