How to watch BYU vs. Missouri on TV or online, plus 3 things to know

Missouri football just went through one of the most chaotic bye weeks a college team has ever endured, topped by head coach Gary Pinkel’s announcement that he’ll retire at the end of the season due to lymphoma. Will it affect them when they travel to Kansas City to play BYU this weekend?

The Tigers were set to boycott Saturday’s game amid campus unrest. While Mizzou got back on the practice field, there’s still upheaval on campus as the situation begins a rocky resolution and return to normalcy.

Part of that normalcy is getting back to football, but this Tiger team that has struggled all season will get no sympathy from a 7-2 BYU team that needs all the resume-building wins it can get. The Cougars are in the middle of a five-game winning streak, but they haven’t played a currently ranked opponent since being shut out by Michigan back in September. A victory over the 4-5 Tigers may not look like much, but a big scoring effort against the country’s No. 4 scoring defense could be enough to make College Football Playoff voters take notice.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Spread: BYU is favored by 7 points.

Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Vanquish the Foe (for BYU fans) and Rock M Nation (for Mizzou fans).

1. Missouri’s defense borders on elite, but their offense will need to turn up if they are going to pull off Saturday’s upset bid. They’ve managed to glean modest improvements in their run game, but there’s still only one team in the nation that scores fewer points per game than Mizzou’s 14.6. The Tigers can’t afford to stop at two touchdowns against BYU. That means that Russell Hansbrough will have to prove he’s finally healthy and has regained the form that made him a 1,000-yard rusher last fall.

2. Is BYU top-25 worthy? The Cougars have seven wins, but only one has come over a team ranked higher than 52nd in the Sagarin Ratings. Their last two games have been a rout over an FCS program that can’t buy a win in the powerhouse Northeast Conference and a 17-16 nailbiter that only bent the Cougars way when 4-5 San Jose State failed to convert a two-point conversion with 45 seconds remaining. BYU is a big-name opponent with a gaudy record, but there isn’t much substance behind that 7-2 start.

3. These two teams are meeting in a non-conference showdown that has more history to it than just football. A 1838 conflict drove more than 10,000 Mormons from the state of Missouri. The added significance of Saturday’s game in Kansas City could mean that a Cougar fanbase that already travels well will have extra representation in Arrowhead Stadium.