Let’s check in on the four programs that Mizzou will play this fall outside of the SEC schedule.
Our Mizzou Tigers will host four non conference games this fall. Let’s check in on the state of each of these programs as they go through spring practice.
Central Arkansas
Week 1, at Faurot Field
Head Coach: Nathan Brown (Seven seasons, 43-35)
Quarterback: Unknown
Vibes: Resetting
Head coach Nathan Brown was one of the best quarterbacks in school history, and now he leads his alma mater to a solid stretch of .500ish ball. His team competes in the United Athletic Conference, the mashup of the WAC and the ASUN. The Bears lost all four games in November to sputter to a 6-6 finish, after a trio of stars started a promising season.
Running back ShunDerrick Powell is gone, after averaging 8.2 yards per carry for 1,332 total. Starting quarterback Will McElvain is gone. And Edge David Walker actually projects to be a mid-round NFL draft pick after accumulating 10.5 sacks.
So with November’s slump and the departure of these stars, Brown shook up his coaching staff and brought in 38 newcomers. The team that arrives at Faurot Field will be new and wholly unknown. Mizzou fans will see a nondescript and mysterious roster, so perhaps it is only fitting that the Bears trot out a cornerback named Dude Person.
UMass
Week 5, at Faurot Field
Head Coach: Joe Harasymiak (First season)
Quarterback: Three-way battle
Vibes: Cautiously Optimistic
Mizzou welcomes the Minutemen to Columbia as the return leg of this bizarre series. The Tigers scored a comfortable win in Amherst last fall, a low-effort drubbing of a moribund FBS program. 2024 was Umass’s last year as an FBS independent. It joins the MAC this year, so you can enjoy the Minutemen on weeknight MACtion in November if you do not get your fill of Minutemen football in September.
The ancient Don Brown was fired this offseason after a 6-28 record in his second stint at the helm. The school switched tactics and hired an up-and-comer this time, grabbing 38-year-old Joe Harasymiak, most recently defensive coordinator at Rutgers and a well-regarded young mind.
He is tasked with the kind of hard roster reset that is now the norm after a coaching change. UMass is 122nd in Bill Connelly’s measure of returning production, as Harasymiak builds his program from the ground up. Notably, he will have to replace multi-year starting quarterback Taisun Phommanchanh. It is a three-way battle between Grant Jordan, a multi-year starter at Yale who provides mobility, AJ Hairston, who has experience in the program and a big arm, but isn’t mobile, and Brandon Rose, who got a cup of coffee with the Utah Utes. Rose suffered a season-ending injury last year and won’t practice until summer. The staff has said they won’t name a starter until close to the season.
One of those candidates will take the lumps as Harasymiak looks to energize a lifeless program. Will a new coach and a new conference home be enough for the Minutemen to change their losing ways?
Louisiana
Week 3, at Faurot Field
Head Coach: Michael Desormeaux (Three seasons, 22-18)
Quarterback: Walker Howard
Vibes: Strikes and Gutters
Head coach Michael Desormeaux did not have a fun first two seasons of being “the guy following THE guy. He was promoted from within to replace Billy Napier, but fans started to get restless as his team went 6-7 in both of his first two years. But they took off like a rocket last fall, winning the Sun Belt’s west division before losing to TCU in the New Mexico Bowl. Despite not loving his first two efforts, the school rewarded Desormeaux with a five year extension following the breakthrough campaign.
And now it is back to the drawing board. Last year’s team was fueled by a quality three-headed ground game, veteran QB play, and an athletic defense. But the Ragin Cajuns rank 114th in Bill Connelly’s returning production – equally poor on both sides of the ball – and lost multiple starters to Power Four transfers, including star running back Dre’Lynn Washington to Alabama. Many critical contributors went to Houston, Texas Tech, Michigan, or graduated. And the portal class is small, with only seven players added, ranking 13th in the league according to 247Sports.
But there are a few things causing a glow in Lafayette. They are the defending division champs, after all. A multi-year stadium renovation will be unveiled this year, with premium seating and all the fun excitement and fanbase hype that comes with such a massive project. And lastly, former five-star recruit Walker Howard returns home after backing up Jayden Daniels and Jaxson Dart, respectively, in the SEC.
A player like Howard could help Louisiana transcend their roster rebuild. If he hits, we have seen how gamechanger quarterbacks can elevate a team at the Group of Five level: UTSA with Frank Harris, WKU with Bailey Zappe, Coastal Carolina with Grayson McCall, to name a few recent examples.
So Louisiana has every right to be confused. The pessimist sees a decimated roster, and a new extension for a coach that was nearing the hot seat six months ago. An optimist sees a quarterback that could redefine the team’s ceiling, with a coach and a facility ready to take the next step.
Kansas
Week 2, at Faurot Field
Head Coach: Lance Leipold (Four seasons, 22-28)
Quarterback: Jalon Daniels
Vibes: Unbridled Optimism
The Kansas faithful are all-in for the 2025 season. Leipod’s performance in Lawrence has been nothing short of outstanding, turning a destitute program into an exciting team, even winning 9 games in 2023. The team took a step back in 2024 with some hard-luck losses and another poor defensive campaign.
The Jayhawks rank 76th overall in Bill Connelly’s returning production metric heading into 2025, including a ghastly 96th on defense. They will feel the loss of many productive offensive players, including star running back Devin Neal. And yet, despite the roster reset, optimism runs rampant for the Jayhawks, thanks to Leipold’s track record and Daniels’ explosive playmaking.
Let’s start with Daniels. He can be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 when he stays healthy. He has dealt with nagging back injuries his entire college career. When he is 100%, he is a game changer, and he will be an early test for the revamped Mizzou Tiger defense. Daniels missed the majority of spring ball after offseason knee surgery, only recently returning to action.
The Jayhawks will be rebuilding their defense in the portal. The Kansas stop unit has ranked in the 60s in defensive SP+ both of the past two seasons, and now most of their starters are gone, including a quality cornerback tandem. The front seven is restocked with mostly Power Four depth chart casualties, and hoping they will break out in their new home.
It is also worth noting that the program will have two new coordinators this season, after OC Jeff Grimes moved on, and DC Brian Borland, a long time Leipold leuitanent, retired. The program decided to promote internally, handing the offensive reins to Jim Zebrowski, another Leipold lifer, and Brian Borland, who has had an itinerant career coaching defensive backs. Neither have called plays extensively at this level of college football.
Lance Leipold is a stud, and so is Jalon Daniels. If the latter stays healthy, and the staff did yeoman’s work scouting unproven options in the transfer portal, and the coordinator hires are not total duds, this team could be a surprise contender in the topsy turvy Big 12. If any of those “ifs” go the wrong way, things could break poorly in a league with such razor thin margins.