Talk about two programs and coaching staffs that could really use a win in their SEC opener. In year three of the Eli Drinkwitz era, The Missouri Tigers are coming off of two wins against lesser opponents, Louisiana Tech and Abilene Christian, and a blow out loss to Kansas State 40-12. Frustrations are starting to rise about head coach, Eli Drinkwitz after a 13-13 start to his time in Columbia. The Auburn Tigers are in a similar position defeating the likes of Mercer and San José State before a crushing loss at home 41-12 to Penn State. Also similar to the situation at Missouri, Bryan Harsin has began his tenure at Auburn with a .500 record, 8-8. Auburn in addition has not beaten a power five team since October 30th, 2021, when the Tigers beat Ole Miss 31-20, and has gone 3-7 against power five opponents since Harsin has taken over the program, this doesn’t include the loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl. All this to say, a win on Saturday will certainly not change the state of either program but, a loss could be yet another indicator that the season to come could get ugly for one of these sets of Tigers.
Although this is Missouri’s eleventh season in the South Eastern Conference, this will be the first time ever the “old gold” and black Tigers will play in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn and Missouri have crossed paths three times prior to this Saturday’s matchup. The two Tigers first played in the 1973 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. A 26 point 2nd quarter went a long way in giving the Missouri Tigers a victory against Ralph “Shug” Jordan and the Tigers 34-17. Auburn and Missouri would meet again in an unlikely matchup in the 2013 SEC Championship game in Atlanta. Auburn would prevail 59-42 and advance to the National Championship game. Auburn then traveled up to Columbia, Missouri for the first time ever in 2017 and defeated Barry Odom’s team 51-14.
The 2022 edition of Auburn and Missouri looks to be an inflection point for the Auburn Tigers. Can Auburn overcome their worst home loss since 2012 and start the conference slate on a good note before the schedule gets difficult? If the Tigers are able to take care of business at home against a team that on paper has less talent on their roster optimism could start to rise that this season isn’t already lost just four weeks in. If Auburn were to lose at home for a second straight week to one of the projected worst teams in the league then all bets are off on what could happen next for the football program.
Gameday Information - Auburn versus Missouri | Game Four
Timeline: 8:00am - Tiger Tailgate Show - Auburn Network
9:00am - Tiger Walk 9:00am - Jordan-Hare Stadium Gates Open
9:40am - Four Corners Pep Rally 10:40am - Pre-Game Festivities Begin
11:07am - Kickoff
Watch: ESPN or ESPN App
Listen:
Auburn Sports Network https://auburntigers.com/sports/2018/6/15/aubur n-sports-network-listen.aspx
Patrick Party Information - Coverage of Week Four Patrick Party Pregame: Patrick Party Pregame, live from Auburn, AL, will air from 8:00am - 9:00am on Saturday Morning. Pregame will take an inside look into the Auburn Football Tiger's week four matchup against the Missouri Tigers and all of the other games across the College Football landscape.
Patrick Party Picks: Our weekly minute long picks of the best college football games of the weekend will debut on Pregame on Saturday morning and will then be made available on all of our Social Media platforms.
Patrick Party Podcast: The Patrick Party Podcast provides listeners with a weekly update and analysis of the Auburn Football program. This week's Patrick Party Podcast debuted Friday morning. Episodes are made available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and www.patrickparty.com