Mizzou Football's 2024 Schedule: Did the Tigers Get Best-Case Scenario?
A lot has changed since the Southeastern Conference revealed the 2023 football schedule in September a year ago.
Missouri football was in the beginning stages of a mediocre season, Dennis Gates had yet to coach his first game for its men's basketball program, and neither Texas nor Oklahoma were a part of the SEC yet.
Now, Missouri football is preparing for a date in Arlington, Texas, with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, a far cry from the Gasparilla Bowl with Wake Forest last year.
The newfound success has flipped the Tigers from the bottom of the SEC to the top, meaning there are higher expectations for 2024.
The expectation is being a College Football Playoff team, and luckily for Missouri, the 12-team expansion and its 2024 schedule make that possibility seem legitimate.
The SEC teams Missouri will play next season have been known for months – Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt – but the way the schedule lines up adds a whole new layer.
Once again, the Tigers will kick off SEC play against Vanderbilt in Week 4, a team it defeated 38-21 this season. The Commodores finished dead-last in the SEC, losing all eight of its league games. Next year's matchup should play out no differently.
College football's new addition of two bye weeks kicks in the following week, before visiting Texas A&M in Week 6. The Aggies will likely be the first true test of the season for Missouri, so the bye week could prove to be crucial in preparing for it.
After visiting Massachusetts in Week 7, Missouri gets back-to-back SEC matchups against Auburn and Alabama.
The Tigers haven't played the Crimson Tide since 2020, where they fell short by nearly 20 points. The SEC champions are Missouri's most difficult matchup of 2024 by a wide-margin, and gaining a victory would be huge for seeding.
Missouri's second bye comes at another great time in Week 10, allowing rest before facing off against the newly-added Oklahoma Sooners. The former Big 12 rivalry will be rekindled in another important matchup for the Tigers, right before two road games in Weeks 12 and Week 13.
Those two teams will be South Carolina and Mississippi State, both coming off underwhelming 2023 campaigns. On paper they look like potentially easy wins, but depending on the result of Oklahoma, back-to-back road games could prove trouble for the Tigers. The Bulldogs also have a new coaching staffunder Jeff Lebby.
As usual, the Battle Line Rivalry game will take place in the final week, this time in Columbia. Missouri crushed Arkansas this season, but it being the last game on the schedule can always create some drama, especially depending on where the Tigers stand after Thanksgiving.
All things considered, the Tigers couldn't have asked for a better schedule for 2024.
While a few matchups won't come easy, the SEC teams Missouri faces are largely favorable. The schedule also gives it key rest weeks that split the big games from the small, an advantage compared to others in the SEC.
Anything can happen in college football, especially looking a year ahead. But when taking an early look at its opponents and schedule layout, Missouri should have a real chance to build on its momentum and maybe land a College Football Playoff berth next season.
