By now, everyone should know better than underestimate No. 24 Missouri Tigers. Led by quarterback Maty Mauk, Mizzou was able to top the SEC East in back-to-back fashion. The Tigers, however, open their 2015 season campaign as huge favorites, as they host the Southeast Missouri State Red Hawks. An FCS team, the Red Hawks will come to Columbia eyeing a ground-shaking upset.
Read on for a preview of this matchup. You can also click here for a breakdown of the huge Big Ten-SEC showdown between the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers and No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Southeast Missouri State Red Hawks vs. Missouri Tigers Preview
Where: Memorial Stadium, Columbia
When: Saturday, September 5, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Southeast Missouri State Red Hawks at Missouri Tigers – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Southeast Missouri State Red Hawks
[sc:NCAA240banner ]There is hope for the Red Hawks even after they finished just sixth in the FCS’s Ohio Valley with a 3-5 conference record. That optimism comes from the team having notched a 5-7 overall record last year—the program’s best since 2010—and from a mix of new players and returnees for this coming season.
Among them is junior quarterback transfer Tay Bender, who is likely to be named by head coach Tom Matukewicz as the team’s starter. Bender played for the Iowa Western Community College and passed for 1,912 yards and 25 touchdowns for a team that went 11-1 last year.
There should be no lack of weapons surrounding Bender in his first season for Southeast Missouri State with first team all-conference receiver Paul McRoberts down field and preseason all-conference running back DeMichael Jackson prowling in the backfield. McRoberts led the team last season with 711 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, while Jackson had 755 rushing yards and broke through the end zone five times.
The Red Hawks will also parade a defensive line that brings back four players, including defensive tackles Travis Sanders and Jon Slania. The two players combined for 45 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss in 2014.
Southeast Missouri State has covered the spread in all of its last three contests where it has been underdogs.
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Betting on the Missouri Tigers
With all due respect to the Red Hawks, the idea of them beating Missouri in Columbia is one that can be mistaken for a fairy tale. And that’s even with Missouri suffering a significant loss of key players on offense during the offseason.
Missouri has some issues to address on offense, particularly on their receiving unit that’s now missing three starters from last season. There is little to glean from the returning group of receivers, as they’ve compiled just 10 catches together with five coming from sophomore Nate Brown. But leave it to quarterback Maty Mauk to make something out of Mizzou’s suspect receivers against the Red Hawks.
Mauk passed for 2,648 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2014. He threw 13 interceptions, too, but an FCS team like Southeast Missouri State is not the kind of squad that should expose the weakness of Mizzou’s passing game. In any case, the Tigers can always opt to run the ball. Returning running back Russell Hansbrough, who had 1,084 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, should be able to test his wheels with ease against the Red Hawks.
Mizzou’s defense is a bit young with the front seven breaking in just one senior in Kentrell Brothers. Brothers will be flanked by junior Michael Scherer. Together, the tandem registered 113 solo tackles and 123 assists. Their presence should be huge for Missouri, which lists stopping Red Hawk back McRoberts as among its priorities. Missouri ranked 19th in the nation last year with 21.1 points allowed per contest.
Missouri is 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in its last four games as the home team.
Writer’s Prediction
Missouri wins, 48-10.
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