Missouri Tigers football coach Eli Drinkwitz shared a quote they hate in CoMo, and the rest of the SEC is laughing at, likely disqualifying him from any opening in the conference right now. Drinkwitz denied that a season should be solely defined by making the College Football Playoff.
As Drinkwitz said, in so many words, the math doesn't math with 136 teams in the country at the FBS level and 12 playoff spots.
"We gotta get out of this ‘Oh man, it’s playoffs or bust,' If the season only counts for 12 football teams, and we got 127 D1 football teams, that math’s not gonna math very well... There’s a whole heck of a lot to be proud of," Drinkwitz said.
OutKick's David Hookstead believes that Drinkwitz's comments were out of touch and ignorant of the fact that the Penn State Nittany Lions and LSU Tigers canned more successful coaches than him recently, James Franklin and Brian Kelly, respectively.
As Hookstead reminded Drinkwitz, failure to win at the highest level eventually means change.
"Part of me understands the point Drinkwitz is attempting to make. Fans definitely want their teams to have a fire and a sense of purpose even if the playoff isn't in the picture," Hookstead prefaced before saying, "However, Drinkwitz's overall point is completely wrong in the year 2025. Some fans might not like it, but the reality is that the only thing that matters is making the playoff.
"There's more money being flooded into college football than ever before. With more money comes more expectations of success. It's also not just winning that matters, but immediate success.
"Fair or not, fans, boosters and school officials don't just expect immediate success. They demand it, and failure to win at the highest level will lead to quick changes."
Drinkwitz is turning up the heat on his own seat by misspeaking so blatantly. These are not quotes that would be acceptable at a school like the Auburn Tigers, where Drinkwitz would be taken as Gus Malzahn reincarnated. Both were on the 2010 championship team, with Malzahn as offensive coordinator and Drinkwitz as a quality control coach. Both set the bar too low with their speak.
Drinkwitz's act may not work anywhere other than Mizzou these days, the more he shares his philosophy of the sport. And it's unclear how long that program will even tolerate Drinkwitz's mediocre mindset.
He now needs to win big the rest of the campaign to avoid an unwanted spotlight that his passive comments have garnered.