COLUMBIA - Will familiarity be friend or foe for Missouri this week?
In order to snap a five-game losing streak to Kentucky (2-2) when the two teams kick off at 3 p.m. today, the Tigers (1-2) may have to overcome, or lean into, the connections between the two programs.
Today's game will also be Missouri's 109th Homecoming celebration. Though many of the activities like the blood and food bank drives to house decorations have been changed or canceled, Missouri will still crown a king and queen at halftime.
Missouri's starting punter and PAT holder, Grant McKinniss, played for four years under Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops, including as the starting punter in Lexington, before Max Duffy, reigning Ray Guy winner (and a favorite to win it again this year) enrolled at UK from Australia. McKinniss is still friends with a number of current Kentucky players, and he and Duffy are still close.
McKinniss and Duffy were both wearing blue and white the last time the Wildcats came to town, a 15-14 win for then-No. 12 Kentucky, which scored a touchdown on an untimed down to end the game, which was set up partially by a questionable pass interference call but also by Missouri's offense failing to record a first down in the second half of the game.
"I do remember 2018 here, down in (the south) end zone, last second play," McKinniss said Tuesday. "I've talked about it briefly with some of the teammates around here; they don't like that moment too much, so try to keep that on the down low. But yeah, I'm definitely excited, it's definitely a game I've had circled on the schedule, now that I guess they got moved up, it's still circled for me.
"I do still talk to a lot of those guys. I lived with three of them, and then I talk with Max Duffy, their punter, quite often, probably about two or three times a week so I have a really good relationship with those guys still."
Then there's Missouri's starting quarterback Connor Bazelak, who dazzled two weeks ago in his second collegiate start against LSU, completing 29-of-34 passes for 406 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Bazelak's 11.9 yards per attempt were the most by a Tigers quarterback against a Power 5 or Southeastern Conference opponent since Missouri joined the conference, surpassing Drew Lock's 11.4 yards per attempt against Florida in 2017.
Bazelak, who came from a wishbone offense in high school, nevertheless impressed a number of college coaches with the flashes he showed at Archbishop Alter High School in Dayton, Ohio. Among them: NC State, where Eliah Drinkwitz was offensive coordinator, and Kentucky. Missouri and offensive coordinator Derek Dooley beat out a number of other offers, too, including Georgia and Iowa.
"Yeah, you certainly could see him going in and giving (Missouri) a spark and in running their offense and being very efficient," Mark Stoops said Wednesday of Bazelak on the coaches teleconference. "Had a very, very good game in his first start, and I'm sure he's excited about that and I'm sure Eli is as well. It gives him an opportunity to do what they want to do. And I think there's no denying that coach is very creative offensively, and Connor look very impressive. He's a great young man and I'm sure he'll have a great career there."
How Bazelak and Missouri's wide receivers perform against Kentucky's pass defense should be one of the defining matchups in this game. Bazelak clearly gained confidence against LSU, as did the second- and third-string receivers who were called upon. But the Wildcats haven't allowed an opponent to pass for 400-plus yards since Stoops took over in 2013, and though Bazelak shouldn't need to hit that benchmark to give the Tigers a chance at winning, Kentucky also hasn't allowed a passing touchdown in either of the past two games and has intercepted nine passes in that same time span.
Stoops might also have a little insider information on a defensive game plan: he's close with former Missouri head coach Barry Odom, who has led a defensive resurgence as defensive coordinator at Arkansas. Stoops said Odom's game plan against Mississippi State in the Razorbacks' 21-14 win earlier this season helped the Wildcats the next week in a 24-2 win.
"I think Barry is outstanding and I really respect Barry and what he does and the way he coaches," Stoops said. " I still keep in touch with Barry, he's a good friend, and I appreciate him and certainly pick his brain every now and then. We don't play them this year and so he's been helpful. A friend of mine, and does a fantastic job."
Kentucky also has a defensive coach with first-hand experience in working with Drinkwitz. Anwar Stewart, who played linebacker and defensive end for the Wildcats in the late 1990s, was hired away from Kentucky by Drinkwitz in 2019 to be Appalachian State's defensive line coach. After Drinkwitz was hired by Missouri after one season with the Mountaineers, most of the Tigers' defensive staff remained, including defensive line coach Brick Haley, and Stewart returned to Kentucky to coach the defensive line.
Whether any of it matters, hard to say, but it could make today's win a little sweeter for whichever side comes out on top.