The University of Missouri will begin athletic competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2012, and today the Mizzou Football program, fresh off its 41-24 win over North Carolina in the 2011 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, learned its schedule for the upcoming historic first year in its new conference home. The SEC league office released the conference schedule today, and it shows in 2012 the Tigers will play host to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, while they’ll venture on the road to take on Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Mizzou’s historic first game as a member of the celebrated league will come early in the season, as defending SEC East Division champion Georgia will make its first-ever appearance at Faurot Field on Sept. 8th. The schools will meet for only the second time in history, as Georgia claimed a 14-0 win in the 1960 Orange Bowl in the only previous meeting. After a Sept. 15th non-conference home game against Arizona State, the Tigers will play their first-ever SEC road game Sept. 22nd at South Carolina. The Tigers are 2-0 alltime against the Gamecocks, with both previous meetings coming in bowl games (1979 Hall of Fame, 2005 Independence).
The month of October will feature three SEC home games for the Columbia, Mo. community, as Vanderbilt (Oct. 6th), Alabama (Oct. 13th) and Kentucky (Oct. 27th) will all play at Faurot Field. Vanderbilt has played in Columbia three times before, but not since 1958, when the Commodores claimed a 12-8 win over MU Coach Dan Devine in his first game ever on the Tiger sideline. Mizzou leads the series with Alabama by a 2-1 margin, and the Crimson Tide last visited Columbia in 1978, when they came away with a 38-20 win in a season which ended with their national championship under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Kentucky, who has won two of three games alltime with Mizzou, will be making its first trip to Columbia since 1965, when the Wildcats won via a 7-0 shutout.
The month of November provides a stark contrast to October, as the Tigers will play solely on the road in SEC action. The tough slate of road games begins with a Nov. 3rd test at Florida. Mizzou has won the only previous meeting between the schools, as it claimed a 20-18 win in the 1966 Sugar Bowl over then-quarterback and current South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier. The next week will see the Tigers venture into 102,455-seat Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., where they will face the Tennessee Volunteers for the first time in program history.
November closes with a game at Texas A&M on Nov. 24th. Mizzou and the Aggies are joining the SEC together in 2012, and in a scheduling oddity, they will square off for the third-straight season in College Station. The Tigers have managed wins at venerable Kyle Field each of the last two years, winning 30-9 in 2010 and 38-31 in overtime in 2011. Mizzou has won five of its last six games overall with A&M, dating back to 2002, while the Aggies hold a 7-5 overall edge in the series.
Here’s a look at the 2012 Mizzou Football schedule, with three non-conference dates yet to be determined (to be slotted into four currently-open dates of Sept. 1st, Sept. 29th, Oct. 20th and Nov. 17th):
Sept. 1 OPEN
Sept. 8 vs. Georgia
Sept. 15 vs. Arizona State
Sept. 22 at South Carolina
Sept. 29 OPEN
Oct. 6 vs. Vanderbilt
Oct. 13 vs. Alabama
Oct. 20 OPEN
Oct. 27 vs. Kentucky
Nov. 3 at Florida
Nov. 10 at Tennessee
Nov. 17 OPEN
Nov. 24 at Texas A&M