Mizzou football blocks out outside praises, focuses on making improvements

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After No. 25 Mizzou completed its biggest comeback since 2015 for a win over the rival Kansas Jayhawks in week two, the team is getting its moment in the national spotlight. However, head coach Eli Drinkwitz isn't focused on singing his team's praises, but instead honing on all the things they need to improve from week two to week three.

You can watch extended highlights of the media window of Mizzou football's practice in the video player below.

"I'm really trying to figure out how to improve our performance from last week," he said. "I didn't feel like that, as a team, we did the things we needed to do in critical moments, when we really had a chance to put the game away. You know, we had a chance at the start of the second to go down, we have all the momentum and miss on a fourth down, don't get points there. Then, in the fourth quarter, we get the ball back, it's third and one and we can't convert. We punt them inside the five and they go 96 yards...We just got to get it fixed."

You can watch the full press conference with Coach Drinkwitz in the video player below.

One of the larger areas that Drinkwitz wants to see improvement in comes on his offensive line. While he was proud of the progress that group made from week one to week two, he said that front five is well-aware that he wants more.

He said it's definitely not an issue of effort, but just communication, as you want to have five guys acting as one for a successful attack on offense.

"There was too many times, on third downs, especially in short yardage, where [Ahmad Hardy] and [Jamal Roberts] had to, you know...you want to leave a safety unblocked, not a defensive lineman unblocked. There was too many times that we left d-linemen unblocked, that [Hardy and Roberts] had to be their own blocker. That's just not how we're going to do it moving forward," Drinkwitz said. "The pressure is on those guys to improve. I'm not going to shy away from it. Those guys are old enough, veteran enough."

Although there are still improvements to be made on that line, left guard Dominick Giudice is garnering national recognition for his play in the win against the Jayhawks on Saturday.

The Michigan transfer was tabbed as the co-SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, he earned a nod from the folks at the Outland Trophy organization, as he was named the Outland Player of the Week. Coach Drink said it was good to see him make a jump from the first game to the second, however, it's important now not to drink the 'rat poison.'

"I think the biggest thing that we've been focusing on from that first game is just improving every week," Giudice said. "That's something we've talked about as a team, but as an o-line as a whole, on getting guys to gel more and more as the weeks go on. That's something we pride ourselves in is spending a lot of time together and really making sure we're on the same page. That's what we're going to continue focusing on."

You can watch the full press conference with Giudice in the video player below.

The Tigers were successful in helping to create opportunities in the run game against KU. In fact, for the first time since 2016, Mizzou had two 100-yard rushers, as Roberts ran for 143 yards and Hardy ran for 116.

The team likes how Roberts and Hardy have been working in tandem during games, as the pair splits up the work load. Although a lot of the national attention went to Hardy in the preseason, Roberts has been a consistent force on the Mizzou offense for a couple years. Coach Drinkwitz said he's always known that the St. Louis native is an explosive back, as he ran in the game-sealing touchdown against Kansas with less than three minutes to play.

"He came to camp in the summer of his senior year to earn a scholarship and has been a guy that has contributed in a lot of different ways," Drinkwitz said. "We've always known he's been an explosive player, primarily in third down last year, but he also had the game-winning touchdown versus Auburn, so we've got a ton of trust in him and faith. I think his balance with Ahmad works out really well."

Before Roberts ran in that game-sealing touchdown in the Border Showdown, he actually got some encouragement from his former high school teammate: wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr.

"Kevin's my guy. We talk everyday and like you said he was giving me some words of wisdom, some encouragement right before that drive. We were just talking to each other and picking each other up the whole game, as well. He was like its going to come, like it's coming. He just had that feeling," Roberts said.

You can watch the full press conference with Roberts in the video player below.

Although the Mizzou defense limited Kansas to just 31 yards rushing on an average of 1.6 yards per attempt, they are keeping the same mindset as Coach Drinkwitz and focusing on the things they need to improve headed in to the week three matchup with Louisiana.

"Honestly, there's always something to improve on. You know, 'STP.' We've always got something to prove, so we can always go out there and do something, you know. If we played the perfect game, that would be scary if it was this early in the year, playing perfect because, I mean, we kind of hit a ceiling. But, there's a bunch of little stuff that, you know, we've seen that we got to take off the tape," defensive tackle Chris McClellan said.

You can watch the full press conference with McClellan, as well as defensive end Damon Wilson II in the video players below.

The Tigers will roll into the game against Louisiana undefeated through the first two games and fresh off of receiving its first AP ranking of the season.

Mizzou and Louisiana-Lafayette will kickoff at 3 p.m. at Faurot Field on Saturday.