It seems as if Missouri's welcome to the SEC will be a very interesting one, as their schedule was released today. Click here for the schedule on MIssouri's official athletic website.
Some interesting things stand out when looking at the schedule from the perspective of a soon-to-be-graduated student like myself. The first thing I noticed was the great amount of home games the Tigers are likely to have in 2012.
The schedule features five home games at this point (four conference and one with Arizona State that concludes the home-and-home) with three slots left to fill. This means a ton of home games (or more than the normal six) for Mizzou students and fans alike, something I would have loved as a student.
The Tigers could conceivably have seven home games before traveling to Gainesville on Nov. 3 for their second road game of the year. This will be something to adjust to for Columbia residents, as Missouri has had only six home games each of the last four years because of annual neutral site games against Illinois and Kansas.
This could also be a positive for the team. With no need for a lot of travel at the beginning of the season, the Tigers will be able to have a lot of full practices and stay focused on opponents coming into town rather than traveling. A good start for Missouri under the leadership of James Franklin could snowball into a very successful season.
Stay with SB Nation Kansas City for continuing analysis of Missouri's move to the SEC and check out our Missouri blog, Rock M Nation for even more analysis and reaction.