Eli Drinkwitz weighs in on Mizzou's performance in 34-24 win over Central Michigan
Eli Drinkwitz led the Missouri Tigers to a 5-5 record in an all-SEC 10-game schedule in 2020. So, big things were expected of the Tigers in 2021.
However, that enthusiasm was dampened a bit on Saturday at Faurot Field, as the Tigers struggled to beat a Central Michigan team that was without head coach Jim McElwain due to an emergency appendectomy.
But, a win is a win, and the Tigers will certainly be happy with Saturday’s 34-24 win over the Chippewas.
After the game, though, Drinkwitz had plenty to say about his team’s performance:
On responding to an early deficit:
Coach Drinkwitz "I'm really proud of the way our team responded after being down 14-7."
— Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) September 5, 2021
On things that need to be fixed moving forward:
Drinkwitz at the lectern for postgame.
"I felt like all week we were going to be in this kind of game. I preached it. … There's a lot of things on film that will get corrected. It's a lot better correcting them 1-0."
— Eric Blum (@ByEricBlum) September 5, 2021
On LB Blaze Alldredge’s big game:
Drinkwitz on Blaze Alldredge's big game, "You seen his hair? You're going to wear hair like that – you better be a player."
— Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) September 5, 2021
On third-down struggles:
On the lack of third down conversions: "We stunk at it. And our play designs, it's on me," Drinkwitz said.
— Eric Blum (@ByEricBlum) September 5, 2021
On RB Tyler Badie:
Drinkwitz on Badie, "Tyler is an electric player. I'm really proud of him."
— Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) September 5, 2021
On struggles with tackling:
Drinkwitz: “There’s going to be a lot of things on tape we want to fix…starting with tackling.”
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladd0) September 5, 2021
On not taking anything for granted:
Drinkwitz: "I've been on the other side and beat two Power Five teams… Any assumption that you're going to beat anybody in college football is crazy to me."
— Kyle Pinnell (@Kyle_Pinnell_) September 5, 2021
On fans showing out for the game:
#Mizzou HC Eli Drinkwitz on the fans, "I appreciate everybody that showed up."
— Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) September 5, 2021
Mizzou doesn’t have much time to fix its problems, as a trip to Kentucky looms large next weekend. We’ll see how the Tigers look in that game in Lexington.
