After the Missouri Tigers put together a 17-point win over Kansas on Friday, head coach Eli Drinkwitz sent a blunt message about the Jayhawks' "embarrassing" pre-game video hyping up the rivalry. "I was disappointed in the rivalry, in the turn that it took today. I thought that it was uncalled for.
You know, this is about two football teams playing," Drinkwitz said postgame, adding, "Everybody's got complicated pasts, and to make that an icon was bizarre to me." Kansas's pre-game hype video focused on the teams from bordering states and a historic rivalry extending back to the Civil War. It mentioned the "heroes and villains" involved in that history. "This rivalry is different because it's built on something much deeper than just school pride," a narrator said in Kansas' pre-game video clip.
More news: Texas-Ohio State Ticket Prices Reach Head-Turning Numbers "It's a football game. It's an American football game that people love to come watch and cheer for their teams, it's not any deeper that," Drinkwitz said in his postgame rant. "I was embarrassed for them, and that's why I tried to embarrass them at the end," the head coach said.
"We didn't try to score too hard, but I just wanted to let 'em know. Like, dude, what are y'all doing?" The two teams were tied 14-14 heading into halftime, and Missouri came out in the second half to outscore Kansas 24-7. Quarterback Austin Simmons completed 19 of 29 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Jamal Roberts had 28 carries for 125 rushing yards and a touchdown in the win.
With 30 seconds remaining, Missouri attempted another touchdown to extend its 38-21 lead, but it failed. Drinkwitz said in his postgame remarks that they weren't trying too hard to score, and that if he were, he would've "called timeouts and tried." Asked if the Missouri-Kansas rivalry should continue beyond Friday's game, Drinkwitz seemed to suggest it could if the Kansas Jayhawks stopped being "weird" with their presentation. "I don't really care if it continues or not," he said.
"I mean, if they're gonna be weird about it, then what's the point? If they want to have a football game and play a football game, and have a great rivalry on the border, then awesome, let's do it." The No. 23 Missouri Tigers are now 2-0 with the win, while Kansas fell to 1-1. Whether or not they'll play again in the future remains to be seen, but it seems Drinkwitz wouldn't be against it, only if they don't hype up future matchups with a similar historic rivalry theme about the bordering states.
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