Eli Drinkwitz’s first major decision as head coach of Missouri football came against the Tennessee Volunteers last October.
Down 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, Drinkwitz replaced then-starting redshirt junior quarterback Shawn Robinson with then-redshirt freshman Connor Bazelak after the offense struggled early. The Tigers lost that game 35-12, but Bazelak flashed enough potential to win the starting spot that afternoon, a position that he remains in today.
This season, Drinkwitz didn’t need to make an early in-game quarterback switch against the Volunteers. But with a 62-24 loss at Faurot Field Saturday afternoon, Drinkwitz still has plenty of pivotal decisions to make and poor play to address in the coming days.
“To say I’m disappointed is an understatement,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s my responsibility to have this team ready to play and I didn’t do my job today. We’ll go back to work tomorrow to get things corrected.”
Tennessee ran roughshod against Missouri and took control from the opening snap. Each of the Volunteers’ four first quarter touchdown drives lasted less than two minutes.
Even more concerning? Missouri players and coaches spent time last week discussing Tennessee’s offense. They knew coach Josh Heupel’s team wanted to come out and run play after play at high tempo. But just because they knew the Volunteers’ plan of attack didn’t mean that they could stop it.
All morning, Tennessee’s offense continued to run free right into the heart of Missouri’s defense. It went the entire opening quarter without facing a third-down situation because it didn’t need to. No team does when averaging 16.1 rushing yards on 10 first quarter attempts.
With just under two minutes to play in the first quarter, Volunteer redshirt junior linebacker Jeremy Banks read Bazelak’s eyes, made a mid-play adjustment to intercept the pass and took it to the 1-yard line. The very next play, junior running back Tiyon Evans punched the ball into the end zone to give his team a 28-3 lead with his third touchdown of the quarter — adding an exclamation point to a first quarter that quickly devolved into one-way traffic.
“Trying to get an explosive play, we threw an interception,” Drinkwitz said. “At that point it’s an uphill battle that changes the way you attack the game.”
Missouri held the ball eight minutes longer than the Volunteers in the first quarter, but controlling time of possession didn’t matter with how fast the visitors put points on the board. Offensively, the Tigers couldn’t match Tennessee’s efficiency.
“For the offense, scoring two touchdowns is unacceptable,” Bazelak said. “Everybody should use [this game] for motivation in the future.”
Missouri’s struggling defense has been a talking point after each of Missouri’s five games so far, yet not much has changed since game one. Players and coaches can talk about “shutting people up,” but when and how does that happen?
It’s a question that needs to be answered quickly, especially with a schedule that doesn’t get any easier. The Tigers host North Texas for their Homecoming game next week, but two of their next three SEC opponents are Texas A&M and Georgia.
If the Tigers’ first quarter against Tennessee is any indication, they’re in for a long second half of the season. Through 60 minutes, Missouri struggled to move the ball and forced just one defensive stop. But a 38-point loss is a result that often causes change somewhere, which has to happen, especially before the Aggies roll into town in two weeks.
“I told them if you come back to work tomorrow, come back as a team,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t know what the ceiling is for this team, but it’s got to be better than it was today.”
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com
