The No. 25 Texas A&M football team is a slight favorite over the No. 11 Missouri Tigers
Saturday morning’s contest, when Texas A&M hosts Missouri at Kyle Field, will probably be the most important SEC game of the day. When the clock hits triple zeros, one team will be one of five SEC squads with an unblemished conference record.
Both teams have areas where they excel and struggle; the more complete team is the Tigers. They are in the top half of the league in offense and top three in defense, while A&M is in the bottom half of the SEC in both. Even with that, the talent of the Aggie roster seems to be enough eye candy, and the Tiger’s troubles with Vanderbilt have the experts split on who they think will be the victor.
It might sound like Groundhogs’ Day, but it’s another week, initially making it seem like another toss-up game. However, the conference does seem to have even more parody than last season. A win will go a long way for both teams, and neither will take this game lightly.
Here is who the experts are picking to come out victorious in this week’s matchup:
Texas A&M will host Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 11:00 a.m. CT. The game will air on ABC and will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
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In case you missed it, Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz talks about facing Ohio State upon his arrival in Dallas. #GoBucks
The Ohio State football team is used to the big stage as one of college football’s blue bloods. It’s on a pretty significant stage again in Dallas, where it will take part in the New Year’s Six Cotton Bowl.
The Buckeyes’ opponent, on the other hand, isn’t as used to such a bright spotlight. That doesn’t mean Missouri didn’t earn its spot in a lucrative bowl matchup. At 10-2 and ranked No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Tigers have had a fantastic season. They lost to two ranked SEC teams: LSU and Georgia.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz is embracing the national stage and met with the media upon his team’s arrival in Dallas to answer questions and react to the game. He talked about his team, but also touched on the challenge and opportunity of playing a team like Ohio State.
Catch everything Drinkwitz said about his team and the Buckeyes below thanks to the YouTube channel of KMIZ ABC.
There are a few days until Ohio State and Missouri do battle in the Cotton Bowl and we’ll continue to have coverage leading up to, during, and after the game, so come back and get plenty of content until the two kick things off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
Here are the best photos from Arkansas’ loss to Missouri on Friday in the Battle Line Rivalry.
Arkansas is simply owned by Missouri, as sad as those words are to type.
Missouri won its second consecutive and seventh in eight tries over the Razorbacks on Friday before a mild 59,487 in Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks (4-8) now go into an offseason full of uncertainty and with a coach who is likely going to be on the hot seat for 2024 regardless of what Hunter Yurachek publicly says.
Missouri, meanwhile, clinched 10 wins and will be awaiting a likely New Year’s Six bowl matchup and a chance to win 11 games and finish in the top eight nationally.
Here are the best images from the tenth installment of the Battle Line Rivalry presented by Shelter Insurance on Friday.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz took part in media days Monday on the main stage.
Tennessee will play at Missouri on Nov. 11.
Drinkwitz discussed adding former Vol linebacker Nyles Gaddy to the Tigers’ roster in 2023.
“I think Nyles has come in and really been hungry to learn,” Drinkwitz said. “Obviously there’s a steep learning curve, having this being his third school, how we do things around our program in comparison to what he’s done in the past. It’s different. It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, it’s just how we do it here, so he’s adamant about trying to figure that out, and putting himself in a position to compete once we hit the ground on July 31 when we report to camp.
“He’s done all the things that we’ve asked him to do. He’s been excellent in the weight room, but he’s trying to get up to speed because once we start fall camp, then every competition, you’ve got to be at your best every day, and that room is so deep. There’s so many potential players, again, you can’t have a bad day or you’re going to fall on the depth chart, and that’s the way you want it. That’s the way great programs are built. We’re continuing to evolve to that situation.”
Gaddy played at Tennessee from 2018-19. He redshirted as a freshman in 2018 and appeared in one game for the Vols in 2019, recording zero statistics.
2022 SEC media days: Coaches sound off on future of college football
The Southeastern Conference media days returned to the College Football Hall of Fame and The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia July 18-21.
SEC media days were held at the College Football Hall of Fame and The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in 2018.
Third-year Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz took part at media days Monday.
Drinkwitz discussed the Tigers’ 2022 road schedule which includes playing at Tennessee Nov. 12.
“I look forward to the challenges that we have, and there are many,” Drinkwitz said. “Five true road games at really difficult places to play, at K-State (Kansas State), at Auburn, at Florida, at South Carolina, at Tennessee.
“That’s a heck of a challenge, but we’re working really hard, we’re training with an elite edge to be able to meet that challenge head on.”
A look at Eliah Drinkwitz and Josh Heupel evolving offensively as SEC head coaches.
Tennessee defeated Missouri, 35-12, last season in Week 2 of a 10-game, SEC-only schedule.
The Vols would win only one more game after starting 2-0 in 2020. Tennessee’s third and final victory came at Vanderbilt after losing six consecutive games.
After an 0-2 start with losses to Alabama and at Tennessee, Missouri would defeat defending national champions LSU and Kentucky in consecutive weeks.
Missouri finished 5-5 in Eliah Drinkwitz’s first season as a head coach in the SEC.
Following the Tigers’ Week 2 loss at Tennessee, Drinkwitz discussed operating an offense in the SEC.
“I’m trying just to execute plays,” Drinkwitz said. “We have to execute. Tricks aren’t winning in the SEC, we have to execute. We can try to trick people all we want, and we have formations that cause them issues — but we have to execute better. That’s the solution.”
Drinkwitz still executes his base plays and philosophies, but he understands there is an element of being successful in a downhill running game and having base-pass execution that allows teams to be successful in the SEC.
Drinkwitz’s offensive system compliments a physical downhill running game with various perimeter plays, highlighted by motions and screens.
Bubble screen — reading the SAM linebacker blitzing and throwing in open space to the slot on the field side.
Hitches — In man coverage, two inside receivers are thrown to with screens in the flats.
Now screen — A boundary side screen to a receiver in the slot, in motion or in trips.
Orbit — A wide receiver motions into the backfield, becoming a pitch option in the running game.
Shoot screen — A screen from the backfield that can be seen in a diamond formation.
Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eliah Drinkwitz talks with quarterback Connor Bazelak (8) in a timeout during the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Josh Heupel has established an identity with veer and shoot philosophies he implemented into his offense when becoming Missouri’s offensive coordinator in 2016.
Heupel has since executed his offense as a first-time head coach at UCF (2018-20) and now with the Vols.
Throughout Tennessee’s first three games in 2021, Heupel did not break away from his offensive philosophies and concepts that he has executed since becoming an offensive coordinator in the SEC.
“You’ll see a combination of stuff as we continue to grow offensively,” Heupel said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “In year one, you try to get your kids the base understanding of base concepts, of what you are doing, and continue to integrate things into your repertoire, into your game plan that are needed to attack certain things that you see defensively.
“Those things become a natural part of what you are doing, as you continue to grow, just kind of an evolution of who you are and where you’re going as an offense.”
Tennessee’s offense under Heupel has operated efficiently at times this season, but also has been stagnant.
The Vols’ offense has produced five 40-plus yard plays from scrimmage this season under Heupel.
The Vols recorded three offensive plays of 40-plus yards during its 10-game, SEC only 2020 season. Tennessee produced 10 offensive plays of 40-plus yards in 13 games during the 2019 campaign.
Tennessee’s offense over the last two seasons never evolved and Heupel is trying to execute different ways of maximizing his player personnel.
The mesh concept against Florida, once practiced with more reps, will allow for Heupel’s personnel to attack SEC defenses with different variations.
Eliah Drinkwitz was one of the last coaches to speak at SEC Media Days, but he was one of the most memorable for the jabs he delivered.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz may have been one of the last coaches to speak at SEC Media Days on Thursday. But he tried to make sure his time at the podium was the most memorable by jabbing at other programs, including Florida coach Dan Mullen.
The Gators head to Columbia, Missouri, to face the Tigers on Nov. 20.
“I’m praying for snow,” Drinkwitz said about his matchup with Florida, according to GatorsTerritory. “Dan (Mullen) is going to complain about everything.”
It’s likely the game in November will be cold between 50 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit based on Missouri’s average temperature for the month. If the average holds up, there would likely be no snow.
However, this is another example of Drinkwitz prodding at Mullen. In last year’s contest, the two programs had a bench-clearing brawl after a Missouri defender delivered a late hit on quarterback Kyle Trask right before the half. Mullen was fined $25,000 by the SEC for his actions.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Florida beat the Tigers in Missouri to hear Mullen state in the post-game press conference that he had “no complaints” about the outcome.
He also answered questions about the swirling rumors that Oklahoma and Texas wanted to join the SEC by asking commissioner Greg Sankey if the “horns down” taunt would be a penalty.
Drinkwitz then poked at Arkansas and said Missouri would like a rivalry with the Razorbacks because he can’t remember the last time they beat his program.
It’s clear he wants to be another media darling in the conference with the jabs he took at SEC Media Days.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz had high praise for Chargers rookie running back, Larry Rountree III.
The Chargers rounded out their backfield with the selection of former Missouri running back Larry Rountree III in the sixth-round of this year’s draft.
Rountree joins Los Angeles after being one of the most productive backs in the SEC the past three seasons, having posted 3,720 yards and 40 touchdowns, which are both school records.
Rountree’s former college head coach, Eliah Drinkwitz, who believes that he is going to be an excellent football player for a long time, talked about what the back brings to L.A.
“He’s going to be a tremendous asset for both that left tackle [Rashawn Slater] and for Justin to take the pressure off of them as far as having to throw the football and protect,” Drinkwitz said.
“He’s a guy that can get the tough yards. It’s not always pretty when you hand him the football as far as the blocking scheme, but he’s going to make sure it’s a positive play.
And he’s just got a great smile and personality, and he’s going to be an excellent person in the locker room for those guys to lean on. He was voted team captain by his peers for us and just a guy that was a joy to be around.”
Rountree enters training camp next month in one of the most compelling position battles alongside Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley for one of the spots behind Austin Ekeler.
Rountree is an explosive runner who has good feet, contact balance, second-level vision, ball protection awareness, as well as passing game impact, who projects as a short-yardage/goal-line specialist and special teamer.
Should he impress the coaching staff in camp and the preseason slate, Rountree could grow into a decent-sized role sooner than most people anticipate, with the potential to be a well-rounded back that can contribute on multiple downs.
Despite losing last Saturday by 21 points to the No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes, the Wisconsin Badgers’ bowl prediction from USA TODAY has not chan…
Despite losing last Saturday by 21 points to the No. 16-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the Wisconsin Badgers’ bowl prediction from USA TODAY has not changed for this week.
The Badgers are still projected by USA TODAY to play the Missouri Tigers in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn on Dec. 30. Missouri has had a bounce-back season under new head coach Eliah Drinkwitz, including big wins against LSU, Kentucky, and South Carolina. However, Wisconsin is 4-1 in the all-time series with the Tigers, and the Badgers’ only loss came back in 1975 when they lost 21-28 in Columbia, Mo.
Nov 21, 2020; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eliah Drinkwitz discusses a call against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
The College Football Playoff teams stay the same in this week’s predictions as Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Clemson keep their positions.
Despite being 2-3 on the season, Wisconsin has a chance to finish the year at .500 with a win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers this weekend. A convincing win by the Badgers would help their chances for a better bowl game, instead of in the Music City Bowl that they are currently projected to play in.
