Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz met with the Columbia media Tuesday, recapping the Tigers week four loss at Boston College and previewing the critical SEC matchup this weekend against Tennessee.
“We obviously have a really tough game this week versus a quality opponent that I think is really well coached,” Drinkwitz said. “Really coach Heupel is doing a tremendous job on both sides of the ball. I think their offense is explosive. I know last week, didn’t score as many points as they could have, but very explosive offensively. They’re snapping the ball about three plays a minute which at times is the fastest offense in college football which presents a brand new set of challenges for us defensively.”
Missouri is 2-2 this season under its second year head coach and is 5-6 in Drinkwitz’ first 11 conference games. Drinkwitz is looking for his first win against Tennessee after the Tigers lost 35-12 in Knoxville last season.
Missouri will see a new coaching staff and a vastly different roster and offensive scheme Saturday. In fact, Drinkwitz said Josh Heupel’s offense isn’t like anything the Tigers have seen in their first four games.
“I think it’s totally different from anything we’ve seen this season,” Drinkwitz said. “They really do a nice job of attacking grass in space. They run the football. I think the misnomer is that they just throw it around the park. They really run it a lot.”
Tennessee’s offense has been successful early in games this season, scoring 45 points in the first quarter so far this season. Part of that success is due to the rapid pace the Vols’ offense plays at.
Drinkwitz discussed the challenges associated with defending an offense that moves as fast as the Vols’.
“It starts with the communications and checks,” Drinkwitz said. “Making sure everyone’s on the same page. Getting lined up. Defense is about communication. You have to see the call, get in position and make sure your eyes are on your keys and then react accordingly. When someone’s snapping the ball three plays every 60 seconds there’s a lot of opportunities for errors and they capitalize on those errors.”
The Tigers’ head coach was complimentary of all three of Tennessee’s quarterbacks Tuesday. However, Drinkwitz went into detail discussing Hendon Hooker, a player he has great familiarity with.
“Hendon Hooker is a really dynamic quarterback,” Drinkwitz said. “Obviously he has experience at Virginia Tech, so he’s played a lot of football. Now he kind of fits that system. I remember Hendon really well recruiting him when I was at NC State. He was at Dudley and does a really nice job— won the state championship when he was in high school— I was at that game. I’m very impressed with him.”
Missouri’s defense has struggled so far this season, giving up the second most points per game of any SEC team.
The Tigers’ offense, however, has been really solid, ranking fifth in the SEC with 38.8 points per game. Missouri’s had most of its success in the passing game, throwing for 323 yards per game.
Missouri will likely be the best passing attack Tennessee’s seen this season. That’s an area where the Vols have been very shaky.
When looking at Tennessee’s defense, Drinkwitz sees a defense that is playing with energy. Something Tennessee’s players have noted is easier due to simpler schemes.
“Defensively, they’re very aggressive,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t know coach (Tim) Banks personally but I’m extremely impressed with what he’s done so far at Tennessee. I watched a lot of his Penn State tape and you can see the aggressive style of defense they play. Very complimentary football.”
Tennessee and Missouri will kick off from Faurot Field at noon ET Saturday. The SEC Network will broadcast the game.
