After suffering its first loss of the 2024 season at the hands of the Texas A&M Aggies in Week 6, Missouri football is looking to get itself back on track.

The Tigers travel on the road to face the UMass Minutemen, getting a break from their Southeastern Conference schedule. The Minutemen currently have a 1-5 record, most recently taking a 34-20 loss to Northern Illinois last week.

The 41-10 loss to Texas A&M stung Missouri, but it gets an opportunity to fix the problems that held it back a week ago. Of course it won’t underestimate what UMass can do, but it’s an ideal matchup to help steer the ship back to an upward trajectory.

“How we respond will define who we are as a team and what kind of character we have as a program,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

The Tigers will get their chance to respond against the Minutemen at 11 a.m. in the first meeting between both teams in either program’s history.

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Third Quarter

•12:44: Daylan Carnell nearly picked Taisun Phommachanh off, but it just fell out of his hands. Regardless, UMass turns it over on downs.

Second Quarter

• Nate Noel is officially listed as OUT for the rest of the game with back tightness, per Eli Hoff.

• Blake Craig’s 42-yard field goal sends the Tigers into halftime with a 24-3 lead.

• 00:23: Corey Flagg Jr. snags an interception in the red zone and takes it 80 yards down the field to prevent a UMass score.

• UMass tries a fake punt, and it works. The Minutemen pick up 39 yards on that play and have good field positioning with a minute left in the half to score.

• 6:03: The Minutemen get their first score of the game off a 28-yard field goal from Jacob Lurie, making it a 21-3 differential.

• 11:02: Carroll strikes again on a 4-yard touchdown. Missouri now leads 21-0.

• UMass has already used three timeouts and there is still 13 minutes left in the half.

• Kewan Lacy getting some action at running back, receiving the first two carries of the quarter for a total of seven yards.

First Quarter

• Mitch Walters is in the offensive line over Cayden Green. Already a lot of substitutions for the the Tigers by the end of the first quarter.

• Nate Noel hasn’t seen a snap yet, while Carroll and even Jamal Roberts have gotten seven and two carries respectively.

• 5:15: Marcus Carroll punches in a 3-yard touchdown, putting Missouri up 14-0. Marks his third touchdown of the season.

• 14:03: Just like that, a 61-yard jet sweep to Luther Burden III gives the Tigers their first touchdown of the day and an early 7-0 lead.

Pregame:

• UMass wins the toss and defers, allowing Missouri to receive the kick-off.

• Expect wind to be a factor in Saturday’s game — the National Weather Service is charting wind in Amherst, Massachusetts to be up to 17 mph and gusts up to 23 mph.

• Missouri will be without starting inside linebacker Triston Newson and defensive end Joe Moore III due to injury, according to the Tiger Radio Network.

Who: No. 21 Missouri Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) vs. UMass (1-5)

What: Week 7 of the College Football season

Where: McGuirk Alumni Stadium (17,000), Amherst, Massachusetts

When: Saturday, October 12, 11 a.m.

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Tiger Radio Network: (Play-by-play Mike Kelly, Analyst Howard Richards, Sideline Chris Gervino)

SiriusXM: 190

No. 21 Missouri faces UMass on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 (10/12/24) at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, Massachusetts.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: College Football

Who: Missouri vs. UMass

When: Oct. 12, 2024

Where: Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (Amherst, Massachusetts)

Time: 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT)

TV: ESPN2

Live stream: DirecTV Stream or fuboTV

Here’s a college football story from the AP:

No. 21 Missouri (4-1) at UMass (1-5), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN2)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Missouri by 27 1/2.

Series record: First meeting.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Mizzou is trying to bounce back from a 41-10 loss to No. 25 Texas A&M and win its ninth straight nonconference game. UMass has never beaten a Southeastern Conference opponent in 11 tries.

KEY MATCHUP

Mizzou receivers vs. UMass secondary: WR Theo Wease Jr. had 72 yards on two catches, including a 59-yard touchdown, against Texas A&M. Luther Burden III had seven catches for 82 yards against the Aggies and has caught a pass in 27 straight games. He is 74 yards from topping 2,000 in his career.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mizzou: QB Brady Cook has not thrown an interception in 116 straight pass attempts since his only pickoff against Buffalo on Sept. 7. Last year, he went an SEC record 365 passes without an interception.

UMass: QB Taisun Phommachanh is fourth among FBS quarterbacks with 290 yards after contact when rushing the ball. Even in last week’s 34-20 loss to Northern Illinois he threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns. A week earlier, he ran for 80 yards against Miami of Ohio.

FACTS & FIGURES

It’s the first meeting between the teams. … Mizzou is going for a second straight unbeaten record in nonconference play, having already beaten Murray State, Buffalo and Boston College. Last year’s team went 5-0 in nonconference games, including a victory over No. 7 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. … Mizzou had been ranked as high as No. 6 but dropped to No. 21 after the loss to the Aggies. … The Tigers have been ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 for 18 straight weeks, its longest streak in 10 years. … The offense has converted in 20 of 21 red zone opportunities, 13th-best in the nation and third in the SEC. … RB Nate Noel has led Mizzou in rushing in all five games, including a career-high 199 against Vanderbilt on Sept. 21. … Coach Eliah Drinkwitz is 13-2 in nonconference games at Mizzou. … The Tigers have committed just two turnovers in their first five games – and none in their last three. … Five Minutemen have rushed for a touchdown: CJ Hester (2), Phommachanh (1), Jalen John (1), Brandon Campbell (1) and Jackson Paradis (1). … WR Jakobie Keeney-James had a career-high 150 yards receiving against Miami of Ohio, including a career-longest 66-yard touchdown.

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With last year’s history of recruiting potential top NFL draft, receiver Luther Burden III, attracting blue-chip athletes into the transfer portal, and signing one of the best defensive prospects in high school, Williams Nwaneri, sets are high with the legislative initiative under the Mizzou Model has skyrocketed business proposals and player expectations. 

Missouri quarterback, Brady Cook, has received $1.2 million from NIL (Name, Image, Likeness). More than $1.7 billion has been funneled into earnings for athletes under NIL. Yet, 80% of that money is via collectives which are from boosters. Cook explains that he learned more about the intricacies of business this year which has allowed his portfolio to flourish. 

With the assistance of the state legislature, the University of Missouri has created a track for student-athletes to get paid. Thanks to state representative Kurtis Gregory who assisted in the process of this new law, he is not only aware of the harsh realities of NIL but understands NIL’s wide door of possibilities for the development of players as a former athlete himself. The state of Missouri has granted the University to establish a marketing agency including its funding. The marketing agency, known as Every True Tiger, allocates money to players. 

Furthermore, this new law allows high school in-state athletes to profit from endorsement deals on the conditional basis that they intend to attend a public university in Missouri. This new program allows students to receive all NIL benefits because the deal bans the NCAA from scrutinizing players’ purported deals. 

Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz reflects on the elite players recruited as a consequence of the competitive edge that NIL has revived. Drinkwitz says, “I would just say that we embraced new realities of college football and understood that it could be a competitive advantage for us to be aggressive in that space. It absolutely has contributed to our success.” 

It is this new athletic arena where the ethos, combined with the inducements create a framework for team success. The way Coaches now speak to recruits is more incentivized around the price tag. Team building activities such as locker rooms, training facilities, and fields have practically replaced any other cost. Players such as Obi Ezeigbo did not cost the team any money they didn’t have, consequently affording him a place on Oklahoma State’s roster.

The state law and agency ensure that Drinkwitz will hold his word. In addition to the personality match of a player-coach relationship, there is a newfound business negotiation in the relationship. Cook reminds us that the currency in football depends on if you win, you make money.