AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - The UMass Minutemen are facing the Missouri Tigers for the first time in program history at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday. Amherst celebrates completion of new roundabout in town Saturday's game will mark the first time an SEC team visits McGuirk Alumni Stadium for what may be the most highly anticipated home game in program history. This unlikely match-up has been in the works since 2019 when the Tigers' AD agreed to a home-and-home series with the Minutemen. Missouri ventures to Massachusetts this season, and the Minutemen will make the trip to Columbia next. It's Missouri's first road trip to a non-power conference school since August 2019 at Wyoming, and although the Tigers are coming off of a 41-10 loss to Texas A&M, this sort of match-up is still worth all the excitement, especially for Massachusetts. Umass football coach Don Brown said in a news conference earlier this week, "It'll challenge our players, but they'll be excited about playing. We just got to prepare and compete at a high level." Kick-off is at noon on ESPN 2, and 22News will catch up with fans before this historic match-up later Saturday morning. Local News Headlines Over 50 vendors, food, and entertainment to “Celebrate East Longmeadow” Holyoke Mall hosts ribbon cutting ceremony for Mystery Bins For the first time, UMass Minutemen to face Missouri Tigers Crews put out bedroom fire on Main Street in Springfield WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.