Eli Drinkwitz credits Taylor Swift concert for sparking 'good ideas' in 2024 win vs. Oklahoma

In August, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz revealed he scouted Oklahoma last year while taking his daughters to a Taylor Swift concert. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday, Drinkwitz revealed more details about his unusual film session.

“Sometimes you just got to get away and get some better ideas,” Drinkwitz said. “Sometimes your best ideas come when you’re listening to great music. And obviously that was a 3.5-hour concert.

“They knew all the words. I didn’t really know any of them, but apparently we got some good ideas, because we played pretty well offensively and defensively there. I think we forced four turnovers.”

Girl dads have no choice but to learn how to adapt to their environment. With four daughters, Drinkwitz has mastered the art of entertaining his daughters, while getting a leg up on his competition. Evidently, Taylor Swift concerts are especially conducive to the latter goal.

Drinkwitz’s memory serves him well. In the Tigers’ 30-23 win over Oklahoma last season, Missouri squeezed four turnovers out of the Sooners, all of which were fumbles. In contrast, Missouri committed just one turnover itself.

The victory was a statement win for the Tigers, who were coming off a 34-0 loss to Alabama. The following week, Missouri fell 34-30 to South Carolina. Alas, Drinkwitz and Co. ultimately finished their season strong, closing out the 2024 campaign on a three-game win streak.

Missouri carried its momentum into this fall, dominating Central Arkansas 61-6 in its season-opener. Now, the Tigers will face their toughest challenge yet this season with a showdown against Kansas. While Eli Drinkwitz didn’t have a chance to attend any Taylor Swift concerts this week, he still feels strong about Missouri’s game plan.

“It’s about execution,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s a fine line between over-hyping and getting so emotional that you don’t have poison control. You want to have the energy, you don’t want to be emotional. And we want to have great, positive energy, and be excited to play. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.

“I think our players are going to be excited about Faurot Field being sold out. I think they’re going to be excited about playing a quality opponent and testing where they’re at as a team.”

On Saturday, Missouri will take on Kansas in the “Border War” rivalry game at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.