Guzman: Linked Arms and All, Missouri Is Sporting An Entirely New Team In 2024

The Missouri Tigers set out this season with a goal of setting themselves apart from last year's team. A 51-0 shutout on opening night laid the foundation for that, and their mindset cemented it.

Aug. 29, 2024: Junior wide receiver Logan Muckey leads the Missouri Tigers out of the tunnel before their season opener. / Matt Guzman /MissouriOnSI / Matt Guzman- MissouriOnSI

COLUMBIA, Mo. — An expanded North end zone video board, an "immersive" new sound system and a hi-tech drone show were ornamental additions to yet another Thursday season opener for the Missouri Tigers.

The former two are permanent fixtures of the Tigers' home, while the latter was merely for show — adding to rowdy atmosphere at Faurot Field that somehow felt "different."

"I've played in big crowds (before)," Missouri running back Nate Noel said following the game, "but today was different. ... It was lit."

As Missouri faithful continued filling the stands prior to kickoff to watch the Black & Gold lay it on the Murray State Racers, they would have left feeling especially jarred if anything else were to happen.

After last season, after all, that's what they were expecting. Rightfully so.

There are some comparisons, however, to be drawn between seasons: Like 2023, Missouri is out to prove something; for the fourth season in a row, it faced a team it was expected to beat; and for the third straight year, football began on a Thursday.

Aug 29, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive back Daylan Carnell (13) leads a group of his teammates back to the locker room prior to facing the Murray State Racers at Faurot Field. / Matt Guzman-Missouri Tigers On SI

But if there was one thing Missouri wanted to make clear, it was that this year's team was different. Unlike last season, it wasn't trying to prove it belonged in the SEC. That already happened.

This year, the Tigers set out to show they could roll out a plethora of new faces and still win. That their ability to be successful isn't contingent on last season's results.

How did they do that?

They linked arms and walked.

"It's a new thing," Drinkwitz said of the Tigers' new field entrance. "We want to show that together, we're stronger. ... (That's) the way we're going to do it this year. I thought it was pretty cool."

New this year for @MizzouFootball, the players will walk out of the tunnel with arms linked and Coach Eli Drinkwitz in front.

Ten minutes from kick here at Faurot Field. pic.twitter.com/iJDNT2iO5N

— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) August 29, 2024

So, arms linked, out the Tigers went. They made it to the front goal line of the end zone before dispersing, running through the makeshift tunnel made up of Marching Mizzou and a few pyro machines for the first home game of their season.

And they loved it.

"This is my second game here at Mizzou," Tigers defensive lineman Chris McClellan said, referring to his penultimate game played with the Florida Gators at the end of 2023. "But it's much better to be on the receiving end of the love."

Selling out Memorial Stadium on a Thursday night was proof, if the Tigers needed any, of the excitement surrounding their first season fresh off an 11-win season and Cotton Bowl Victory. The fans and the pressure they brought — albeit incidental — wasn't ornamental, either.

Aug 29, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. (2) celebrates on the sideline after scoring a pick-six against the Murray State Racers at Faurot Field. / Matt Guzman-Missouri Tigers On SI

That was a more permanent fixture of the Tigers' newfound success, yet as much as they won't embrace in direct response to last season, they understand where it comes from.

That, they embraced.

"I really challenged our players to play to a standard," Drinkwitz said. "To not get complacent. ... There's always things that you got to clean up, but I think we're where we want to be, and now we've just got to keep improving. The name of the game is: 'How much better can you get?'"

"Coach Drink (told us) 'A standard is a standard,'" Tigers linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. added. "We've got to uphold a standard."

In one game, 2024's Black & Gold put up more points than last season's did in any given contest. A 51-0 shutout doesn't leave much room for improvement, especially considering Corey Batoon's defense allowed fewer than 100 yards on the night, but I might be the only one saying that.

The rest of the team knows it can't get too excited over a game they barely covered the spread in — said in all irony. But it can leave Faurot proud of what it accomplished on the first game of the season.

"We're just playing our brand in football," Noel said. "Toughness, (speed), physicality. ... Everybody knows what they need to do, and whenever somebody new goes in, the speed doesn't change."

Aug 29, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Nate Noel (8) celebrates with tight end Tyler Stephens (80) after scoring against the Murray State Racers at Faurot Field. / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Noel — one of three running backs to notch a touchdown on the evening — made his statement in regard to the recurring changes between plays for the Tigers' offense, but it applies to their overall goal.

If they wanted set themselves apart from last year, they did. Their home blowout laid the foundation, but their mindset cemented it.

"The message is: 'It's a new team,'" Drinkwitz said firmly after going 1-0 on the 2024 season. "We're going to have our own identity."

This year's Tigers are reaping the benefits of last year's success. They're also inheriting the pressure, but their focus remains elsewhere.

They might not be the same team as last year, but that's OK.

More from Missouri vs. Murray State:

Bruising First Quarter Carries Missouri Through Season Opening Shutout

Eli Drinkwitz 'Not Alarmed' with Injuries to Norfleet and Wease

Instant Takeaways from Missouri's Pouncing Over Murray State