As is usual and expected, Missouri football faces a tough slate of SEC games once again this season.

After going through its early nonconference slate against Louisiana Tech, Kansas State and Abilene Christian, the Tigers will head to eastern Alabama on Sept. 24 to take on Auburn.

Auburn went 6-7 last season, 3-5 in the SEC. The southern Tigers nearly beat archrival Alabama before falling in a four-overtime thriller at home. 

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Before taking on Missouri, Auburn will play Mercer, San Jose State and Penn State. MU will serve as Auburn's homecoming game. 

With the season fast approaching, here’s what to know about the Auburn Tigers.

Bo Nix is gone. Last year’s Auburn starter transferred to Oregon during the offseason, leaving a hole at the most important position. 

The passing game wasn’t a strength for the Tigers last season, but the Auburn receiving core is solid enough, though not up to the elite level of other teams in the SEC. The candidates to replace Nix are all transfers: TJ Finley from LSU, who was on the roster last season, Zach Calzada from Texas A&M and Robby Ashford from Oregon. 

Missouri saw Calzada last season, when he threw for 148 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to lead the Aggies to victory in an October contest in Columbia. However, he was limited throughout spring practice. 

Playing behind Nix for most of the way, Finley finished his 2021 season with 70 completions for 827 yards on 128 pass attempts. He threw for six touchdowns and one interception. As a freshman at LSU in 2020, he started five games, helping those Tigers beat South Carolina and Arkansas.

Ashford, who went to high school in Hoover, Alabama, before going to Oregon, did not play in any games for the Ducks in 2020 or 2021. In Auburn’s spring game, he completed 12 of 16 pass attempts for 132 yards. 

The Tiger quarterbacks will be helped by an excellent running back group that includes 1,000-yard rusher Tank Bigsby, who also scored 10 touchdowns. Jarquez Hunter, who rushed for 593 yards on 89 attempts last season, good for 6.7 yards per carry, is also expected to contribute. 

The offensive line is senior-heavy and looks to be a solid group once it rebounds from several injuries. 

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin has said he won’t trim the quarterbacks list down until after the first week of fall camp. 

To say Auburn had a tumultuous offseason would be an understatement.

Harsin nearly lost his job, according to reports, as the university dug into the reasons behind an exodus of players and coaches from the program during his first year as head coach.

After the inquiry, the school announced in February it would not pay Harsin what would have been a buyout of over $18 million and he would instead keep his job. However, should significant changes not occur, it seems likely that Harsin could find himself on the hot seat again. 

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Harsin will be joined by some fresh blood on the coaching staff. Last year’s offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is gone and will be replaced by former receivers coach Eric Kiesau.  

After defensive coordinator Derek Mason left for the same job at Oklahoma State, Jeff Schmedding was promoted to that spot. Schmedding previously served as Auburn’s assistant head coach, linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator and was Harsin’s defensive coordinator at Boise State before that. 

Former Auburn player Jimmy Brumbaugh took over as defensive line coach. Despite all of the changes, Harsin’s job does not appear safe, and dropping an early season matchup with Missouri would not help the situation, especially given Auburn’s meat grinder of an SEC West schedule. 

Last year was less than stellar for Auburn’s defensive corps. The Tigers didn’t get blown out most weeks, but often struggled to make stops in key situations. 

The secondary suffered significant losses, with safety Smoke Monday and cornerback Roger McCreary being the most notable.

The unit seems primed for a step back, particularly without McCreary, a first-team all-American. 

At linebacker, the Tigers lost their two leading tacklers from last season in Zakoby McClain and Chandler Wooten. Auburn will rely more on Owen Pappoe, who missed most of last season with injury, participating in only five games. 

They could also benefit from several solid freshmen, plus North Carolina transfer Eugene Asante, who made 62 tackles throughout a three-year stint with the Tar Heels. 

Finally, the defensive line looks as if it could again be a strength for Auburn. The Tigers suffered significant losses through the transfer portal, but return Colby Wooden, who finished last season with five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. 

The Tigers will also look for fellow returnee Marcus Harris to make an impact. Harris contributed two sacks, six tackles for loss and a fumble recovery last season. 

Matt Stahl is the Missouri athletics beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.