Best wins of the Eliah Drinkwitz era: No
Let’s continue our look at my rankings of the very best wins of the Eliah Drinkwitz age in Columbia and proceed to No. 5.
If you want to look back to what I have actually currently ranked, here are the stories I’ve currently released:
No. 10
No. 9
No. 8
No. 7
No. 6
Drinkwitz’s first season didn’t start on a high note. He dropped a 19-point game to No. 2 Alabama in his first matchup, then got beat bad by Tennessee in the second game of the season.It appeared like his period was going to continue on a difficult note as the Tigers lined up against No. 17 LSU, but for the first time, the Drinkwitz offense got itself together. A flea-flicker got the
Tigers on the board as Connor Bazelak connected with Tauskie Dove for a 58-yard touchdown to put Missouri in front.But despite the fact that
Joe Burrow was no longer leading LSU, the Bayou Bengal offense was still able to put up back-to-back touchdowns to take the lead for the very first time.Tyler Badie tied the game back up as he broke a number of tackles on a run up the middle for a 29-yard score that connected the game.In just the very first quarter, there were a combined four goals on 5 possessions that ended before the very first break. The only drives that didn’t end in scores were the home Tigers being stopped on downs on their second possession.Missouri muffed a punt to start the second quarter and LSU was able to capitalize Arik Gilbert hit Myles Brennan
for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 visitors.Then came a Mizzou fumble and it appeared like Drinkwitz’s period would start 0-3. LSU was just able to get a basket out of that
turnover, but the visitors led 24-14 with 11:16 left in the first half.But the home Tigers came storming back.Bazelak struck Jalen Knox for a 26-yard gain on a short crossing route, then Knox took a reverse around the left side for a 16-yard
rating to bring Mizzou within a field goal.The Missouri defense required a punt and the offense returned to deal with Bazelak striking Barrett Banister for a 17-yard gain, Larry Rountree hurrying for 12 more and Bazelak connecting with Dove for a 5-yard
gain that nearly lost the Tigers the ball on a fumble. But Dove eventually dove on it after a long roll and established a 52-yard Harrison Mevis basket to tie the game at 24 with 1:57 left before the break.LSU broke the tie with a simple goal to start the second half, but Missouri responded quickly with Bazelak striking a wide-open Micah Wilson for a 41-yard touchdown without a defender within 20 backyards of him.The groups continued back and forth.
LSU scored on a 75-yard hand down the next play, then Missouri addressed with a 21-yard Baselak pass to Badie over the middle to set the game connected at 38 nearing the end of the third quarter.LSU connected on a basket to develop a 41-38 lead going into the fourth quarter in front of a crowd that might generously be referred to as sparse due to the fact that of COVID rules around distancing.Mevis missed out on a 56-yarder that might have connected the game, but Missouri’s defense blocked a 45-yard LSU field goal to get the ball back.Then came the last scoring drive.With Missouri routing and only 7:04 left to play, Bazelak discovered a wide-open Possibility Luper for a 69-yard gain, once again
without a defender in sight at the time of the catch, to get within the 10. Two plays later, Bazelak fabricated a handoff on a jet sweep and connected with Niko Hea for a 5-yard goal over the middle. With just 5:18 left to play, the home Tigers had the lead for good.But LSU wouldn’t go down without a battle, the visitors drop to the Missouri 1, But on 4 consecutive plays, Missouri packed two runs, Nick Bolton batted down a swing pass in the backfield and Joshuah Bledsoe batted down a pass into the flat.Missouri’s defense had withstood the test, and the offense had the ability to go out the clock.Drinkwitz had his very first win as the head coach of the Missouri Tigers, as well as his very first SEC win and his first win versus a ranked opponent.Tiger fans got a view of a few of the difficult offense Drinkwitz was anticipated to bring with
him, a lot of misdirection, a lot of trick plays, and Missouri published 405 passing lawns and 180 rushing yards.Bazelak completed 29-of-34 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns, Rountree had 119 hurrying lawns on 18 shots and Dove installed six catches for 83 yards.The rest of the season didn’t quiet go to plan with numerous stops and begins, a couple of huge losses and a great deal of points permitted. But the Drinkwitz era had actually finally officially begun with a big win against a serious challenger.