Drinkwitz takes jab at Arkansas
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Making his SEC Media Days debut, Eliah Drinkwitz came out firing Thursday morning.
After joking about asking Greg Sankey if the ‘horns down’ would be a penalty in the SEC, the second-year Missouri coach used some of his time at the podium in Hoover, Ala., to take a jab at Arkansas.
Responding to a question about potentially rekindling the Tigers’ rivalry with former Big 12 foe Oklahoma, Drinkwitz said he was happy with the Razorbacks as a rival.
“I kind of like the rivalry we've got with Arkansas,” Drinkwitz said. “I don't remember the last time they beat us, so I kind of like that one. The Battle Line Rivalry, it's pretty good for us. I think we'll just keep that one right now. That's a good one.”
Since joining the SEC in 2013 and becoming Arkansas’ permanent Eastern Division opponent a year later, Missouri has dominated the series. It has won six of the seven matchups, including five straight.
The last time the Razorbacks beat the Tigers was in 2015, winning 28-3 in what proved to be Sam Pittman’s final game as the offensive line coach in Fayetteville. Last season, Arkansas lost 50-48 on a last-second field goal.
Despite the lack of success on Arkansas’ end, Pittman - who’s back at the school, now as head coach - said he still views Missouri as the team’s No. 1 rival and treats it as such.
“I think it's a very good rivalry,” Pittman said. “Honestly, we haven't been on the winning side of that the last five years. … It might be a little bit more of a rivalry for the people that are getting their butt kicked - I don't know, you'd have to ask Eli - but we've been getting ours done.”
Based on both coaches’ comments at SEC Media Days, Drinkwitz and Pittman have a mutual respect for each other. Each of them complimented the other’s job in Year 1 at their respective programs.
Fans have resisted recognizing the Arkansas-Missouri series as a true rivalry because it was seemingly forced upon both schools. The SEC replaced Arkansas’ annual Thanksgiving weekend matchup against LSU with the Missouri game, which now has a gaudy trophy with a sponsorship.
However, one reason Pittman views it as such is because of the proximity of the two schools and their shared recruiting territories. It also helps that the two programs have become intertwined in recent years.
Arkansas’ defensive coordinator is Barry Odom, a former Missouri player, assistant and head coach, while two other assistants - Michael Scherer and Sam Carter - either played or coached there, as well. The Razorbacks also brought in two Missouri transfers in Tre Williams and Markell Utsey this offseason.
On the flip side, Drinkwitz is an Arkansas native and two of the Tigers’ key players in 2021 - wide receiver Barrett Banister and defensive tackle Akial Byers - are from Fayetteville.
“I’m from the state, so that makes it a little bit more special and a little added incentive,” Drinkwitz said. “Just because y'all don't think it's a rivalry doesn't mean it isn't a rivalry. I know it means a whole heck of a lot to my household, and it means a heck of a lot to Barrett Banister's household, and we like keeping that trophy at the end of the game, so I think we'll go along with the one the commissioner set for us.”
The Razorbacks will try to snap their losing streak in the series when they host Missouri at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Black Friday, Nov. 26, to end the regular season. That game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and be televised on CBS.