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Eli Drinkwitz puts pressure on Mizzou fans to sell out season-opener vs. Murray State
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Eli Drinkwitz is calling for a sell-out crowd when Mizzou plays Murray State in its season-opener at the end of this month.
While speaking with reporters on Tuesday afternoon in Columbia, Drinkwitz emphasized the importance of having a sell-out crowd for that game. He went as far as to challenge the Mizzou fan base to make sure it’s a full crowd for Week 1.
“We need to sell out this first game,” Drinkwitz said. “We’re a top-11 program in the country coming off of a Cotton Bowl win. In my opinion, if we don’t sell out the first game, then that shows me that we’re not as where we want to be as a fan base yet.
“OK, that’s just the reality of it. Don’t sit on the sidelines and say, ‘well, it’s gotta be this game.’ No, it doesn’t. Come watch this team and be excited about this team and embrace this team … We need to sell it out. We need to show the rest of the country that we’re serious about our program … Let’s eliminate all the noise about the past history of what the fan base has been and let’s establish what our identity moving forward is going to be. And the establishment of the identity moving forward is, ‘it doesn’t matter if it’s a Thursday night, Monday night, or Saturday night. If we’re playing at Faurot Field, we’re selling it out.'”
Here’s video of Drinkwitz’s full comments:
Here’s #Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz’s message to fans ahead of the season opener against Murray State: “We’re a top 11 program in the country…in my opinion, if we don’t sell out the first game, then that shows me that we’re not where we want to be as a fanbase, yet.” pic.twitter.com/381LMJVxH3
— Nathalie Jones (@NathalieABC17) August 20, 2024
As Drinkwitz alluded to, Mizzou’s season-opener is on a Thursday night. It’s the first game of a home slate of contests that includes matchups against Boston College, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Mizzou is entering this season with College Football Playoff aspirations in Year 5 under Drinkwitz. The Tigers are +184 to make the expanded Playoff, per FanDuel.
States: MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, NC, AZ, CO, IA, WY, IL, IN, OH, MI, NY
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Kickoff at Murray State is set for 8 p.m. ET on Aug. 29.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
