Eli Drinkwitz explains 'completely boneheaded' penalty, explains flag on last play

Eli Drinkwitz should be the happiest person on earth after Harrison Mevis made a 61-yard, SEC-record setting field goal to help Mizzou beat No. 15 Kansas State on Saturday afternoon at Faurot Field.

An embarrassing delay of game penalty made what would have been a 56-yard try a 61-yard attempt to end the game, which Mevis absolutely drilled.

After the game, Drinkwitz took responsibility for the mistake, saying sometimes you get lucky and your players bail you out.

Drinkwitz said the delay of game is "totally 100% on me…completely boneheaded, but sometimes your players bail you out"

— Power Mizzou (@PowerMizzoucom) September 16, 2023

He then joked that they took the penalty to make the finish more dramatic:

Eli Drinkwitz says they knew they were gonna kick it, they got the penalty to make it more dramatic, it's all for TV and it was in the script pic.twitter.com/5w5PorlSN3

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 16, 2023

Drink: "We took the penalty to make it more dramatic…It's all in the script"

— Power Mizzou (@PowerMizzoucom) September 16, 2023

Oh, and that flag that mysteriously appeared on the final kick? Drinkwitz explained that the Wildcats had 2 players with No. 8 uniforms on the field for the final field goal attempt by Mevis:

Drinkwitz said the flag on the final play was K-State having two players wearing No. 8 on the field and if the kick was no good Mevis would have gotten another chance.

— Power Mizzou (@PowerMizzoucom) September 16, 2023

So Mevis was basically taking a free kick on the 61-yarder. The fact that he made it just etched his name into the SEC record books as the longest field goal ever made in the league.