Missouri HC Eli Drinkwitz admits it meant more to beat Tennessee
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz didn't opt for coach speak after his team's blowout win against the Tennessee Vols on Saturday in Columbia. Instead, the fourth-year Missouri head coach admitted after the Tigers' 36-7 win that beating Tennessee meant a little more for him and his program. "Crud yeah," said Drinkwitz when asked if […]
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz didn't opt for coach speak after his team's blowout win against the Tennessee Vols on Saturday in Columbia.
Instead, the fourth-year Missouri head coach admitted after the Tigers' 36-7 win that beating Tennessee meant a little more for him and his program.
"Crud yeah," said Drinkwitz when asked if beating Tennessee meant more after the Tigers' blowout losses to the Vols the previous two seasons. "Yeah, you went from giving up the most points to keeping them to their least amount of points. That's a pretty good swing right there. Nice job Bake (Missouri DC Blake Baker)."
Tennessee beat Missouri by a combined 80 points in 2021 and 2022. The Tigers also lost to a Jeremy Pruitt led team in 2020.
It's easy to see why Drinkwitz was doing a victory lap on Saturday after finally getting a win against the Vols. Missouri appeared to be on the path to nowhere under Drinkwitz after failing to win more than six games in each of his first three seasons leading the program. But the Tigers are now 8-2 and poised to be a thorn in the Vols' side for the foreseeable future.
Missouri's win on Saturday night against the Vols will be big for the Tigers when it comes to recruiting — especially players from the midwest.
Tennessee is still on an upward trajectory under Josh Heupel, but there's no doubt that Saturday's loss will make recruiting conversations a big tougher for the Vols in the coming months.
Talented Vols freshman will reportedly miss the rest of the season
Tough news for Tennessee
