The Missouri Tigers return home to Faurot Field tonight, to open the home portion of their schedule. The Tigers will take on the McNeese State Cowboys from the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Tigers have won 4 straight home openers, and 11-of-13 overall, dating back to 1997. In its previous 119 seasons of play, Mizzou stands 84-31-4 alltime in home openers.
Mizzou comes into week two after fighting back to beat Illinois last Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome. After trailing 13-3 at halftime, Mizzou would come back for a 23-13 win.
McNeese State, out of Lake Charles, Lousiana., is one of the most consistently-strong programs in the FCS. Head Coach Matt Viator is in his fifth year at the helm for the Cowboys, with a record of 34-10. The Cowboys are coming off a 30-27 home win last week against Lamar.
Today will mark the first-ever meeting between Missouri and McNeese State in football. Mizzou is 9-0 alltime against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA. Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel is 6-0 against FCS foes in his time at Mizzou, with the average score being 44 to 8 in favor of the Tigers.
Since 2007, the Tigers have taken on three FCS teams. In 2007, Mizzou beat Illinois State. The Tigers would beat Southeast Missouri State in 2008 and last season, Mizzou took care of Furman.
Tonight’s game between Mizzou and McNeese State was not chosen for telecast over the Big 12 Conference package, which typically includes games most weeks on Fox Sports Net, ESPN, ABC or the Versus Network. Per league rules, when a game is not selected for one of those windows, the only option a school has to get the game on TV is to show it on a pay-per-view basis.
Tonight’s game will be produced by Fox Sports Net and offered on various cable providers and satellite systems around the country, and it is scheduled to be broadcast in High Definition. Fans are encouraged to check with www.mutigers.com for continuous updates on providers of the telecast, which is available for $39.95.
Mizzou and McNeese State will kick off tonight at 6:00.
