“This week doesn’t care what last week did”: Mizzou prepares for Florida road trip
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team will take a road trip to Gainesville, Florida on Saturday to meet the Gators at the Swamp, after nearly upsetting then-No. 1 Georgia in week five.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz noted that wide receiver Dominic Lovett and defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine are both day-to-day with injuries after the game against the Bulldogs. He said those two are both 50/50 on if they will play at Florida.
You can watch extended highlights from Tuesday's practice in the video player below.
In his weekly press conference, Drinkwitz applauded how his team ran to the fight and embraced the process these past few weeks. He said building a program is like going on a diet.
"Just because you've done it right for 15 days and you get the results you want, you got to keep stick with it, same thing with working out, same thing with building a program and finding ways tot win," he said. "You got to stick with the process, recreate the process every week. I'm proud of not only players, but our coaches not being so attached to the outcomes that they can't emotionally reinvest themselves each week in the process. I thought last week that's something that we absolutely did."
You can watch the full press conference with Drinkwitz in the video player below.
The Tiger defense started fast against the Bulldogs on Saturday, beginning with a three and out series for Georgia on the first drive of game. Coordinator Blake Baker's defense held the 'Dawgs out of the end zone until there was just 9:39 left in the game.
Defensive back Jaylon Carlies and Joseph Charleston both led the defensive charge with each totaling more than 10 tackles against Georgia. Once again, linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper put up big numbers for the Tigers, finishing with seven tackles, six of which were solo.
You can watch the full interviews with defensive coordinator Blake Baker and several defensive players, including Hopper, in the video players below.
The upcoming match up with the Gators is an interesting one for Hopper, as he transferred to Mizzou from Florida after the 2021 season.
"He's not gonna treat it like another game, but I definitely have to talk to him about keeping his composure," Drinkwitz said. "I mean, those are his former teammates and I know he's got a mutual respect. I know he knows a lot of those guys and I don't think there was any bad blood or any ill will towards any of them."
It will be the first time that MU will meet Florida's new head coach Billy Napier, but Drinkwitz met him in the Sun Belt Conference years ago. Of course, Coach Drink was at Appalachian State and Napier was at Louisiana.
"Coach Napier is very aggressive on fourth downs. He's been that way for a long time. I mean, I think there's a lot of similarities in what they do scheme wise," Drinkwitz said.
Kick off against Florida is at 11:00 a.m. in Gainesville on Saturday, Oc.t 8.
