MIZZOU RETURNS TO THE ZOU FOR ANNUAL HOMECOMING

• After a three-week absence at home (two SEC road games and a bye week), Mizzou Football (2-4, 0-3 SEC) returns to Memorial Stadium for its annual Homecoming Game against Middle Tennessee (4-2, 2-1 C-USA), the final non-conference game of the season for Mizzou. The game will air live on SEC Network at 3 p.m. with Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb and Olivia Harlan on the call.
• Saturday's game will of course renew the time-honored tradition of Homecoming at Mizzou, which was the first school to ever organize a homecoming event centered around a football game. To many Mizzou fans across the country, Homecoming is one of the very best traditions that the University has to offer. From Friday night's house decorations, the annual parade to painting the city Black & Gold, Mizzou Homecoming has grown into one of the largest student-run celebrations of its kind and voted by MU students and alumni as one of their favorite traditions at Mizzou.
• MU has a 60-39-5 record in Homecoming games over the years. Not surprisingly, former rival Kansas has been its most common opponent for the game - with MU holding an 18-7-2 edge in 27 such meetings - although the two did not meet on Homecoming from 1960 until 2000 in Columbia.
• Mizzou has won 10 of its last 14 Homecoming games, including a landmark 36-27 win over BCS #1-ranked Oklahoma in 2010 (36-27). The Tigers also got their first-ever SEC win in the 2012 Homecoming tilt against Kentucky (a 33-10 Tiger victory). Mizzou's last loss on Homecoming was a 21-3 loss to No. 11/12 Florida last season on Oct. 10.
• Saturday's game is Mizzou's final non-conference game of the season. Since joining the SEC, Mizzou is 16-3 against nonconference opponents, including an 11-2 mark in games played at Memorial Stadium. Mizzou owns an unblemished record in home games vs. non-power five teams since joining the SEC (9-0).

THE HOME OF HOMECOMING

• Legend says that the Homecoming tradition got its start at the University of Missouri in 1911, thanks to the vision and efforts of Chester L. Brewer, MU's Director of Athletics at the time. Although Illinois staged a similar celebration in 1910, Missouri claims its 1911 effort as one of the first formal Homecoming celebrations surrounding a football game.
• That year, the Missouri-Kansas game was to be played on a college campus for the first time ever. Previously, the game had been played in either Kansas City or St. Joseph, and Mizzou trailed in the series by a 12-5-3 count at the time.
• Brewer wanted to add some spice to the season-ending game in Columbia, so he issued a plea to Mizzou alumni and especially to former Tiger football players to "Come Home" for the game. They did just that, with a record crowd of 9,000 overflowing old Rollins Field.
• With four minutes to play, and MU trailing by three, Tiger captain Glen Shuck booted a tying field goal from a difficult angle. Then, little Billy Blees caught a rampaging KU fullback in the open field in the final seconds to preserve the tie, and was carried off the field a hero. Hence, "Homecoming" was born.