No. 21 Mizzou approaching match up against No. 23 LSU as ‘just another game’
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The No. 21 Mizzou football team will host No. 23 LSU in a sold out game at Faurot Field on Saturday. To fans, it's a big match up. But, to the the team, it's just another opportunity to go 1-0.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said he doesn't think it's wise to make too much of just one game out of 12 in a season.
"It's really not any more significant than that, one way or the other," he said. "It's a great opportunity because you're gonna get to play in front of a sold out stadium and it's an opportunity for our program to showcase itself and our fans to showcase itself. We got a ton of recruits coming, there's a lot of good buzz, but the reality for this team it's really just the next game in a string of 12 opportunities."
You can watch the full press conference with Drinkwitz in the video player below.
Players mimicked that message in Tuesday's game week press conferences. Wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. said it's just another opportunity for his guys to go 1-0, once again.
"We don't look at any game like this game's more important than this game. We just go out there and just perform and do what we do best so we can be 1-0 afterwards."
You can watch the full press conference with Wease Jr. in the video player below.
Wease Jr. has been a part of quite a few big games, stretching back to his days at Oklahoma. He said his advice to his younger teammates is just to fall back on your training.
The offense, as a whole, has been clicking through the last few games, as MU remains undefeated, 5-0, on the year. After Saturday's 38-21 win against Vanderbilt, quarterback Brady Cook said he feels the confidence rising, week-by-week, with his offense. Drinkwitz said he's seen that grow, as well.
"Every week we're getting a little bit better," he said. "Your confidence comes from your preparation. I think the way these guys have attacked practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays gives them a lot of confidence to execute."
Mizzou will need to execute at a high level against LSU head coach Brian Kelly and the Baton Rouge Tigers. Drinkwitz pointed out that all 11 starters on the offensive side are returning starters, in some capacity. He said his defense will have their hands full with that side of the ball.
Linebacker Chad Bailey said he expects LSU to be exactly who they are, offensively.
"That's just to run the ball, you know what I'm saying, get their quarterback out in space when they can," he said. "We just got to do our part, execute the call that Coach Baker gives us and we'll be fine."
You can watch the full press conference with Bailey, as well as punter Luke Bauer in the video players below.
Defensively, Kelly brought on former Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House as LSU's defensive coordinator in 2022. Coach Eli said there is a lot of experience and knowledge on the LSU sideline, so MU will have to be on their A-game.
Drinkwitz said that, heading into each week, despite the praise the team is getting, he continues to tell his group that the biggest room they have is room for improvement.
"We feel like ever after the game on Saturday, we went back and watched and we made improvements from week to week. I think maybe that's it," he said. "Last week going into the game, we said we got to improve on third downs on both sides of the ball and we gotta improve in the red zone and, you know, offensively we were 50 percent, defensively we were 80 percent. You know, defensively we had a takeaway in the red zone. Offensively, we were 4-for-5 on four-point plays. So, I think it's that constant quest for improvement, being 1-0."
No. 21 Mizzou and No. 23 LSU will kick off at 11 a.m. at Faurot Field on Saturday, Oct. 7. Drinkwitz asked Tigers fans to arrive on time and bring the energy.
