If you were looking for a calm, predictable year of Mizzou football, the missouri tigers 2025 football schedule was definitely not for you. Honestly, it was one of those seasons where the highs felt like a fever dream and the lows made you want to throw your remote through the screen. We saw the first true "home-heavy" start in program history, the return of the Border War to Columbia, and a late-season grind that tested whether Eli Drinkwitz’s culture could actually hold water in the expanded SEC.
Basically, the 2025 campaign was a tale of two halves. The Tigers opened with six straight games at Faurot Field—a feat never achieved before. You'd think that would be a recipe for a 6-0 start, right? Well, college football rarely works out that cleanly. By the time the dust settled at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Mizzou sat at 8-5. It wasn't the College Football Playoff run fans craved after the 2023 success, but it was a year defined by grit, injuries, and some of the loudest crowds "CoMo" has ever seen.
The Brutal Reality of the Missouri Tigers 2025 Football Schedule
The season structure was weird. Usually, you get a couple of home games, then a road trip to find out who you are. In 2025, Mizzou didn't leave the city limits of Columbia until mid-October. That sounds like a luxury, but it created this strange pressure cooker environment.
The Six-Game Home Stand
Things started with a bang—literally. Mizzou steamrolled Central Arkansas 61-6 on a Thursday night. But the celebration was short-lived. Losing quarterback Sam Horn and kicker Blake Craig to season-ending injuries in Week 1 felt like a gut punch. You could almost hear the collective "not again" from the fans at Memorial Stadium.
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Then came the big one. September 6th. The Kansas Jayhawks stepped onto Faurot Field for the first time since 2006. If you weren't there, it's hard to describe the energy. It was hostile. It was loud. It was perfect. Mizzou fell behind 21-6 early, and it looked like the season was spiraling before it even started. But the Tigers clawed back, eventually winning 42-31. That win felt like more than just a 2-0 start; it was a statement that the rivalry was officially back on "our" turf.
The SEC Gauntlet
After handling Louisiana and South Carolina (a solid 29-20 win where the defense really showed up), the Tigers hit the meat of the SEC schedule. The homecoming game against UMass was a 42-6 blowout, setting up a massive Top-10 showdown with Alabama.
This is where the missouri tigers 2025 football schedule got heavy.
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- Alabama (Oct 11): A heartbreaking 27-24 loss. A late field goal by the Tide silenced a "Gold Rush" crowd.
- Auburn (Oct 18): First road game of the year. It took two overtimes, but Mizzou escaped Jordan-Hare with a 23-17 victory.
- Vanderbilt (Oct 25): The "trap" game. Vandy was surprisingly good in 2025, and Mizzou looked hungover from the Auburn win, falling 17-10.
Breaking Down the November Slump
November is when championship teams separate themselves. For Mizzou, it was more about survival. After a bye week, they hosted a Texas A&M team that was firing on all cylinders. The 38-17 loss at home was probably the low point of the regular season. The offense just couldn't find a rhythm without the vertical threat they had in previous years.
They did bounce back against Mississippi State (49-27) to secure a decent bowl bid, but the road trips to Norman and Fayetteville were tough. The 17-6 loss to Oklahoma was a defensive slugfest that showed just how much the Tigers missed their veteran offensive line leadership. However, finishing the regular season by beating Arkansas 31-17 in the Battle Line Rivalry gave the fans something to smile about heading into the winter.
The Gator Bowl and Final Thoughts
Ending the year in Jacksonville against Virginia wasn't exactly the New Year's Six bowl everyone hoped for in August. The 13-7 loss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl was... well, it was a bit of a slog. Both defenses dominated, but Mizzou’s inability to finish drives inside the 20-yard line ultimately cost them a 9-win season.
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Looking back at the missouri tigers 2025 football schedule, you realize how much the injuries to Horn and Craig shifted the math. When you lose your starting QB and a reliable kicker in the same game, your margin for error in the SEC evaporates. Drinkwitz proved he could keep the floor high—8-5 is a winning season—but the leap to the next tier requires a depth that Mizzou is still building.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Season
If you're already looking toward next year, here’s what to watch for:
- Quarterback Competition: With Sam Horn returning from injury, the battle for QB1 will be the biggest story of the spring.
- Kicking Game: After the struggles in 2025, expect the Tigers to hit the transfer portal hard for special teams reliability.
- Road Resilience: The 2026 schedule won't be as "home-cooked" as 2025. Mizzou has to prove they can win in hostile environments earlier in the season.
The 2025 season might be over, but the foundation at Faurot Field looks sturdier than it has in a decade. Keeping the core of the defense together and getting healthy will be the priorities for this off-season. Keep an eye on the spring game dates—they'll be announced sooner than you think.