WELCOME BACK TO PREGAMIN’, HERE’S YOUR JAM OF THE WEEK

A LITTLE KOOKY, A LITTLE SPOOKY, A LOT OF FUN? THAT’S HOMECOMING IN OCTOBER, BABY

You know what’s fun and also sucks, simultaneously? Having to batch cocktails for a tailgate/party. Don’t get me wrong, I love to host. But it’s stressful as hell. As you know, liquor is expensive, and the potential of creating something really good but extremely pricey is daunting. Especially when you’re making it for a crowd that’s there to vibe and not extract the finer nuances of your mixed drink.

If you’re asking me, Homecoming should be about avoiding stress at all costs. Don’t worry about the cost of liquor. Don’t worry about doing some fancy punch that’s gold tinted. Buy you a pack of Mizzou Brew from Boulevard Brewing Co. and call it a day.

Buy Boulevard Mizzou Brew. Pour into mug/glass. Drink.

It’s Homecoming, y’all. Don’t work too hard now.

Mizzou’s first Homecoming in 1911 came in the middle of a national moment for Columbia, Mo. At the time, Champ Clark had recently become Speaker of the House, representing the defunct 9th district of Missouri, which covered a large swath of the state… including Columbia!Eli Drinkwitz is still trying to figure the month of October out. Despite his overall 49-30 record at Mizzou, Drinkwitz is just 11-11 in the month of October. And of his four games against Florida, his two losses? Both have come in October.A lot has been made about Drinkwitz’s struggles against ranked teams, so a bit of perspective: Gary Pinkel didn’t get his second ranked win at Mizzou until his seventh season at the helm, a feat Drinkwitz achieved in year three. In 15 seasons at Mizzou, Pinkel logged exactly 15 wins over Top 25 opponents. In six years and change, Drinkwitz has seven. So if we’re keeping track of rates, Drinkwitz is slightly ahead of schedule.

Mizzou looked OK on the road last weekend, but didn’t have enough juice to come out on top. What was the main issue holding them back against Mississippi State?

Josh Matejka, Deputy Site Manager: I almost wrote a whole ass column about this, but there really isn’t too much to say: Mizzou really misses Ahmad Hardy. When Eli Drinkwitz built this team, you have to think he knew the offensive line wouldn’t be as strong. But that’s OK when your running back can pick up chunk yardage after contact and your quarterback can get the ball out quickly and accurately. With Hardy, Mizzou is likely sporting one of the deadliest offenses in the country, one that can explode and hold onto the ball whenever it wants. That helps cover up some of the defensive lapses while Batoon irons out the new personnel.

I could go on. It may be a bit Pollyanna-ish, but I sincerely believe that, with Hardy, Mizzou is probably undefeated and somewhere near a Top 15 team right now. Without him they’re fine. But fine doesn’t win SEC road games.

Matthew Gustafson, Beat Writer: I’m going to cheat slightly and list two things: penalties and allowing explosive plays in the secondary. Holding calls, along with some other penalties, ended up stopping a few promising offensive drives. Combine that with two long touchdown throws by Kamario Taylor alongside a few other long tosses that connected, and that’s the difference in a tight contest on the road.

Nate Edwards, Football Analyst: Biggest issue is that they couldn’t get Mississippi State off the field. They managed to limit State to only 6 scoring opportunities but gave up over 5 points per opportunity. Explosive plays, runs up the middle… all of it dragged the Tiger defense up and down the field for nearly 80 plays and they couldn’t force enough stops to make a difference.

Sammy Stava, Staff Writer: Too many penalties and allowing too many big plays on the defensive end. That’ll happen against a quarterback like Kamario Taylor, but once Mizzou took the lead they couldn’t capitalize on momentum. Execution in crunch time failed.

Facing a Top 10 opponent for Homecoming can be a bit strange for Mizzou, but it does raise the question: Would you rather have a likely win for the Homecoming game or a marquee matchup?

Josh Matejka: I’ll admit it, I don’t really care if Mizzou is punking some non Power Two school on Homecoming weekend. Homecoming week, in my opinion, is a little bit bigger than the football game that it’s building up to. But the possibility of feelings going sour based on a bad game are very real. I’d much rather have a stress free day of enjoying the parade and tailgating knowing that the Tigers are going to waltz to a comfortable victory that night. Does playing better teams create the possibility of amazing memories like 2010 Oklahoma? No doubt. But those moments are few and far between. Give me the easy dub and let me enjoy the festivities in comfort.

Matthew Gustafson: I think you have to thread the needle a little bit. You still want to pick a likely win on the schedule, but I don’t think you want it to be a buy game, either (like North Texas a few years ago). Mizzou tried to do that this year by choosing Florida, and it looked like a solid choice. The Gators had other plans, though.

Nate Edwards: I like watching my team win, especially on Homecoming. I’m willing to admit that punishing some G6 school probably doesn’t generate enough interest, even with the appeal of Homecoming, so I’ll split the middle and say “the easiest conference game” and book that every year.

Sammy Stava: Winning on Homecoming against a lesser team will always be nice, but playing a big-time program has more of an upside. Win or lose, this sets up to be a big recruiting weekend, and great atmosphere always helps with that.

Florida has become one of the SEC’s punching bags in the past decade, but they seem to be recovering quickly under Jon Sumrall. Are the Gators back… or is this a false dawn?

Josh Matejka: I’ll say that it certainly feels like they’re back. Jon Sumrall is a hell of a coach, and Florida is just one of those programs that can throw endless resources at its football program, even if recent school presidents were embezzling millions of dollars for their grifter political buddies and the school is paying millions upon millions of dollars in buyout installments. It may be unfair, but all they need to do is hit the lottery on a good coach and BOOM, they’re flying again…

THAT BEING SAID: We’re only four games into the Sumrall era, and Florida has yet to face any real adversity yet. Plenty of recent Florida hires were knighted early only to fizzle later. So while all the early returns look great, it’ll be a while before we can fully say Florida is back to its best.

Matthew Gustafson: This Florida team is legitimately good. Top-10 good, though? I have my doubts. That being said, the Gators’ schedule lines up pretty well for the rest of the season, and they should be favored in all of their games outside of matchups against Georgia and Texas. Florida has a very realistic path to making the CFP this season.

Nate Edwards: Nah, they’re back. And not like “Texas” back. Sumrall is one of the best coaches in the country and everyone who had a head coaching opening from 2024 throught 2025 should be kicking themselves square in the nuts for overthinking things and not giving this dude their job. He’s awesome and the fact that he’s got Florida rocking now is infuriating. Thanks for making stupid choices and letting Sumrall terrorize the SEC, North Carolina. Ya dummies.

Sammy Stava: The Gators are off to a strong start under Jon Sumrall. They’re a very good team right now. Are they “elite” or a top 10 team yet? I guess we’ll find out.

PICK ‘EM! We’ve got a tight line this week, as Florida is a -4.5 point favorite. Eli Drinkwitz needs his next ranked win. Does he make it happen on Homecoming weekend?

Josh Matejka: I’m bullish on this game, maybe against reason a bit. I think a lot of the noise around both programs is a bit exaggerated at the moment. Florida has played one road game against a lackluster Auburn team and scraped by. Mizzou only has one loss to a very good Mississippi State on the road. I think the reality of this game is much closer than sentiment is letting on, and the fact that Mizzou is at home for Homecoming – a game Drinkwitz has never lost – makes this a true toss-up. Maybe it’s the HoCo week vibes, but I think Mizzou finds a way to get it done. Tigers 38, Gators 36.

Matthew Gustafson: I think this is going to be a one score game, and it’s been really tough for opponents to come into Columbia and get the win. But Florida looks great right now, and I don’t know if Mizzou’s defense will be able to get the stops it will need. The Tigers lose a close one, 31-28.

Nate Edwards: I don’t see how this Missouri defense can reliably stop this Florida offense, unless they keep up their turnover streak and nab a +2 in that particular box score column. Otherwise this will be another high scoring disappointment, I’ll say 35-31 bad guys.

Sammy Stava: I like this spot for Mizzou. The Gators are coming off a big-time win over Ole Miss and it’s Homecoming in COMO. Should be a fun home crowd that should give Florida some troubles. Having said that, I have a feeling that Eli Drinkwitz’s woes against ranked teams will continue. 34-30, UF.