Early 2016 schedule outlook: Missouri

After a whirlwind SEC debut that included back-to-back SEC East Division titles beginning with just their second year in the league, the Missouri Tigers dipped below .500 in 2015, finishing with a subpar 5-7 record that included a dismal 1-7 mark in the SEC.

The Tigers went from first to worst in the SEC East and head coach Gary Pinkel stepped down after 15 seasons. Now it’s up to Barry Odom to bring the Tigers back to the relevance in the SED East. He’s one of three new coaches in a division that looks to be wide open next season.

The 2016 schedule won’t be an easy one to navigate in Odom’s first season at the helm. Right off the bat, the Tigers visit Morgantown to take on West Virginia. The rest of the nonconference schedule is winnable, with home games against Eastern Michigan, Delaware State and Middle Tennessee State.

The crossover games are brutal. Missouri must go to LSU and then end the regular season at home with Arkansas. A split of those games should be viewed as a success.

Then there’s the usual division slate with home games against Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. All three are winnable, but the Tigers lost to all three on the road last year, so none of them can be counted as easy wins by any stretch.

It’s the three East road games that will be the most difficult on the schedule. Missouri travels to SEC East favorites Florida and Tennessee, and also must go to South Carolina. Winning just one of those games will be difficult to accomplish.

In fact, just duplicating the five wins Missouri captured last season will be a daunting task for the new regime.

Let’s take a closer look at the schedule:

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

Home games (7): Eastern Michigan (Sept. 10), Georgia (Sept. 17), Delaware State (Sept. 24), Middle Tennessee State (Oct. 22), Kentucky (Oct. 29), Vanderbilt (Nov. 12), Arkansas (Nov. 26).

Road games (5): West Virginia (Sept. 3), LSU (Oct. 1), Florida (Oct. 15), South Carolina (Nov. 5), Tennessee (Nov. 19).

Longest home stretch: 3 games (Eastern Michigan, Georgia, Delaware State)

Longest road stretch: 2 games (LSU, a bye, and then Florida)

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

2015 ranked teams (final regular season): No. 16 LSU, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 25 Florida.

2016 ranked teams (early projections): No. 10 Tennessee, No. 11 LSU, No. 17 Georgia, No. 25 Florida.

Potential trap games: Middle Tennessee State (Sandwiched between key SEC East battles on the road at Florida and at home against Kentucky); Vanderbilt (after SEC East games with Kentucky and South Carolina, the Tigers can’t afford to look ahead to big conference games with Tennessee and Arkansas).

Toughest SEC games: at LSU, at Florida, Tennessee

FULL SCHEDULE

Glenn Sattell

Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.