‘We lost, but all is not lost’: Drinkwitz, Mizzou Tigers keep focus on building program

Following Missouri football’s 35-28 loss to Kentucky last Saturday, the locker room was quiet. Head coach Eliah Drinkwitz could tell the team was “ticked off” throughout the bus ride and flight home. When practice was held Sunday, there wasn’t a lot of smiling to go around.

The first loss of a season can reveal a lot about a group; how much his players were hurting made it clear to the head coach how invested they are in taking the program to the next level.

“We lost, but all is not lost,” Drinkwitz recalled telling them. “You lost a game, but there’s 10 games left and how you respond to that loss will determine the future of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Drinkwitz, in his second season as head coach of the Tigers, likens the process of building a football program to that of planting a crop; his father-in-law is a farmer, he says, so he knows a thing or two about the farming process.

“It’s not Miracle-Gro,” he says. “...You have to sow and you gotta water the ground and you gotta tear up weeds and you gotta battle heat and all kinds of stuff. And then you’ll reap the reward.”

Despite the many challenges brought about by the pandemic, including COVID cases within the team, the Tigers went 5-5 in 2020, creating a sense of momentum and positive buzz. With that comes certain expectations and desires, both inside and outside of the program, but Drinkwitz recognizes the reality that there is still much of the growth process ahead, that much like planting a crop, completing those steps takes time. And that showed against Kentucky, a team in their ninth season under Mark Stoops.

The Wildcats boasted more talent, particularly on the lines of scrimmage, whereas the Tigers are still trying to recruit and develop their roster. Missouri struggled on the defensive end throughout the game, unable to stop the run as it allowed 340 yards on the ground. They found themselves in a 14-0 hole in the first quarter, then 21-7 in the second, followed by a 28-14 deficit in the third. But instead of allowing that to balloon, the team clawed back, falling just short of tying the contest in the final minutes.

“The one thing that I love about this group is the mere fact that they gave us an opportunity to win at the end,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “So that’s encouraging to say that we got a lot of fight in these guys. And it’s our job, my job, as coaches, to make sure that they are able to execute.”

The coaching staff is also trying to establish the Tigers’ identity, now with more of an idea of their strengths and weaknesses two games into the season. The team’s fight has stood out as a positive, which Drinkwitz expressed to his players as they watched game film on Sunday. He also continued to emphasize one key sentiment: “We gotta find a way to make one more play.”

Stopping a third down conversion. Playing more aggressive in man to man coverage. Even coaches making a better play call on the offensive side of the ball. Find a way to make one more play.

The path to doing so comes two ways, he explained; through watching more film to be better prepared and practicing with better habits.

Following that message, linebacker Blaze Alldredge saw the defense bring “a new level of intensity” to practice Tuesday, with players focused on fixing the mistakes that led to the defeat.

Missouri faces Southeast Missouri State this Saturday, looking to get back in the win column and continue building as a program.

“We’re gonna see the harvest, we’re gonna get there,” Drinkwitz said. “You just gotta keep doing the right things, you gotta keep plugging away, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”