2003 Football Schedule Announced
12/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 18, 2002
Columbia, Mo. - The 2003 University of Missouri football schedule has been finalized, and the Tigers will take on a slate of 12 foes that includes six teams which went to bowl games in 2002.
Mizzou will again play a 12-game schedule, and for the second straight season will kick off the year vs. Illinois in St. Louis at the Edward Jones Dome. The Tigers will look for a repeat of their 33-20 win vs. the Illini this season.
Following the border battle, the Tigers will travel to Muncie, Ind., where they will face the Ball State Cardinals, a team that Mizzou defeated 41-6 this season, in Columbia.
Mizzou will then play its 2003 home opener vs. 2002 Division I-AA national champion Western Kentucky at Faurot Field on Sept. 13. It will mark MU's first-ever game against the Hilltoppers. The next week will see the Tigers close out the non-conference portion of the schedule by hosting Middle Tennessee State in the first-ever meeting between the two schools (Sept. 20).
Big 12 Conference play opens on the road for MU, as the Tigers travel to Lawrence, Kan. for their annual clash with rival Kansas. The game was originally scheduled for Oct. 4, but was recently moved to Sept. 27.
After an off weekend, the Tigers will return to Faurot Field to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. That game begins quite a stretch for the Tigers that will see them face six bowl teams from 2002 in their final seven games. On Oct. 18, MU will travel to 2002 Big 12 champion Oklahoma, followed by consecutive home games vs. Texas Tech (Oct. 25) and Iowa State (Nov. 1), with the Texas Tech game serving as Homecoming.
Mizzou will travel to Boulder, Colo. to take on 2002 Big 12 North Division champ Colorado on Nov. 8, then returns home for its home finale Nov. 15 vs. Texas A&M. The regular season concludes with a tussle at Kansas State on Nov. 22. The only team of the last seven games to not play in a 2002 bowl game is Texas A&M, which went 6-6 and turned down bowl bids.
All game times and television details will be announced at a later date, with the first 3-4 weeks of games expected to be announced by the Big 12 Conference office in July. All subsequent gametimes and television details will be announced 12 days in advance of each game.
Here's a quick look at the 2003 schedule for the Tigers:
2003 Schedule Aug. 30 Illinois (at St. Louis) Sept. 6 at Ball State Sept. 13 WESTERN KENTUCKY Sept. 20 MIDDLE TENNESSEE Sept. 27 at Kansas Oct. 11 NEBRASKA Oct. 18 at Oklahoma Oct. 25 TEXAS TECH (Homecoming) Nov. 1 IOWA STATE Nov. 8 at Colorado Nov. 15 TEXAS A&M Nov. 22 at Kansas State
