Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said After Mizzou’s Loss to No. 3 Texas A&M

Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said After Mizzou’s Loss to No. 3 Texas A&M
COLUMBIA, Mo. — In a somber postgame press conference inside Faurot Field, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz didn’t mince words following his team’s 34–17 loss to the No. 3-ranked Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday night. What began as a promising home matchup quickly spiraled into a night of missed chances, untimely mistakes, and lessons learned the hard way against one of college football’s most complete teams.

Drinkwitz entered the room with his usual calm but carried the weight of another opportunity that slipped through Missouri’s grasp. He opened his remarks by taking responsibility for the performance.

“First and foremost, that one’s on me,” Drinkwitz began. “We didn’t play clean enough football to beat a top-three team. That starts with preparation, execution, and making sure our guys are ready to respond to adversity. We didn’t do that consistently enough tonight.”

On the slow start

Missouri found itself down 17–0 midway through the second quarter after back-to-back Aggie touchdowns, including a pick-six that silenced the home crowd. Drinkwitz acknowledged the sluggish start as a key factor that put the Tigers in chase mode early.

“You can’t spot a team like that seventeen points and expect to claw your way back,” he said. “They’re too good, too disciplined, and too deep. We were pressing early instead of just playing our game. That’s on me as a play-caller and on us as a team to settle down faster.”

He added that he felt the early turnovers and missed tackles set the tone for the first half, calling them “momentum killers.”

On the offensive struggles

Missouri’s offense managed just 312 total yards, far below their season average. Quarterback Brady Cook threw for 227 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, both coming at critical junctures.

“We’ve got to protect the football,” Drinkwitz said bluntly. “Brady knows that. I know that. When you turn the ball over against elite teams, it’s almost impossible to recover.”

The head coach also shouldered part of the blame for not giving his quarterback enough support in the pocket.

“Protection-wise, we’ve got to be better,” he admitted. “A&M brought pressure from everywhere, and we didn’t handle it the way we needed to. Some of that’s on play design; some of that’s on execution. We’ve got to find answers.”

On the defense’s effort

Despite the loss, Drinkwitz praised his defense for showing fight in the second half. Missouri held Texas A&M to just one touchdown after halftime, a sign of resilience that the coach said he could build on.

“Defensively, I thought we settled in,” he said. “They gave us a chance to hang around. We forced some three-and-outs, we got off the field, and we played with more energy. But when you’re facing an offense that balanced and that physical, every missed assignment gets magnified.”

He specifically highlighted linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper’s performance, calling him “a warrior out there” and applauding his leadership.

“Ty’Ron plays with passion every snap. You can see how much it means to him,” Drinkwitz said. “We need that kind of energy from everyone, especially in big games.”

On Texas A&M’s dominance

Drinkwitz gave plenty of credit to the Aggies, calling them “as complete a team as you’ll find in college football right now.”

“Their defensive front is elite. Their quarterback played smart. They didn’t make the kinds of mistakes we did,” he said. “That’s why they’re ranked where they are. They earned it.”

When asked if Missouri was closing the gap between themselves and SEC powerhouses like A&M, Drinkwitz didn’t hesitate to provide an honest answer.

“We’re closer than we were two years ago, but not close enough yet,” he admitted. “To compete with those guys week in and week out, we’ve got to keep building—physically, mentally, and depth-wise.”

On what’s next

With the loss, Missouri dropped to 6–3 on the season, effectively ending any outside shot at a New Year’s Six bowl. Still, Drinkwitz emphasized that there’s plenty to play for.

“There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves,” he said. “We’ve got three games left, and our focus has to be on finishing strong. We owe that to our seniors, our fans, and this program.”

He also challenged his players to respond the right way after another humbling SEC test.

“Adversity reveals character,” Drinkwitz concluded. “We’re going to find out a lot about who we are in the next few weeks. I believe in this group. I believe in our fight. But belief only takes you so far—you’ve got to back it up with execution.”

As Drinkwitz left the podium, his message was clear: Missouri isn’t satisfied with moral victories anymore. Competing with the nation’s best isn’t enough; it’s about beating them. And while Saturday night showed how far the Tigers have come under his watch, it also underscored how far they still have to go.