How Mizzou Tigers football executed Drinkwitz’s game plan perfectly against Kentucky
The Missouri Tigers appeared to have vulnerabilities exactly where the Kentucky Wildcats wanted them.
Kentucky was on a tear with 10 takeaways in its last two wins … Mizzou struggled with turnovers in its opening three games.
Kentucky was going to run it down MU’s throat whenever it had the ball ... Mizzou was missing key players and depth pieces on the defensive line.
Kentucky featured a talented secondary that had intercepted nine passes in its past two games ... Mizzou had redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Bazelak going up against some coverages he had never seen before in his career.
And for good measure, the ‘Cats brought in a five-game winning streak over the Tigers.
None of that mattered Saturday.
Mizzou (2-2) physically beat and outworked Kentucky (2-3) in a 20-10 victory in front of 11,738 fans at Memorial Stadium. MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz soaked in the win that snapped Mizzou’s long skid to Kentucky.
“They played the game exactly like we wanted it to be played in order to win,” Drinkwitz said. “That doesn’t happen very often against a really good football team. … I’m shocked at these stats; I’ve never been in a game like this. That’s awesome.”
It was a confidence-boosting, dominant day for a MU defense which has battled its bits of adversity this season. The Tigers had yielded totals of 38, 35 and 41 points to the opposition to start the season — not at the level they expected to perform.
The Mizzou defense posted its best showing as the Kentucky offense was forced to a halt. Kentucky mustered just 145 total yards, including 47 through the air as it juggled quarterbacks between starter Terry Wilson and Joey Gatewood.
“It’s good to finally see all the hard work that we’re putting in as a team in general is starting to pay off throughout the games,” Missouri safety Martez Manuel said. “It was a really good feeling to be able to have our offense back so that we can play a solid team game and get a team win.”
The Wildcats’ rush attack — where they make most of their impact — was inconsistent and couldn’t generate a push. That was against a Mizzou defensive line that had to juggle some spots because Kobie Whiteside and Darius Robinson were injured. In their absence, guys like Tre Williams, Akial Byers, Markell Utsey and others stuffed the Wildcats.
There were some miscues, including on Kentucky’s lone touchdown of the day, but the defense kept the Wildcats off the field for much of the game. Kentucky finished with four three-and-outs on nine drives and was limited to a time of possession of just 16 minutes, 50 seconds.
“D-line did a hell of a job today holding the gaps in the run game but also, when they got a one-on-one chance in the pass rush, we were winning,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “If that translates and keeps going on, we’re going to have a successful season.”
While the defense played keep-away with Kentucky, Mizzou’s offense joined in on the fun. Drinkwitz said the only path to defeating Kentucky is by beating the Wildcats at their own game.
Mizzou pounded the ball on the ground, and once the Tigers ran out to a lead, they didn’t relinquish it — trademarks, both, of Kentucky football. MU was relentless with the run game, handing the ball off to Larry Rountree III a career-high 37 times as the captain ran for 126 yards.
When the Tigers needed to turn to the passing game, there was Connor Bazelak, quickly becoming a dependable quarterback. MU posted zero turnovers for the first time this season, limiting mistakes which the ‘Cats had hoped to feast on. Bazelak didn’t pick apart the Kentucky secondary like he did LSU, but he didn’t have to as Mizzou kept it conservative to underneath routes and check-downs.
Where Mizzou shined was on the extended, exhausting drives. While Kentucky ran all of 36 plays — less than Rountree had total carries — MU took a whopping 92 snaps.
The Tigers posted four drives that went longer than 10 plays, three of which lasted for more than six minutes. They dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 43:10 as they taxed the Kentucky defense.
“It helps us to keep our defense fresh,” Rountree said. “It showed that we can sustain long drives without getting tired. Obviously, when we were on long drives, they were getting tired. They couldn’t function, so they had to have guys fall down like they were hurt even though they weren’t really hurt.”
With the victory, the Tigers have going a two-game winning streak, the first such stretch under Drinkwitz in his inaugural season with the program.
It’s not often teams execute a game plan exactly as it’s laid out, especially against good teams, Drinkwitz said. That made Saturday’s win all the better, stemming from a team effort on all sides of the ball for the Tigers.
“We’re 2-2,” Drinkwitz said. “But I think, bigger picture, it gives credibility to what we asked these guys to do. We asked them to do things that are different. Not that what they did here was right or wrong, but it’s just that what we’re doing is different. It’s a different style. We’ve asked people to really buy into it.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 9:18 PM.