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At least Murray State has the element of surprise on its side when it faces No. 11 Missouri.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz admitted that his staff doesn’t have a great read on the Racers heading into their game Thursday night at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.

“It’s going to be a difficult challenge, probably the most difficult opening game that we faced since I’ve been here,” Drinkwitz said. “They have a whole new staff. Around 60 new players that they acquired, whether they were from high school or through the transfer portal. So, it’s a real challenge to have any idea of what they’re going to do schematically.”

The Racers hit the reset button after finishing 2-9 last season playing at the FCS level in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Murray State hired South Carolina tight ends coach Jody Wright, who set out to rebuild the roster.

“There’s really no way to watch Murray State film because they’ve got brand new offense, defense and special teams coordinators,” Drinkwitz said of the overhaul.

By the same token, Missouri won’t be a mystery to Murray State. Wright competed against the Tigers in the SEC during his time with the Gamecocks.

“We played them both years I was at South Carolina,” Wright told the Valley First and Goal podcast. “We came up short both times. But they did an amazing job there.”

The Tiger return third-year starting quarterback Brady Cook, who completed 244-of-367 passes for 3,317 yards and 21 touchdowns last season for an 11-2 squad. He also ran for 319 yards and eight TDs.

Cook’s primary target will be preseason All-America receiver Luther Burden II, who caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine TDs last season.

Missouri’s big offensive challenge will be replacing workhorse running back Cody Schrader. Transfers Nate Noel (834 yards, five touchdowns at Appalachian State) and Marcus Carroll (1,350 yards, 13 TDs) at Georgia State will try to fill the void.

“Nate Noel will go out there first and Marcus will rotate through,” Drinkwitz said. “I think those guys have good, complementary football skills and they know how to play off each other. I think we understand we’re not going to have somebody that going to be able to carry it as many times in the game as Cody. so we’ll have to do a good job of making sure we allow the starter to get into rhythm, but also make sure they’re fresh.”

Murray State is expected to start South Dakota Mines transfer Jayden Johanssen at quarterback. In four seasons at the Division II level, Johanssen threw for 8,199 yards and 74 touchdowns and rushed for 1,635 yards and 24 TDs.

He was nominated in 2022 for the Harlon Hill Award, D-II’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

Among the top returning Racers is running back Q’Daryius Jennings, who totaled 476 all-purpose yards last season.

Murray State is a 46.5-point underdog in this game, but Wright promoted the matchup while attracting players for his first season.

“It really helped us in recruiting, letting guys know ‘Hey, you want try to play in the NFL, do things, you get a chance to play on national TV Thursday night to open the season,'” Wright said.

“We’re going to have fun. It’ll be a great opportunity. It’ll definitely be a good SEC Thursday night atmosphere. Nothing better than a SEC night game.”

–Field Level Media