Coach Eliah Drinkwitz speaks to the media ahead of Week 2 matchup with Buffalo

With Missouri's season-opening victory in the books, Coach Drinkwitz looked ahead to the matchup with the Buffalo Bulls during his weekly press conference. He praised the team's performance, emphasizing the strong fan support at Faurot Field and the standout efforts on defense and special teams. However, he also pointed out areas needing improvement, including offensive consistency and third-down execution, as the team prepares for their next challenge.

Coach Drinkwitz praised the freshman linebackers for their impressive contributions and highlighted the offensive line's potential for improvement. As the season progresses, he stressed the significance of developing young talent and ensuring that every player is ready to step up when needed. Here's a recap of everything that was discussed during the press conference.

Coach Drinkwitz started by thanking the fans for creating an incredible atmosphere at Faurot Field on Thursday night, particularly highlighting the student section's early arrival and support.

"The student section was unbelievable. They were loud, they were there early, and they were pouring in as we were warming up. When the game kicked off, our stands were full, and that was just an awesome way for us to start fast. We appreciate the fans and everything they did to create that winning environment."

When Drinkwitz began discussing the upcoming matchup with Buffalo this week, he had nothing but praise for their program.

"We're going to play a 1-0 Buffalo team led by, in my opinion, one of the great program rebuilders, Pete Lembo. He does an excellent job of building culture, evaluating talent, and getting the most out of his players."

Lembo has been successful in his past endeavors, and Coach Drinkwitz has had several football conversations with him in the past. "I've talked football with him several times when I was at NC State. I think he does a really good job utilizing tempo. He's got very good players," said Drinkwitz.

The matchup this weekend should be a fun one, and Missouri is not taking this game lightly. Drinkwitz emphasized that execution will be pivotal in securing a win.

"At the end of the day, schemes are important, and they're part of it. But ultimately, it’s a people-based game. We have to win our one-on-ones. We need to attack defensive and offensive weaknesses based on personnel to isolate the mismatches. I think the teams that can figure that out the quickest usually have the most success."

Missouri will kick off at 6:00 p.m. under the lights of Memorial Stadium. It should be a good one, and hopefully another sellout for the Tigers as only about 100 tickets remain. The Buffalo Bulls are coming off a 30-13 win against an FCS school, Lafayette, this past weekend.