The Missouri Tigers will begin the 2025 football season with a home game against Central Arkansas. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
Mizzou Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 1 — Central Arkansas Bears (0-0) at Missouri Tigers (0-0)
Date/Time – August 28, 2025 – 6:30 pm
Location – Faurot Field — Columbia, MO
Watch — SEC Network
Listen — Learfield Sports/KTRS 550 AM
Live Stats — Mizzou Stat Broadcast
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
COLUMBIA, MO — After a nearly eight-month wait since winning the Music City Bowl over Iowa last December, opening night of the 2025 college football season is finally here for the University of Missouri.
The Tigers will be hosting their home opener Thursday night at Faurot Field in the program’s first ever meeting against NCAA FCS opponent Central Arkansas.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., with the game being televised nationally on the SEC Network.
Junior Cayden Green was a preseason All-American selection, who will start at left tackle for Mizzou this season. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
Missouri will have a bit of a new look this season. At least it will on offense.
The Tigers will have a new quarterback, new starting running back, and a new group of receivers, along with several new starters on the offensive line. Mizzou’s defense will feature more familiar names, with a few transfers brought in to help the Tigers possibly contend for its first ever SEC title.
The biggest question is who is going to start under center for Mizzou. Will it be Penn State transfer Beau Pribula or returning Sam Horn, who missed all of last season due to an injury in his elbow suffered while pitching for the Tiger baseball team in 2024?
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has announced that both players will see the field in the game on Thursday. Pribula will play the first half and Horn will play the second.
The Tigers will also finally get to show off new running back Ahmad Hardy, who transferred to the Tigers after a stellar freshman season at Louisiana Monroe, where he was a freshman All-American and the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year.
Three Tigers earned preseason All-Conference honors: offensive lineman Cayden Green (1st Team), wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. (2nd Team), and defensive back Jalen Catalon (3rd Team).
Mizzou is coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons and will be going for its third straight double-digit win season in program history.
Senior rush end Zion Young will be back to lead the Mizzou defense in 2025. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
Central Arkansas comes into the season picked 5th in the nine-team UAC preseason poll and will lean on the experience of five preseason All-Conference selections. On offense, wide receiver Malachi Henry and offensive linemen Will Diggins and Jamal Mull were recognized. Defensively, Bradley Clark (defensive line) and Dillon Williams (defensive back) earned honors, giving the Bears proven playmakers on both sides of the ball.
Up Next: Mizzou will host its longtime archrival, Kansas, in a much-anticipated contest at Faurot Field next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., with the game being televised live on ESPN2.
2025 MIZZOU TIGERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 28, 2025 (Thursday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Central Arkansas | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network |
| September 6, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 pm | Home | Kansas | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network |
| September 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Louisiana | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network |
| September 20, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | South Carolina | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| September 27, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Massachusetts | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| October 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Home | Alabama | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| October 18, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Auburn | Auburn, Ala. / Jordan-Hare Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| October 25, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. / FirstBank Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| November 8, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Texas A&M | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Mississippi State | Faurot Field | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| November 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Away | Oklahoma | Norman, Okla. / Memorial Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |
| November 29, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. / Razorback Stadium | TBD | Tiger Radio Network |