Eli Drinkwitz praises defensive effort, calls on offense to find rhythm

Poor weather and gusting winds have plagued the scoring totals in Columbia for Missouri‘s SEC East matchup against Kentucky Saturday afternoon. The Tigers trail the Wildcats 7-3 at the half, and head coach Eli Drinkwitz discussed what his team needs to do to take down Kentucky in the final two quarters.

“Our defense has played really well,” Drinkwitz said at halftime. “Offensively, we’ve got to get in a rhythm and we are making too many mistakes.”

Kentucky has out-gained Mizzou 119-76 in total yards through two quarters. Will Levis has completed 6-of-11 passes for 95 and one touchdown, of which went to true freshman Dane Key. With the reception, Key became the Wildcats’ all-time freshman touchdown receptions leader (4).

The Tigers have been relying heavily on the running game, as quarterback Brady Cook has only thrown for 19 yards at the break. Carrying the bulk, running back Cody Schrader has a game-high 56 rushing yards on 13 carries on the day.

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“We’ve got to go in there and figure out how to stop the blitz,” Drinkwitz said about getting his offense going in the second half. “We’re given up pressures on base-down throws, so we’ve got to figure it out.”

On the defensive front is where the Tigers have been excelling, however. Kentucky’s offensive line continues to struggle mightily, allowing Levis to be sacked four different times during the first two quarters, and in turn is the main reason that the Wildcats haven’t been able to find the end zone since their opening drive.

Catch the finish of this tightly contested matchup between Kentucky and Missouri live on the SEC Network.

Kentucky, Missouri get into altercation on UK sideline

A fight has broken out on the sidelines between Kentucky and Missouri as the first quarter expired. 

UK QB Will Levis was pushed out of bound by Mizzou’s Trajan Jeffcoat. After some words were exchanged between Jeffcoat and the Kentucky sideline, the altercation escalated to pushing and shoving that saw nearly the entirety of the Kentucky bench get involved, including tight ends coach Vince Marrow.

The rest of the Missouri defense that was on the field came over to help, and defensive lineman Josh Landry was ultimately called for unsportsmanlike conduct, much to the dismay of Tigers headman Eli Drinkwitz.

Kentucky led Missouri 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Catch the rest of the game live on the SEC Network.