Kentucky football: Five things to know about the Missouri Tigers

Five things to know about the Missouri Tigers, who will be in town on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff versus the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field.

1. Eli Drinkwitz is more than a funny guy

Eli Drinkwitz is that rare college football coach with a playful sense of humor. This season, Drinkwitz said he wanted the focus to be more on his team than his jokes. And through six games, the Tigers are a team to be taken seriously.

The 40-year-old is in his fourth season as Mizzou’s head coach. After going 5-5 in his first season, the COVID year of 2020, Drinkwitz has gone 6-7 overall and 3-5 in the SEC each of the last two seasons. Missouri is 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference so far this season.

Born in Norman, Oklahoma, Drinkwitz was a year old when the Drinkwitz family moved to Arkansas. Drinkwitz graduated from Arkansas Tech and was a college football assistant coach, including offensive coordinator at North Carolina State before becoming the head coach at Appalachian State in 2019, succeeding now former Louisville coach and current Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield. Appalachian State went 12-1 in Drinkwitz’s lone season there.

Known as a creative offensive coach, Drinkwitz has his best offense at Missouri. The Tigers were 59th nationally in total offense first season in Columbia. After falling to 61st in 2021 and 85th last year, Missouri enters Saturday ranked 22nd in that category in 2023.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Drinkwitz,” UK coach Mark Stoops said Monday. “I like Eli. I know him. We will both do everything we can to get our team prepared for this week and play at a high level.”

2. Brady Cook has excelled at quarterback

After beating out freshman Sam Horn in training camp, Brady Cook has taken his game to another level in 2023. Last season, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound St. Louis native completed 248 of 383 passes for 2,739 yards and 14 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Through six games this season, Cook has completed 135 of 188 passes (71.8%) for 1,879 yards with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. He ranks 10th in the nation in pass efficiency.

Unfortunately, both of those interceptions came in last Saturday’s 49-39 loss to visiting LSU. Cook ended up 30 of 47 for 411 yards with two scores on the day to go along with those two picks. He’s thrown for at least 300 yards in each of his last four games. Against LSU, he also produced scrambles of 12 and 16 yards.

In Missouri’s 21-17 loss to Kentucky in Columbia last season, Cook was 18 of 26 for 143 yards without a touchdown or interception. He did run for a pair of scores — a 1-yard TD on a fourth-and-goal off a zone read; and a 20-yard score on a quarterback draw.

“(Florida quarterback Graham Mertz) did a really nice job of finding openings and moving within the pocket, and I think Brady does the same thing,” Stoops said Monday. “They will intentionally give him some half-sprints (sprint outs) or rolls (rollouts) a little bit, but he does a nice job at just buying time. He likes sitting back there because he’s got some weapons. So, when he has time, he’s going to find one of those guys.”

Cook has been helped this season by running back Cody Schrader, who ranks second in the SEC in rushing at 96.2 yards per game. UK’s Ray Davis leads the conference with 108.8 per game.

3. Luther Burden leads nation in receiving

A 5-11, 208-pound sophomore from East St. Louis, Luther Burden leads the nation in receiving with 54 catches and yards per game at 132.2. He’s caught 10 or more balls in each of the last three games and totaled at least 100 receiving yards in each of the last five games.

This shouldn’t be too surprising considering Burden was rated as the top receiver prospect in the country — and fourth-best prospect overall — when he signed as a five-star with Drinkwitz and Missouri.

Against LSU last week, Burden caught 11 passes for 149 yards. Three of his catches went for more than 20 yards, including a 22-yard, a 35-yard and a 42-yard reception.

“He’s an elite player,” Stoops said Monday. “ He’s an elite guy — he’s strong, he can run, and make competitive catches. He can run by you but he’s also hard to get down.”

4. Missouri’s defense lost a shootout with LSU

Under second-year coordinator Blake Baker, Missouri ranks 53rd nationally in total defense after finishing 34th in that category last season. LSU’s explosive offense did gain 533 yards on Mizzou last week, including 259 through the air and 274 on the ground.

LSU had two rushers go over the century mark. Logan Diggs gained 134 yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Jayden Daniels gained 130 yards on 15 attempts. Daniels produced runs of 27, 31 and 35 yards for Brian Kelly’s club. The 35-yard run was a touchdown run that put LSU up 35-32. “We couldn’t contain the quarterback,” Drinkwitz said afterward.

Even after last Saturday, Missouri ranks a respectable 29th in run defense. The Tigers are 101st in pass efficiency defense, however. Last week, Daniels was 15 of 21 for 259 yards and three scores. Playing for the injured A.J. Swann, Vanderbilt’s Ken Seals was 20 of 31 for 259 yards and two scores with one interception against the Tigers.

5. There’s a Kentucky-Missouri rivalry

Missouri is 3-7 versus Kentucky with Mark Stoops as the UK coach. And the Tigers are none too happy about it.

Mizzou lost 15-14 to Kentucky in 2018 when the Cats scored on a untimed down after a controversial pass interference penalty against the Tigers.

Last season, Kentucky won 21-17 in Columbia in part because the Tigers were called for a roughing the punter penalty after an errant snap sailed over the head of UK punter Colin Goodfellow.

After that controversial play, the NCAA changed the rule stating that roughing the kicker will no longer be applied if the kicker is “displaced more than five yards” from where he or she was standing when the ball was snapped.

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