Latest news with #EliDrinkwitz
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kirk Herbstreit: Play-in games may be right fix for College Football Playoff
Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz spoke with the ESPN college football analyst about the suggestion from Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz that creating play-in games for automatic bids to the playoff may be the right solution moving forward. View more Video Transcript So I'm not sure in the short term how to get the Big Ten and the SEC to play nice in the sandbox together. Maybe they don't have to, but you've seen all of the playoff proposals. What do you think of what the Big Ten wants to do now with automatic qualifiers for their conference? I like, I like what Eli Drinkwitz came out and said against his own conference and, saying that why don't we have more play and opportunities. You know, can you imagine instead of that last Saturday this season being just the SEC or Big 10 or Big 12 or ACC championship. Imagine if the SEC had 1 and 2, but then you also have 3 and 6 and 4 and 5 playing each other. And imagine if we had the excitement of 3 and 6, winner of that game is in the playoff. 4 and 5, the winner of that game is in the playoff. I think that is fascinating, and he was very passionate in the way he described that. I would be a fan of that personally. And give these teams hope, as opposed to, you know, just the two teams that play in the conference championship have a shot to get that automatic spot, and then you're hoping for at large after that. I love the idea of a kind of a play-in weekend, throughout the entire country. I think that would create a ton of buzz for the players, and for the fans. It's fun debate, it's subjective, it creates a lot of passion. But I think it really, if you go back to the play-in model that I'm suggesting, it takes away some of the pressure of just a committee selecting these teams, and it gives the actual players a chance to set on the field by giving them that if they qualify, a play-in game, and then you have no one to blame. Hey, you were in, you had the play-in game, you lost, so you have no one to blame. You can't blame the committee. You know, you lost a football game, so you're not going. So I think that would be the right way to go personally. Close
American Press
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- American Press
Scooter Hobbs column: Message behind coach's one-liners
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz gets it. I always suspected that, rare in his fraternity, he seems to have a life away from the film room. Maybe even a handful of outside interests. Drinkwitz tried to stay serious Thursday, but there's a flippant side to him that he can't hide. He opened his monologue by warning that he wasn't going to answer questions about 'the Epstein files, the Radiation Belt (or) whether or not it was possible for Lee Harvey Oswald to get three shots off in seven seconds.' Then he wandered off — shades of Les Miles' hey day — into a recap of a recent family vacation at Disney World, where the wife and the oldest of his four daughters conquered the challenging Guardians of the Galaxy ride. 'There is an epic picture of them after that ride where my wife is just like, holy cow, and my daughter looks like … she'd just been arrested. So it was worth it.' That, apparently, was just an excuse to remind everyone that 'Walt Disney was born in Marceline, Missouri.' Followed by, 'Y'all (media) remind me a little bit of Disney World: tired, ready to go home, tired of coaches whining up here.' Actually, Drinkwitz is a welcome breath of fresh air at an affair prone to getting bogged down in depth charts. Drinkwitz is the kind of guy you'd like to drink with. Make no mistake. He wants to win just as much as the next coach. But nothing he did with his turn on the podium Thursday was going to beat Kansas in the season's second game, a resumption of Mizzou's bitter 'Border War' that has been dormant since 2011. We did learn from him that Missouri's 'Tigers' nickname is based on the militia that was formed to protect the Mizzou campus and the Columbia townfolk from the people from Kansas. That's the kind of information you want from these festivities. We also learned that Drinkwitz is in hot water with his home owners' association back in Columbia after letting two of his players catch fish in the communal pond. Details at 10, hopefully with film. Yet in the midst of all this trivia — perhaps by accident — Drinkwitz might have had the strongest take yet on the state of college football. It began as an innocent trip down the scheduling rabbit hole after the obligatory question of whether the SEC should go to a nine-game conference slate instead of the current eight. 'Personally, I think eight games is probably great for the University of Missouri. It allows us to schedule what we need for the four (other) games.' He also seemed to think it'd be easier on coaches. But that's not important now. What is needed, he said, was 'to ask these questions: what's best for the players and what's best for the fans? And ultimately, I think what's best for both of those is going to be going to a nine-game schedule. 'The rest of us are really only important because of the players and the fans.' Nine games, eight games, that's not the point, and he kind of lost me when he mentioned a 30-team playoff. But it's encouraging to see some coach sticking up for the loyal fans. 'We need the fans now more than ever. If we continue to alienate the fans, or we put things in the way that (are) going to alienate the fans, we're not going to continue to be able to pay the players.' The real trick here is making the fans' wishes mesh with the players new-found freedoms. I'm not sure what more they can do for the players now that they're paid, can transfer at will and often seem to be running the asylum. Drinkwitz may have hit on the hidden truth. 'People don't come to watch the actual game,' he said. 'They come because they're connected to people. They're connected to something bigger than themselves. They're connected to the marching Mizzou band. They're connected to the spirit squads. They're connected to friends and family at the tailgates. 'The byproduct is the game … Saturdays are still a place where there's human connection, all right? And we can't lose sight of that.' Those fans are being asked to ante up more and more discretionary income, not only in ticket prices, parking spots, etc., but 'donations' to pay these new-found (for lack of a better word) salaries. It makes it easier to watch in comfort on hi-def TV. Still, the transfer portal might be the biggest threat to that team/fan alliance. It changes things. It just does. The fans' connection to their teams, even if it was always delusional, is that their heroes grew up dreaming of playing for good ol' State U. And many do. But it's hard to reconcile that when the players for any given year's roster look more and more like mercenaries, often as not going to the highest bidder. Somebody needs to pay attention to Drinkwitz. 'If you lose Saturday football, you're losing Sunday and Friday night football too, all right? Let's not forget that. We are the peanut butter and jelly behind the bread. If we don't have Saturdays, you can forget Sundays, and you can forget Friday night.' * Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics for the American Press. You can reach him at
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is a Cody Schrader record in sight for Ahmad Hardy? Previewing Missouri football running backs
One of the consistent truths of the Eli Drinkwitz era at Missouri football: The Tigers' run game has been in good hands. At least in preseason, there's good reason to believe that may be the case again in Columbia in 2025. Missouri loses more than 1,400 combined yards and 15 touchdowns after Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll graduated last season, but that shouldn't be too much of a cause for concern. One of the best Group of Five and freshman running backs from the 2024 college football season is now with Mizzou. Mizzou's season-opener for the 2025 campaign against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28 on Faurot Field is 40 days away as of Saturday, July 19. Fall camp is right around the corner, as the Tigers typically have players report to campus in Columbia over the final weekend of July. Here is how Missouri's running backs shape up heading into fall camp, including a projected (but not finalized) depth chart, the upside and possible questions for the room and some snippets of what the coaches said during the spring: Missouri football projected depth chart at running back Starters: Free: Ahmad Hardy, so. Primary rotation: Jamal Roberts, jr.; Marquise Davis, fr. Reserves: Tavorus Jones, r-jr.; Brendon Haygood, fr.; Anthony Favrow, sr. We expect Mizzou to primarily use three running backs throughout the 2025 season, with Hardy taking the bulk of the reps. Hardy, a UL-Monroe transfer, was one of four running backs in the FBS last season to register more than 1,000 yards after contact. The other three: No. 6-overall 2025 NFL Draft pick Ashton Jeanty at Boise State; No. 22-overall selection Omarion Hampton at North Carolina; and third-round pick Kaleb Johnson at Iowa. That's pretty good company. While at ULM as a rookie, Hardy rushed for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns. Roberts, who head coach Eli Drinkwitz called 'Mr. Dependable' in the spring, should resume his role as the Tigers' change-of-pace back. He could operate similarly to the role Carroll played last season, taking on short-yardage and red-zone carries. If and when the Tigers turn to a third running back, the top candidate appears to be Davis — a true freshman who Mizzou flipped from Kentucky shortly before the national signing period last December. The upside How high should expectations be for Hardy? The fit is about all you can ask for. He has experience running the outside zone. He's one of the top returning tailbacks in the nation at bouncing off tackles. The lone self-assessed hole in his game is that he's trying to make tacklers miss and not 'just run through people.' Even down to recent history, the signs are good. Mizzou has consistently churned out excellent running backs under Eli Drinkwitz and position coach Curtis Luper, from Larry Rountree III to Tyler Badie to Cody Schrader, and even to Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll last season. The Tigers' scheme lends to big numbers in the run game. We could see the 2025 edition of MU being a heavily run-oriented offense. Schrader set the Tigers' single-season rushing record with 1,627 yards in 2023. That's a tall order, but there's enough evidence to suggest Hardy could flirt with the 100-yard mark on a game-by-game basis. It's on Hardy's mind, too, if you were wondering. 'I heard (Schrader) was a walk-on and he set records here,' Hardy said April 8. … 'I saw he had 1,600 yards, so I'm looking to try to beat that record.' Questions, concerns to answer It's not often that we can say this, but we don't really see any reason for concern in this room. We like just about every angle you can look at this crop of tailbacks from. Roberts, while he may not be an every-down back, is extremely reliable as a third-down and change-of-pace option. If you look at a picture of Davis, your first guess wouldn't be that you're looking at a true freshman. If we're going to really dig for a question, and this truly requires breaking out the shovel: Will the potential of a high-volume running quarterback take some carries away from the running backs? Beau Pribula, if he does go on to win the starting quarterback competition, is elite at pulling the ball down and going. You could squint and envision a setting where that costs the running backs some yards. As far as the talent level and upside of this running back room is concerned, though, it's mostly good news. Breakout candidate More: Missouri football's Eli Drinkwitz says QB Sam Horn will compete in 2025 despite MLB Draft pick More: Eli Drinkwitz SEC Media Days: Five key takeaways from Missouri football coach in Atlanta It's unclear what the snap share is going to look like between Missouri's running backs. Davis, for now, looks like he'll be the third option on the depth chart and could see some significant time as a freshman. 'Excellent runner,' Drinkwitz said April 8. 'A guy who is going to have an impact as a true freshman. We feel like he's going to be able to provide us with some added depth and explosiveness at the running back position.' This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Is Missouri football rushing record achievable for Ahmad Hardy?
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz backs CFP play-in games, expanding to 30 — yes, 30 — teams
Is there a more intriguing string of words to hear emanate from the SEC Media Days stage? 'This is not,' Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz said, 'gonna do me any favors with our commissioner.' Please, continue! And Drinkwitz sure did. During the Mizzou coach's SEC Media Days appearance Thursday, July 17, in Atlanta, Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated asked Drinkwitz about his thoughts on a couple of burning issues in SEC and college football over the past few months: The eight- vs. nine-game SEC schedule; and the expansion/qualifying format of the College Football Playoff. Let's get to his answer on the CFP, first, because Drinkwitz's suggestions differ from most of what you'll hear or read on the options for an altered format. The sixth-year Mizzou head proposed expanding the playoff, in essence, to 30 teams, including play-in games for the top-eight teams in each of the SEC and Big Ten and the top-six teams in the ACC and Big 12. 'When you think about whether it's 12, 14, or 16 (teams), you know, to me, if we've decided to go into this expansion of playoffs, and we're trying to follow an NFL model — well, the NFL takes 44% of their teams, in order, into the playoffs to increase the passion or keep the fan base engaged,' Drinkwitz said. 'If we're talking about 12, that's 9% (of FBS teams). If we're talking about 14, that's 11%. If we're talking about 16, that's 12%. 'That's really not changing the math for the fanbase. So, I really don't understand what the big fight is about.' In 2025, the playoff will remain with 12 teams, with a slight change: The top-five conference champions will automatically qualify, but the top four no longer automatically get byes straight to the quarterfinals. Those now go to the top-four teams in the CFP rankings, which could very well still overlap but are not guaranteed to be the case. Multiple ideas have been floated for that to change beginning in 2026, but none have achieved widespread support yet. The SEC has seemingly most-supported what is termed the '5+11 format,' which would grant five conference champions automatic-qualifying spots and includes 11 at-large selections decided by a committee. There is also the '4-4-2-2-1- format,' which would give the SEC and Big Ten each four AQs, the ACC and Big 12 two AQs and the Group of Six conferences one automatic qualifier, plus three at-large berths. Under that format, it has been reported that the SEC and Big Ten would consider play-in games for their final two AQ spots, meaning teams in the league ranked Nos. 3-6 would play for their place. That would, effectively, expand the playoff to 20 teams, even before considering other potential play-in games in other conferences. For now, the SEC and the Big Ten can't seem to come to an agreement on which model to back and the CFP appears likely to remain at 12 teams in 2026. It was reported earlier this week by Brett McMurphy of On3 that the Big Ten will not support a 5+11 format, the reported preference of the SEC, if the Southeastern Conference doesn't move from an eight- to a nine-game conference schedule, like the Big Ten currently plays. Want Drinkwitz's quick thoughts on eight vs. nine games? 'Honestly, I think I've been for the nine-game (schedule),' Drinkwiz said. 'I think if it was about players and about fans, I think it's a nine-game schedule for the SEC. If it's about coach preservation, which, hey, man, I get it, you know. But if we're going to go to 11 humans deciding on a committee which are the 11 best teams, and we stay at eight (games), we ain't getting in.' That brings us to the next part of Drinkwitz's CFP qualms: human error. He cited implicit bias and a lack of a 'standard set of structures' for playoff selection, and said he doesn't think going from seven at-large berths to 11 at-large berths is going to help solve the problem. Now we're really getting to the point. Drinkwitz's solution — one he presents as fan- and player-experience oriented — is to make it bigger. A lot bigger. 'How do we get more people involved?' Drinkwitz asked. Drinkwitz supports play-in games, which does seem to go against the grain of what the SEC appears to generally support: The 5+11 format. It's not unwise for the SEC to support that structure. In more years than most, the conference is likely to have five or more teams ranked among the top 16 in the sport. The Mizzou coach actually went a step further, too. He said he supports even more play-in games. Drinkwitz used an example where the SEC gets four automatic qualifiers, but seemingly suggested taking those four and making them all play-in matchups. Presumably, the format here would be that the SEC champion would play the team that finishes No. 8 in the standings, No. 2 would play No. 7 and so on. In Drinkwitz's ideal model, he suggested the Big Ten also stage play-in games for its top eight, and that the ACC and Big 12 each stage three play-in games for a total of six teams apiece. He also said 'one and one,' which presumably means a pair of Group of Six conference representatives. 'Now we're talking about an opportunity for 30 teams, 30 fanbases, to be excited and engaged; engaged and giving revenue,' Drinkwitz said. 'Got 30 teams with players who have access to compete for a championship. And so, for me, I think that makes a lot more sense.' More: Missouri football's Eli Drinkwitz says QB Sam Horn will compete in 2025 despite MLB Draft pick More: Moving on from Burden, Wease, where do Missouri football's wide receivers stand in 2025? It's not entirely out of left field. The legendary late coach Mike Leach, on multiple occasions, suggested expanding the CFP to 64 teams, including in his time coaching Mississippi State on the SEC Media Days stage in 2021. Even at half of that, Drinkwitz's suggestions aren't overwhelmingly likely to get off the ground any time soon. Anything that provides a barrier of entry — as the potential for an upset in a No. 1-8 play-in game could — isn't going to thrill commissioners and TV executives. It would, however, benefit the likes of Mizzou. In each of the past two years, had Drinkwitz's suggestions been in place, that would have landed the Tigers in a play-in game. Of course, in smaller fields, Mizzou did not make the four- or 12-team field in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. 'When you're talking about the NFL playoff system, not only is it 14 teams (in the playoffs), but you only have to be the best out of your four-team division. You've got to compete against four teams in order to make the playoffs," Drinkwitz said. "When you're at the University of Missouri, if you say, 'Hey, you just have to finish in the top eight to have a chance to play in the playoffs,' that's a win every day. And I'm all for that. I think that's awesome.' This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 30-team CFP? Missouri football's Eli Drinkwitz talks playoff expansion
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Talking season: Top storylines as Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri football take on SEC Media Days
Talking season is in full swing. This week, SEC head coaches and player representatives are taking the stage at the conference's media days in Atlanta. The event started Monday and will run through Thursday, when Missouri football's ambassadors will take the stage bright and early to talk some Tigers. Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz is set to speak at SEC Media Days beginning at 8:05 a.m. CDT Thursday. The Tigers are bringing along center Connor Tollison, safety Daylan Carnell and defensive end Zion Young to meet with the media, too. Most of what you hear at media days is canned and uniform: Team X's players are progressing nicely and there is excellent competitive depth and they had a productive spring and the team chemistry is unlike anything you've ever seen and … stop us if you've heard any or all of this before. There are still some interesting topics that will likely surface out of Atlanta, so here are some storylines to watch as Drinkwitz and company take the stage to represent Mizzou at SEC Media Days: Quarterback competition, Sam Horn draft status Look, it's going to come up. And the Tigers' quarterback room did just get a little more intriguing. Beau Pribula and Sam Horn are expected to compete to be Mizzou's starting quarterback this fall. Drinkwitz has been intent on letting this race run its course, meaning there is no set timeline for the Tigers to make a decision. But the situation has shifted a little. Horn, a dual-sport athlete who also pitches for the MU baseball team, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th Round of the 2025 MLB Draft on Monday. Has Horn made a call, and has his draft situation changed anything about planning to play football in the fall? If not, are the Tigers any closer to making a call between him and Pribula? The answer from the spring isn't likely to change. Yes, there's an open competition. Drinkwitz will likely say they'll make the decision public as soon as they know. Any other answer would be a surprise. Still, the head coach is going to be asked. More: Missouri football QB Sam Horn picked in 17th round of MLB Draft. Now, he has a choice to make More: Missouri football QB Beau Pribula talks Penn State transfer, Mizzou fit on podcast appearance Eli Drinkwitz called this his most talented team. Will he double down? The Mizzou head coach appeared on the Paul Finebaum Show on March 20 and said that 'this is the most talented football team that I've had since we've been here at the University of Missouri.' SEC Media Days is a bigger stage, where storylines tend to make national headlines. Will Drinkwitz head to the lectern in Atlanta and deliver the same vote of confidence in his squad? Coaches tend to be a little more guarded due to the potential virality of quotes on the SEC Media Days stage. It's a get-in, get-out-without-going-viral deal for most. But this is a Mizzou team that could be on the cusp of doing something the program has never done and win double-digit games in three straight seasons. After an 11-win 2023 and 10-win 2024, the Tigers turned over a lot of key personnel and have a preseason win-total set at 7.5 in Vegas. Is that fair, for a team and coach who have proved they can get over the line? Will Drinkwitz go to bat for his guys in the face of the media contingent that quite consistently has the Tigers ranked as a bottom-half SEC squad in the preseason? Will he project the same level of confidence as he did in March? This is certainly his chance. More: USA TODAY Sports Network 2025 preseason All-SEC football predictions Does Drinkwitz take on any national-interest topics? One of Drinkwitz's best traits is his willingness to often address the larger issues in the college athletics landscape: The transfer portal; conference realignment; protecting regional rivalries (we'll get there); NIL; the power structure (or lack thereof) at the top of college football. But, the SEC Media Days is a different animal, and we've seen the Mizzou head coach join the filibustering bunch of coaches who read the depth chart in its entirety in recent years. He's managed to avoid causing too much of a fuss on the conference stage. Will he avoid it again this year? There's plenty of topics he can take on, if he so chooses. Revenue-sharing and the likely soon-to-be-sued College Sports Commission; the in-limbo eight- or nine-game SEC schedule; the structure of the College Football Playoff. Take your pick. Will Drinkwitz dish up a good quote, or is he trying to avoid out-of-context social media clips this year? We'd guess he leans toward strictly talking about his football team rather than the national topics of conversation this week, but it would be interesting to hear his thoughts. Does Border War come up? Drinkwitz has never shied away from his adoration for regional rivalries in college football. Well, he's got a big one coming back this year. The Border War is back on the football field, with Mizzou set to host Kansas on Sept. 6. It will be the first time since 2011. KU coach Lance Leipold has already delivered his thoughts on the matter. 'Rivalry games are what make college football so special,' Leipold said at Big 12 Media Days. 'I didn't really realize when I first got to Lawrence that the Kansas-Missouri game is more of a rivalry than Kansas-Kansas State.' That made some waves in Manhattan, as you might imagine. The Jayhawks haven't beat the Wildcats since 2008. Added Leipold: 'To go to Columbia this year will be special. I'm sure there are a lot of people on both sides of it that are going to be fired up. To see some of these rivalries get renewed is special and will be a great time and we'll be looking forward to it.' Drinkwitz is prone to leaning into rivalry games. He was pictured holding up a sign that read 'Five Level One Violations' during a Mizzou-Kansas basketball game from the Mizzou Arena crowd in 2022, a barb at the Jayhawks for past NCAA violations. Will he lean in even more this week, now that KU is less than a couple months from coming to town? He's had some time to think up something good. This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Top storylines as Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri football take on SEC Media Days
