MIZZOU OPENS SEC PLAY VS. GEORGIA

• The Missouri Tigers (1-1 overall) open 2016 Southeastern Conference play Saturday evening as they host the Georgia Bulldogs (2-0) at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium. The SEC Network will televise the game, which is set for a 6:30 p.m. kick in what will serve as Mizzou's annual Tiger Stripe game, where fans are asked to wear black or gold to the game, specific to their seating section.
• Mizzou is coming off its first victory of the season, as it cruised to a 61-21 win Saturday night at home against Eastern Michigan to give new Head Coach Barry Odom his first career win. The Tigers enjoyed a breakout offensive performance, and totaled 647 yards of total offense on the night, thanks in large part to a 450-yard, 5-touchdown passing performance by sophomore QB Drew Lock. The defense and special teams also got into the fray, as the Tigers benefited from a 54-yard punt return touchdown (freshman WR Johnathon Johnson) and a 1-yard interception return (junior LB Joey Burkett).
• Georgia rides into Columbia with a perfect 2-0 record, thanks to wins in week #1 against North Carolina in Atlanta, Ga. (W, 33-24) and last week at home over Nicholls State (W, 26-24). The Bulldogs are led by first-year Head Coach Kirby Smart, and boast one of the nation's most dangerous tailbacks in Nick Chubb, who ranks 5th in the NCAA coming in with his 151.0 yards per game average.
• Saturday's matchup will pit a pair of rookie head coaches against one another in Odom and UGA's Kirby Smart. Coincidentally, the two are each graduates of their respective schools. There are only nine FBS programs led by a head coach who graduated from that institution and two will be on display Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

WEEK 2 STORYLINES

• Mizzou opens SEC play in week three as SEC East rival Georgia comes to town. Mizzou is 2-2 in SEC openers since moving to the league prior to the 2012 season. Since 1996 when Mizzou moved from the Big Eight to the Big 12, the Tigers are 8-12 in conference openers. Mizzou had won two consecutive conference openers before losing at Kentucky to open SEC play last season in a 21-13 defeat. Prior to that, Mizzou defeated No. 13 South Carolina, 21-20, in 2014 and defeated Vanderbilt in Nashville, 51-28, in 2013. Mizzou won the SEC East in both of those years. Saturday's matchup with Georgia will mark just the second time in five years in the SEC that Mizzou will open conference play at home. Coincidentally, both games are against Georgia.
• Mizzou's offense exploded last week, hanging 61 points on the Mid-American Conference's Eastern Michigan, the most points Mizzou has scored against an FBS team since 2008. It was more points than Mizzou had scored in its previous six games combined as the Tigers tallied nine touchdowns in the game.
• Sophomore QB Drew Lock was outstanding last week, tying a school record with five TD passes – all to different receivers – while tossing 450 yards, the third-most in program history.
• Mizzou had five players catch a TD pass for the first time in program history last week.