The Tigers travel to Amherst to take on UMass.

Nothing against Amherst, or the University of Massachusetts, but I can think of many opponents I’d rather watch Missouri play than this one. On the road as a 28 point favorite, coming off a game where you looked like ass on national TV, there’s really no winning this game.

And I say this again as no disrespect intended to UMass. The way the Tigers have scheduled traditionally is with one FCS opponent, one ‘Power Five’ opponent, and two ‘Group of Five’ opponents. The Tigers don’t travel against non Power Five opponents often, but when they do it can be rocky.

There’s 2019 at Wyoming, 2015 at Arkansas State, 2012 at UCF. All three games were difficult games.

2017 at UConn went fine. 2014 Toledo went fine… if you go back further you get into Pinkel build territory. But the point stands, performances in these kinds of games can be iffy. And I get it when you’re favored by that much and you’re travelling it can be hard to get for a game like this. Especially in a weird place like Amherst, which is hardly a hotbed for College Football. UMass has only been back to playing D1 football since 2012, Mizzou has been in the SEC nearly that long.

Here’s UMass against Power 5 schools over the last few years:

• 2023 at Auburn — L, 59-14
• 2023 at Penn State — L, 63-0
• 2022 at Texas A&M — L, 20-3
• 2021 at Pitt — L, 51-7
• 2021 vs Boston College — L, 45-28
• 2021 at Florida State — L, 59-3

They lost 34-3 at Buffalo this year, a team the Tigers already beat 38-0. Anything short of a shellacking is going to feel a bit like a loss, and we’ve experienced that too often this season.

Either way it’s on TV, and I plan on watching. Again, I’m sure Amherst is lovely. This is nothing against the good people of Massachusetts or the city of Amherst.

Missouri-UMass football: Time, Location

TIME: 11:00 a.m. CT

DATE: Saturday, October 12, 2024

LOCATION: Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium; Amherst, MA

Missouri-UMass football: Follow the game, TV Channel

TELEVISION: ESPN2

STREAM: WatchESPN

TWITTER: @MizzouFootball

FACEBOOK: MizzouFootballShowMe

ESPN+: ROCKMNATION

FORUMS: Rockm.Plus/Forums

Missouri-UMass football: Betting odds, predictions

As of Friday evening, Missouri is a 27.5-point favorite over UMass, according to FanDuel. The total points (over/under) is 54.5.

RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See FanDuel Sportsbook for details.