Mizzou Coach Eli Drinkwitz Explains How Tigers Can Overcome ‘Most Challenging’ Environment at Tennessee

Missouri Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz isn’t underestimating the opposing crowd he and his team will be up against on Saturday.

The Missouri Tigers have had some of the toughest challenges in college football this season, often proving they can hang with the best before coming up short.

The Tigers took the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs to the brink on Oct. 1 before falling 26-22. Mizzou then beat the previously 25th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks 23-10 on the road.

But as Mizzou (4-5) gets set to visit the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers (8-1) at Neyland Stadium, coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday that the team will be walking into its biggest challenge of the season.

“We’ve played at some really good road environments … but this one will probably be the most challenging that we’ve had,” Drinkwitz said.

Despite a 27-13 loss to Georgia last week, the Vols remain squarely in the College Football Playoff race and remain one of the best team’s in the country. But in order to pull off the colossal upset, Drinkwitz says keeping the simple things under control despite the crowd noise is priority No. 1.

“We’ve got to do a better job offensively of not having false start penalties,” he said. “Those have been things that have shown up. And maintain composure, I would say that that’s probably the No. 1 thing.”

Mizzou will need to lean on its stout defense to have any chance at coming away with a win. It’s a unit that hasn’t allowed any of its SEC opponents to score above 26 points this season.

But for a struggling Tigers offense, keeping up Vols quarterback and potential Heisman candidate Hendon Hooker along with explosive receiver Jalin Hyatt will prove to be the tallest of tasks.

Mizzou and Tennessee kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday. 

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