Eli Drinkwitz had no interest in letting anyone else control the story after Missouri’s latest statement win.
After the Tigers rolled to a 45-17 blowout of previously unbeaten, No. 8 Florida on Saturday, Drinkwitz brushed aside the chatter that had followed a frustrating road loss at Mississippi State a week earlier. Missouri put together a full four quarters against the Gators, piling up 560 yards of offense and handing Drinkwitz his first win over a top-10 team at Missouri after 10 losses.
“Everybody’s allowed to get better and improve,” Drinkwitz said after the game. “After this game, I can't believe anything that y'all write about us or anything on Twitter. After last game, I didn't believe anything that was said about me or our team on Twitter, because none of that matters.
“What really matters is the truth of what your coaches teach you and preach to you and that's what makes a good football team. I know y'all have jobs to do and that's awesome and y'all got to do them, but for us, it's about ignoring the noise and staying focused on our trajectory.”
The victory snapped a nine-game skid against ranked opponents and improved Drinkwitz’s record at Missouri to 8-19 against AP Top 25 teams. He said he “couldn't have cared less” about the “narratives” swirling around his program before the game.
“Every game has a life of its own, and it's people searching for crap to talk about,” Drinkwitz said.
Missouri, which had been ranked 25th, is expected to move into the top 20 when the new AP poll comes out Sunday. The Tigers now turn to a home game against Texas A&M next week before heading to Ole Miss.
The schedule still gets heavier from there, with top-ranked Texas and No. 2 Georgia still waiting in the second half of the season. But Missouri has given itself room to dream, and the offense has been the reason.
Even without preseason Doak Walker candidate Ahmad Hardy taking a snap in the backfield, the Tigers have had no trouble putting up points. Ole Miss transfer quarterback Austin Simmons has thrown for 1,287 yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception, while Jamal Roberts has already posted three 100-yard games after running for 211 yards against Florida.
Drinkwitz pointed to the details that changed from the Mississippi State loss to the Florida win, saying the Tigers cleaned up one set of problems and now have another to attack.
“Last week (at Mississippi State), we didn't set edges and we didn't tackle ... we didn't have situational execution on third downs in the red zone,” Drinkwitz said. “Boom, (we) got them fixed.
This week, we better start running the ball better on first or second down or we're going to be in real trouble vs. Texas A&M.
“It’s constantly figuring out where you got to plug holes. That's our job, and that's what we're going to do.”
With four games left against top-10 opponents, Missouri can at least talk itself into being a CFP threat inside the locker room. If the Tigers beat Texas A&M and Ole Miss before their open date later this month, that conversation could start feeling a lot more real.
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For Ole Miss, the bigger picture is less about where the Rebels sit right now and more about the company they are trying to climb into. With Alabama at the top and Georgia still in the mix near the top five, the SEC picture already has the feel of a league where every week can alter the pecking order, and Ole Miss will be watching closely as those teams keep stacking tests that could shape the path ahead. [Read more 🡒]