Mizzou football moves season opener vs. LA Tech to Thursday, Sept. 1
For the second time since the beginning of the new year, Missouri football has shifted its season opener.
Missouri will play Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Sept. 1, moving its opener to a weekday instead of Saturday, Sept. 3, the program announced Thursday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.
“Opening up 2022 in front of a primetime national television audience on ESPNU is a tremendous way to kick off the football season,” athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois wrote in a statement. "We want to give our Tigers every chance to be successful and will take advantage of having an earlier report date and additional practice days leading into our road opener at Kansas State on Sept. 10."
This is Missouri's first weeknight game at Faurot Field since it played a Thursday game on Nov. 5, 2015, against Mississippi State. It will be just the third weeknight game for the Tigers since 2009.
Missouri hasn't fared well in weekday games as of late, having lost its past three — against Mississippi State in 2015, Arizona State in 2011 and Nebraska in 2009.
Missouri was originally scheduled to play Middle Tennessee State on the road to open the 2022 season in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On Jan. 10, Missouri announced it canceled that matchup and replaced it with a home game against Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-9 season and have a first-year head coach in Sonny Cumbie who served as Texas Tech's interim coach in 2021.
“What an exciting way to start the season and the Labor Day weekend,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz wrote in a statement about the change. “We can’t wait to see a strong fan and student turnout for a national TV game under the lights of Faurot Field.”
The Battle Line Rivalry game against Arkansas will be played the day after Thanksgiving on Friday, Nov. 25, at Faurot Field.
Missouri and Arkansas have played on the Friday after Thanksgiving in six of the past seven seasons, aside from the 2020 season.
Kickoff for the Battle Line Rivalry is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Mizzou football's 2022 schedule
All times TBD, unless noted
Sept. 1 vs. Louisiana Tech - 7 p.m
Sept. 10 at Kansas State
Sept. 17 vs. Abilene Christian
Sept. 24 at Auburn
Oct. 1 vs. Georgia
Oct. 8 at Florida
Oct. 22 vs. Vanderbilt
Oct. 29 at South Carolina
Nov. 5 vs. Kentucky
Nov. 12 at Tennessee
Nov. 19 vs. New Mexico State
Nov. 25 vs. Arkansas - 2:30 p.m.
Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou football moves season-opener vs. LA Tech to a weekday
