Mizzou Football Coach Eliah Drinkwitz calls Murray State "Toughest Opener He's Faced"

With Missouri Football set to kick off their season on Thursday night against Murray State, Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz held his weekly press conference on Sunday afternoon. He discussed the team's preparation for Murray State and shared some of his expectations for week one and the season ahead.

One of the more interesting quotes came when Drinkwitz praised Murray State, stating, "It's probably the most difficult opening game we've faced since I've been here."

This is an interesting statement from Drinkwitz, who has faced some tough competition over the years, including the 2020 season when they opened against Alabama. However, he may not have been referring to the game itself, but rather the preparation leading up to it.

Murray State will be an interesting opener for Missouri and could pose some challenges due to the limited ability to scout them. After a tough 2-9 season that ended with seven straight losses, Murray State completely rebuilt their program this offseason. They brought in a whole new coaching staff and about 60 new players from the transfer portal and high school recruiting, making them an unknown team for Missouri.

Drinkwitz mentioned using the app "Hudl" to scout their opponents, noting that he has no clear idea of what Murray State will do schematically. When asked how he plans to prepare for a team like Murray State with limited film available, he acknowledged the challenge but emphasized the importance of focusing on his own team's execution.

"That's the challenge... You can watch their schemes from last year and try to see what their players are but they're not going to be running the exact same stuff. Trying to figure out what your matchups are almost impossible. But again, it comes down to us executing our plan and our schemes at a really high level and playing with great effort."

The game will kick off from Faurot Field this Thursday at 7:00 PM, and it should be a thrilling start to the season. Missouri will look to implement new schemes into their game plan, and with a new-look roster, fans of the program will be tuned in to see how their team performs.