Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz 'Uncomfortable' With Tennessee's Run Game

The Vols piled up 264 rushing yards in last year's 66-24 beat-down against the Tigers.

The No. 16 Missouri Tigers suffered their second loss of the year against No. 1 Georgia last week, but are hoping to continue their best season since 2013 when they clash with No. 14 Tennessee.

Tennessee has won the last four meetings on the field, and the Vols own a 3-2 on-field record in Columbia. In their last game, they beat the Tigers, 66-24, in Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s first season. UT piled up 264 yards on the ground.

Nevertheless, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz isn't carrying the emotions of last year's game into this one, as there are two new teams that will take the field. That being said, Drinkwitz is still in awe of Tennessee's offense.

"I don't feel comfortable with it at all," Drinkwitz said during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "In fact, yesterday when we were watching film with the defensive staff, I didn't feel like we were giving the guys a realistic look."

Drinkwitz explained that Tennessee's fast-paced offense isn't about the speed that they go, but rather "the movement you have to do on defense to find the ball."

The ball goes from hash-to-hash, they have speed-ball packages that they roll in from one play to another and so they're very calculated." Drinkwitz said. "It's a really challenging scheme and system and, obviously they've been doing it at a really high level for a long time. We have to get our cleats on the ground and be ready to fight when the ball is snapped."

As previously stated, the Vols decimated the Tigers on the ground the last time they met. However, they've only gotten stronger, as they have not one, not two, but three running backs that spend time on the gridiron on a weekly basis and average over five yards per carry. Drinkwitz is expecting a big challenge from them, and somewhat-scrambling quarterback Joe Milton, once again.

"They all have game-breaking speed and are about the right size," Drinkwitz said. "They make some big holes, but they don't need much space to separate from the defense and burst towards the free safety. You have to do a good job to have an overlap on your defense and maintain gaps."

Drinkwitz believes that no team has a chance at beating Tennessee if they can't stop the run. He applauded Heupel for building this threat in such a short time.

"I think coach Heupel has done as good of a job as anyone I've seen in taking what the defense gives you," Drinkwitz said. "If they give you the run, he's going to run it down your throat. He's not trying to build stats, he's just trying to score and he's really good at what he does."

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