COLUMBIA, Missouri – As both daylight hours and humidity decrease in lockstep in September, Missouri’s football schedule intensifies in the opposite direction.

The No. 9-seeded Tigers (1-0) face Buffalo (1-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday in a game they will clearly win. The Mid-American Conference Bulls are showing a step up in quality over Football Championship Subdivision program Murray State, the blood donor of the season opener, but they don’t particularly come close to the level of competition Mizzou will face later in the season.

However, Buffalo’s status as the opening act for MU’s next two games against better teams means that the strength of opposing teams increases each week. Just look at the quarterback position.

The next three signal-callers Missouri will play against are all mobile quarterbacks to some degree.

While starting at SEMO, Buffalo’s CJ Ogbonna ran the ball 94 times for 357 yards in the 2021 season. Last year, in his first with the Bulls, Ogbonna ran 51 times for 214 yards – used as a novelty based on a meager 21 pass attempts.

Boston College, which plays at Mizzou on Sept. 14, brings an even more productive runner: Thomas Castellanos ran for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. In the Eagles’ season-opening win over Florida State, Castellanos ran 14 times for 73 yards and a touchdown.

When Vanderbilt visits Columbia on Sept. 21, Diego Pavia will be the starting quarterback. As a starter at New Mexico State last season, he rushed for 928 yards and seven touchdowns. In Pavia’s debut for the Commodores last weekend, he carried the ball himself 26 times – while throwing just 16 passes – for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Missouri’s rest of the schedule will also feature other mobile quarterbacks, such as Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Auburn’s Payton Thorne.

Quarterbacks who wanted to tuck the ball in and run were a challenge for Mizzou last season. Jayden Daniels — yes, the Heisman Trophy winner, which is relevant context and somewhat of an excuse — had 130 rushing yards against MU. While Missouri probably viewed that as a sign of victory rather than a mistake, Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III was the Vols’ best runner. When Florida brought run-first quarterback Max Brown into a tight game, he wreaked havoc.

If containing mobile quarterbacks is a priority for the Tigers defense, the next three weeks will test that. It’s a legitimate conclusion from another Mizzou game against a weaker team — not that MU would concede the momentum.

“I expect it will be a tough fight and we have to prepare accordingly,” said coach Eli Drinkwitz.

Despite that mindset, Missouri’s starters had a short night against Murray State. If the Tigers get a five-touchdown lead in the second half against Buffalo, as the spread suggests, something similar could happen.

Drinkwitz expects Mizzou’s core players to “play the whole game,” he said. “I didn’t have a plan (to take them out of the Murray State game). I mean, I don’t know what the opponent is going to do. The opponent has a say in everything we do, so I didn’t go into the game – we have a plan to win, and until the game is decided, our core players are going to play.”

So what causes the game to still be in hand will determine how long players like Brady Cook and Luther Burden III stay in the game – and whether interesting young players like running back Kewan Lacy and edge rusher Williams Nwaneri will once again get extended playing time.

The fact that a one-sided result is expected against Buffalo could not prevent the game from being sold out, but it does dampen the excitement surrounding the duel somewhat – at least compared to the excitement that an opponent from the Power Four or the SEC could generate.

These early-season losses are common in college football. Quite a few SEC teams played shortened quarters in the second half of their first-week games because the scores were no longer justifiable at halftime. Coach-speak can only do so much to disguise the reality of these one-sided affairs.

“I see this for two reasons,” Drinkwitz said. “First, because the portal can bring in top talent from lower grades and leagues, I see some of these results. Some of the schools that would have produced some of these players in the past don’t have those guys anymore. They’re playing at other schools.

“And then I think the next thing you see is the need for us as coaches to see as many guys play as long as possible,” he continued. “I saw where (Mississippi) Coach (Lane) Kiffin talked about how he wasn’t even considering shortening the quarters, and I agree with him 100%. We’ve got to let our guys play and we’ve got to get as many quality reps as possible because that’s how you develop. I think you’re seeing guys that need to make their twos and threes play — and play at a high level.”

Drinkwitz also noted that not every game resulted in the expected wins. He alluded to a “game in the West” being close, likely a subtle reference to No. 7 Oregon’s narrow escape against FCS Idaho.

So when the Tigers and Bulls meet on Saturday night, Mizzou will enjoy a talent advantage that should allow for a comfortable win with room for error as it works against a mobile quarterback. And while Drinkwitz says it’s not projected in advance, some of Missouri’s backups could also get more valuable game experience.

“There is no master plan,” Drinkwitz said. “There is a plan to win the game when the outcome of the game is uncertain.”