In 1911, Chester Brewer invited alumni to come home for the Mizzou-kU football game and a legendary tradition was born.
At the time, Mizzou was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and its Athletic
Association had announced that conference games would have to be played on college campuses. This threw a wrench in the typical Border War being played in Kansas City. So, Brewer, then football coach and athletic director, decided to ‘call’ alumni to come home and celebrate the team in Columbia.
It’s safe to say that Brewer hit the absolute jackpot with his idea and the first Homecoming game drew a crowed of nine thousand plus.
And, in case you were curious, the original football from the game is still intact (and our lovely Karen Steger got to take a couple pictures with it thanks to John Anderson).
Today, the campus turns fully black and gold over Homecoming with house decorations adorning FSL houses that reflect hours of pomping, boards from various campus organization fill Traditions Plaza, students take place in Fling, and downtown Columbia has restaurants painted to reflect the theme of Homecoming.
The weekend rounds out with a parade filled with floats, that reflect the subtheme of Board Games, and various other organizations from across the state of Missouri. The titular event will take place at 6:30 p.m. between the UMass Minutemen and the Mizzou Tigers.
The overarching theme of the 114th Homecoming is “Call of the Columns”.
So, will the Tigers answer the call and claim the victory?
Since 2017, Mizzou has won every Homecoming bout, some in better fashion than others.
In 2016, the Tigers fell by a score of 51-45 to Middle Tennessee in a hard-fought match. Drew Lock threw for 281 yards and Damarea Crockett rushed for four touchdowns, tying the Mizzou record for most TDs in a single game. It was also Barry Odom’s first season at the helm.
Last year, perhaps one of the most thrilling Homecoming games (especially during my time at Mizzou) took place. Brady Cook was injured early but eventually helped the Tigers storm back to victory against Auburn, even with a quick hospital visit mid-game.
It also inspired one of my favorite Drinkwitz quotes from the Cook era, saying “For all the criticism that young man takes, 12 sure would die on that field for everybody.”
What will happen this year?
Mizzou enters ranked No.21 in the country and look to roll over the Minutemen before the Alabama Crimson Tide come to town in two weeks.
Last year, the Tigers went on the road to Massachusetts and roared to a commanding 45-3 victory and were also ranked No.21 before the game. Marcus Carroll recorded three touchdowns in the slaughter.
And with the way Beau Pribula has combined forces with Ahmad Hardy, Marquis Johnson, Kevin Coleman Jr., and Jamal Roberts, I would expect a similar final score.
Even without Cayden Green, the O-Line showed little to no signs of weakness against South Carolina and allowed for an explosive run game.
Plus, let’s look at the UMass Preview.
“Not only is UMass the 136th-ranked team of the 136 team FBS roster, their defense ALSO ranks 136th in the nation (according to SP+).”
And defensively? This team has been golden.
Josiah Trotter and Zion Young have been putting on a clinic week in and week out, leading the team to deliver performances of -9 rushing yards against the Gamecocks, 117 rushing yards (84 of those came on a single TD run) against the Ragin’ Cajuns, and 31 rushing yards against kansas.
The goals of the weekend will probably be fairly simple and somewhere along the lines of ‘have fun, don’t get hurt, make big plays’. Additionally, I would expect some newcomers to make plenty of appearances, if everything goes to plan.
At Tiger Talk on Tuesday night, Drinkwitz told the media and fans, “It’s going to be about us attacking them and not waiting to see what they want to do. It’s about us setting the tone and attacking them early in the game.”
On Saturday night, Homecoming will take place under the lights of Faurot, the Tigers will look to send the Minutemen packing from the first snap and show the rest of the world how much of a complete team they are.
