Missouri’s Drinkwitz Asked If He Took Issue With Tennessee Piling on Late

The Tigers’ coach weighed in on the Volunteers’ high-powered offense following a 66–24 loss.

After a sluggish start, Tennessee poured it on its SEC foe Missouri, scoring 38 of its 66 points while holding a large second-half lead.

The Volunteers, who were coming off a loss to Georgia that dropped them to No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, held a 28–17 advantage at halftime against the Tigers. But for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, coming out of the locker room to score 21 points was not enough for the high-powered Vols’ offense.

In the win, Tennessee finished with a school record 724 yards of total offense. The final tally marked the most points the Vols have scored in the Josh Heupel era and the third instance this season where his team has scored 60 or more points. The final 14 came on two touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter, when the Vols seemingly weren’t satisfied with just running the clock down.

In the postgame news conference, Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz said he was not bitter about Volunteers padding on the points down the stretch.

"It's our job to not let that happen, it's my job..." -Eli Drinkwitz said.

Tennessee continued to put their foot on the gas while up big. @Dave_Matter asked Drinkwitz his thoughts on Josh Heupel's aggressiveness with a lead. @KOMUsports pic.twitter.com/5AXqtE0HZy

— Chase Matteson (@ChaseMatteson) November 12, 2022

“He [Heupel] coaches his team, I coach my team,” Drinkwitz said in a postgame press conference. “So, it is our job to defend what they do. He runs his offense the way they’ve always run it. I got no issues with their football team and what they do. That’s up to each individual head coach and he was just running his offense. I’m good. … It’s our job to flip the switch. It’s our job to not let that happen. It’s my job.”

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns before Joe Milton III replaced him late in the fourth quarter, throwing for 105 yards and one touchdown. Tennessee (9–1) earned its ninth win and went undefeated at home (7–0) for the first time since 2007. 

• Mizzo Sports Talk: Mizzou Offense, Defense Reverse Roles in Tennessee Loss

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