Football Preview: Schedule

By Lee Zucker and Nick Forrester

Published Sept. 5, 2008

vs. Southeast Missouri State, Saturday:

After passing for a career-high 387 yards and three touchdowns against Southwest Baptist, senior quarterback Houston Lillard, the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week, will bring confidence onto Faurot Field on Saturday. The Redhawks' 35-28 overtime victory last week gave them an opportunity to showcase the conference's Defensive Player of the Week, junior cornerback Eddie Calvin, who had a career-high three interceptions in the first half alone. Both the Tigers and Redhawks will enter Saturday 1-0, but SEMO's proud performance against unranked Southwest Baptist might mean nothing on the turf of No. 6 Missouri.

vs. Nevada, Saturday, Sept. 13:

The Nevada Wolfpack will rely heavily on their pistol formation on offense, which is similar to a shotgun except the quarterback lines up closer to the center with the running back behind him. Sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick passed for 2,175 yards last season, throwing 19 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Not many are familiar with the pistol formation, so defensive coordinators will have their hands full trying to stop the Wolfpack offense this season. Nevada defensive coordinator Nigel Burton, former cornerback coach at Oregon State, will have a tough time this year with an inexperienced defense. If the defense can improve from last season, Nevada could be a dangerous team.

vs. Buffalo, Saturday, Sept. 20:

Missouri's first-ever meeting with Buffalo will pose a battle between the men in the backfield. Senior Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy earned praise after Buffalo's dominant performance against Texas-El Paso last week. Willy averaged 214 yards passing last year, yet Buffalo still finished the year 5-7. Willy's passing yards have increased significantly since 2005 when he began his college career, and ESPN now projects him to throw 2,652 yards this year. With a 1-0 record under his belt, the Tigers will have to keep Willy's confidence in check so it does not a threat to a shaky Missouri secondary.

at Nebraska, Saturday, Oct. 4:

Coming off of a disappointing season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will look to rebound in 2008. New coach Bo Pelini began his first season last week by defeating Western Michigan 47-24. The offense will be led by the Big 12's top returning rusher, senior tailback Marlon Lucky. Lucky ran for 1,019 yards in 2007 and had 75 catches out of the backfield. The defense has several question marks this season, with many inexperienced players. Missouri scored 41 points against Nebraska in 2007 and the Huskers will look to a rowdy crowd to prevent the Tigers from doing the same this season. Missouri has not won in Lincoln since 1978.

vs. Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 11:

Oklahoma State crushed Washington State last week in a 39-13 victory on the road. It's the road that might be the greatest advantage in this team's trip to Columbia on Oct. 11. In the last three games in the OSU-Missouri series, the visiting team won each of them. Last week, OSU's defense allowed only 196 yards and recorded a safety. The special teams brought OSU way ahead with a 42-yard punt return by Dez Bryant and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Perrish Cox.

at Texas, Saturday, Oct. 18:

Junior quarterback Colt McCoy will try to live up to the hype that has surrounded him since he started at UT. Tight end Blaine Irby and tailback Vondrell McGee, both sophomores, will aid McCoy. First-year defensive coordinator Will Muschamp expects to have a more aggressive Texas defense. Muschamp will have to start by replacing both defensive tackle positions. Missouri will face Texas the week after the Longhorns play Oklahoma. Under coach Mack Brown, Texas is 10-0 in the game immediately following Oklahoma, including four wins against ranked teams. Missouri has only won twice in Austin, with the last victory coming in 1896.

vs. Colorado, Saturday, Oct. 25 (Homecoming):

After Colorado's victory last week against Colorado State, the Buffaloes have now scored in their last 236 consecutive games - the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Although consistency might be a virtue, the Buffaloes won't go far if their strategy has not changed from last year's, when the Tigers beat Colorado 55-10 on the road. Last year's performance might not prove Colorado as competitive, but Missouri stands 4-4 all time with Colorado as a homecoming opponent. Colorado will look to sophomore quarterback Cody Hawkins, who set every major CU freshman passing and total offense record last season.

at Baylor, Saturday Nov. 1:

Since the Big 12 formed in 1996, Missouri is 6-0 against the Baylor Bears. Baylor will depend on junior wide receiver David Gettis to end that streak when the teams meet Nov. 1. After catching 31 passes last season, Gettis will look to have a breakout season in new coach Art Briles's spread offense. It will be up to freshman quarterback Robert Griffin to get Gettis the ball. In his first collegiate start against Wake Forest, Griffin was 11 for 19 with 125 yards.

vs. Kansas State, Saturday, Nov. 8:

In the first five seconds of Kansas State's 2008 opener, junior running back Keithen Valentine scored for the Wildcats. Although the team is young - seven Wildcats made their first starts last Saturday - its success against North Texas will only increase confidence. Coming off of a 5-7 losing season and a 17-point loss to the Tigers last year, K-State will fight to break Missouri's first three-game win streak against Kansas State since 1988.

at Iowa State, Saturday, Nov. 15:

Despite Iowa State's 3-9 record last season, the Cyclones are greatly anticipating this season. They knocked off both Kansas State and Colorado last November, and opened 2008 with a 44-17 victory against South Dakota State. Senior defensive end Kurtis Taylor will be a leader on defense. Taylor finished 2007 tied for second in the Big 12 with 6.5 sacks. Sophomore quarterback Austen Arnaud, who saw minimal playing time last year, will be the starter this season. In 2007, Arnaud was 20 for 37 with 267 yards and one interception. In his first game of 2008, Arnaud was 8 for 11 with 98 yards and one touchdown. The previous three games at Iowa State have been decided by seven or fewer points.

vs. Kansas, Saturday, Nov. 29, in Kansas City:

Kansas completed a great 2007 season with a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory. Junior quarterback Todd Reesing threw for 3,486 yards last season with 33 touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe started this year off with a bang by catching three touchdown passes last week against Florida International. Last year's epic game between No. 3 Missouri and No. 2 Kansas ended in a 36-28 victory for the Tigers. The two teams will conclude the regular season again this year at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.