Football schedule to benefit Tigers

The Tigers are not scheduled to play Oklahoma for the next two years.

By Mike Bushnell

Published Nov. 9, 2007

Since the home schedule ends for No. 6 Missouri on Saturday, it's only natural to look toward the 2008 season and the cupcake teams the Tigers will face.

If this season's early tests against Illinois in St. Louis and Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., weren't too exciting, next year the Tigers play all four of their non-conference games in Missouri.

After the now-annual Arch Rivalry game at the Edward Jones Dome against the Fighting Illini, the Tigers face far from a murderer's row of Southeast Missouri State, Nevada and Buffalo.

The latter two teams are an incredible 9-10 so far this season, and just last year Buffalo lost 10 games.

Their conference schedule shapes up pretty favorably as well.

The Tigers don't play Oklahoma in 2008 or 2009, and while they do have to travel to Texas, they also get to face three rebuilding teams on the road in Nebraska, Baylor and Iowa State.

The Tigers' home tests aren't much harder.

Oklahoma State has always been just decent, and although Colorado should be better in 2008, there's no reason why an even more experienced Chase Daniel can't pick through that porous pass defense again.

MU also plays host to Kansas State on Nov. 8. The only bad hand is that 2008 will be Missouri's turn to surrender a home game against Kansas.

That game will be played on Thanksgiving weekend in Kansas City, Mo.

Even in 2009, with either Blaine Dalton or potentially Blaine Gabbert at quarterback, the Tigers face Illinois, Southern Methodist, Bowling Green and a trip to Nevada in their non-conference schedule.

As good as this season has been so far for Missouri, the relatively easy schedules MU faces in 2008-2009 could help ensure that MU stays near the top of the Big 12 North through the rest of the decade.