The Missouri Tigers turned in the most dominant victory over a quality opponent in recent memory on Saturday as they battered the Tennessee Volunteers 36-7. Tiger running back Cody Schrader became the first player in SEC history to rush for 200 yards and receive for 100 as he put a complete stronghold on All-SEC honors with Saturday’s spectacular performance.
Equal in deserve of praise was the Mizzou defense which battered and bullied the Volunteers all afternoon long. Eli Drinkwitz said it best in his post-game interview when he stated correctly “our defense kick their ass tonight.”
It was a memorable beatdown of a top-25 team akin to unforgettable games of yesteryear like Nebraska 2007 and Florida 2013. The game basically served as a 3.5 hour infomercial in favor of a Mizzou program that has come so far under Eli Drinkwitz. A program mired in average seasons since 2019, 2023 will now be remembered as the year where the team returned to national relevance.
5 Thoughts on Mizzou’s 26-7 win over Tennessee and what it means going forward
- Mizzou is now 2 wins away from a “special” season. Mizzou has exactly six 10-win seasons in school history. The Tigers will be sizable favorites against both Florida and Arkansas to close out the year. 10 wins seemed like a pipe dream back in August. Now, you are talking very seriously about a New Years Six bowl. This season might not be special at Alabama, but it certainly is at Missouri.
- Cody Shrader, you are him. What story, what a young man and what a player. From Division II Truman State to leading the SEC in rushing, 1,000 yard season and has likely established himself as one of the most revered players in Missouri football history. Had Jayden Daniel’s not set historic offensive records against Florida on Saturday, Shrader would have easily been named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
- The Mizzou defense has become stellar once again. Not only had Missouri lost four straight to Tennessee, they had given up 60-plus in back-to-back seasons. On Saturday, Mizzou yielded 7 to what had been a very dangerous offensive unit. Saturday was Tennessee’s lowest point output since October of 2020. It’s been a different defense since the first two drives of the Kentucky game.
- It’s time to think about Eli Drinkwitz as SEC Coach of the Year. Win the final two and he’s a shoe-in. National Coach of the Year also enters the conversation as well. With recruiting momentum being what it is currently and finally having a season to point to which shows REAL progress, Drink has solidified himself at Missouri.
- Tiger fans are eating this up and you should be. Since Gary Pinkel retired in 2015, Missouri has enjoyed just TWO winning seasons (’17 and ’18). Missouri had been bogged down with four-straight .500 regular seasons and the program has still yet to win a bowl game since New Years Day 2015. Mizzou fans have answered the call through all the mediocrity and their faith is now being rewarded. Faurot Field has been sold-out four straight games and you can bet anything you have that Florida will be sold out next week as well. It’s a pretty exciting time to be a Mizzou fan.
