COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — 2025 record: 8-5
Missouri has gone to six bowl games in six seasons under Eli Drinkwitz, including an 11-2 finish in 2023 capped by a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State. But other than that spectacular season, the Tigers have struggled to escape the middle tier of mediocrity in the SEC, twice under Drinkwitz finishing with losing records after bowl defeats.
If All-American running back Ahmad Hardy can return from a gunshot wound sustained earlier this year, and the defense under coordinator Corey Batoon can continue to be among the stingiest in the nation, perhaps the Tigers can excel against a schedule that shapes up to be one of the most difficult in the nation: The Tigers are the only team that will play five of the top 10 teams in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.
“For us, we have had the same mentality we’ve always had: STP, something to prove,” Drinkwitz said. “Everybody at the University of Missouri has something to prove every day, something to prove that we belong in the SEC, something to prove that we can win and at a high level, and something to prove that we want to do it this year.”
Austin Simmons backed up Jaxson Dart at Ole Miss before winning the starting job ahead of last season. When an ankle injury in Week 2 against Kentucky sent him to the sideline, Trinidad Chambliss took over and quickly became a star. Simmons played sparingly the rest of the season before transferring to Missouri as the replacement for Beau Pribula, who left for Virginia.
His big arm should upgrade the Tigers' passing attack, especially with former Rebels teammate Cayden Lee and Minnesota transfer Caleb Goodie giving him a couple of promising targets to go with veteran tight end Brett Norfleet.
But the offense really hinges on the running game, where Hardy scampered for an SEC-best 1,649 yards and 16 scores in his first season with the Tigers. Missouri hopes he'll be able to contribute at a similarly high level at some point in the season. In the meantime, Jamal Roberts (753 yards, six TDs last season) and Houston Christian transfer Xai’Shaun Edwards will help with the load.
The Tigers will be almost completely new on defense, and the players that they lost from last season through graduation or the portal merely helped them finish eighth nationally last season allowing 277 yards per game.
Top pass rushers Damon Wilson II and Zion Young will have to be replaced after combining for 15 1/2 sacks last season; Wilson transferred to Miami while Young was a second-round pick of the Ravens. Their top tackler, Josiah Trotter, was a second-round pick of the Buccaneers. In the secondary, Marvin Burkes Jr. and Daylan Carnell are among those that will have to be replaced
QB Austin Simmons (transfer from Ole Miss), WR Cayden Lee (transfer from Ole Miss), RB Xai'Shaun Edwards (transfer from Houston Christian), LB Robert Woodyard Jr. (transfer from Auburn), CB Chris Graves Jr. (transfer from Ole Miss).
DE Zion Young (second-round pick of Baltimore), LB Josiah Trotter (second-round pick of Tampa Bay), DT Chris McLellan (third-round pick of Green Bay), OT Keagan Trost (third-round pick of Green Bay), QB Beau Pribula (transfer to Virginia).
At Kansas (Sept. 11), vs. Texas (Nov. 7), at Georgia (Nov. 14).
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
FILE - Mississippi quarterback Austin Simmons (13) hands off to running back Kewan Lacy (5) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia State in Oxford, Miss., Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
FILE - Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy (29) runs past Mississippi State linebacker Tyler Lockhart (11) and safety Hunter Washington (21) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Nov. 15, 2025, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson, File)
Iran on Thursday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’ s threats of economic pain and isolation, while the U.K and other nations condemned Israel over a controversial settlement project.
In Gaza City, a mass funeral was held for 50 people killed in Israeli airstrikes nearly three years ago but whose remains were just recovered. Meanwhile, Syria’s foreign minister visited Pakistan, which is seeking to defuse tensions between the United States and Iran.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage can be found here.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected the economic threats made against his country, saying that such “failed policies” will stir more hostility among Iranians and “bring more failures.”
Araghchi's comments came a few hours after President Donald Trump threatened “crushing economic measures” against Iran. Trump promised “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” but provided few details.
In a social media post, Araghchi maintained the threats aim to divert the attention of the U.S. public from domestic financial problems, adding that U.S. “economic terrorism threatens the global economy and the national sovereignty of countries around the world.”
Several countries condemned the latest development in a contentious Israeli settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two.
Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing issued a tender for constructing several compounds with more than 1,200 homes in total in an open tract of land east of Jerusalem. It’s the latest step in a project under consideration for more than two decades, which critics say would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called the publication of the tender “an unacceptable and destructive act” and denounced “settler violence and terrorism.” In a statement released on Wednesday, he added that the British government “demanded an immediate reversal” and had summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires.
Egypt and Jordan also condemned Israel’s move, which Cairo said would isolate east Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded on Thursday by defending “the historic right of the Jewish people to reestablish their national home in the Land of Israel — including in the area in question.” Saar criticized Britain’s government for “blaming only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism.”
A mass funeral Thursday in Gaza City remembered 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the opening months of the Israel-Hamas war but whose remains were only recently recovered from under rubble.
Dozens of mourners carried the remains, draped in Palestinian flags, through debris-strewn streets before lowering them into graves. Some held portraits and posters with photos of the deceased.
“We were able to recover them after three years of war, after three years of anguish, pain and torture. We were able to recover them, and dignify them in their final resting place. We were able to pray over them and bury them,” said Lina Karam, who lost her father and other members of her family.
The 50 bodies were from three families who were killed in airstrikes in November and December 2023.
The nearly three-year war has killed more than 73,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which was part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the toll.
Turkey has denied that a Turkish military delegation had visited an air base in northern Syria that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, and vowed to continue supporting Syria in its efforts to rebuild its military.
The Israeli strikes targeted the Abu Duhur base early on Tuesday, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had attacked the base because Syria was “on the verge of breaching” an agreed-upon “status quo in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there.
Syrian officials have said that a Turkish delegation visited the base before the Israeli strike to review rehabilitation work underway there.
Syria's Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani arrived in Islamabad for talks expected to focus on regional issues, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The visit comes days after Israeli airstrikes targeted an air base in northern Syria, causing damage but no casualties.
Pakistani officials say the country's political and military leadership remains in contact with both Iran and United States over efforts to de-escalate tensions and push for the resumption of talks after a 60-day deadline under a June memorandum of understanding expired. The agreement was brokered by Pakistan with help from regional countries.
The bodies of two Pakistanis killed in last week’s Houthi attack on a Tanzanian-flagged commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have been repatriated to Pakistan.
Six Pakistani sailors who were injured in the attack have also safely returned to the country, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post on X.
Mourners carry the flag-draped bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble, in Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Mourners carry the flag-draped bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble, in Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Mourners attend the funeral Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble, in Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Mourners carry the flag-draped bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble, in Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
In this photo released by the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, left, shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar before their meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP)
