Eli Drinkwitz spikes 'narratives' after first top-10 win as Missouri coach: 'None of that matters'

The Tigers snapped a nine-game losing skid to ranked opponents after Drinkwitz's first win over a top-10 team

Oct 4, 2026 at 9:45 am ET • 2 min read

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz tries to avoid social media as much as possible during the season, but he's always up for a juicy soundbite after a momentum-building victory.

Saturday's 45-17 destruction of previously unbeaten and eighth-ranked Florida might've been the best of his career with the Tigers: a four-quarter beatdown of a top-10 opponent, his first such victory at Missouri after 10 losses.

It came a week after Drinkwitz watched his team fail to execute down the stretch of a road loss to Mississippi State, another reminder of the SEC's week-to-week gauntlet.

"Everybody's allowed to get better and improve," Drinkwitz said after his team piled up 560 yards of total offense against the Gators. "After this game, I can't believe anything that y'all write about us or anything on Twitter. After last game, I didn't believe anything that was said about me or our team on Twitter, because none of that matters.

"What really matters is the truth of what your coaches teach you and preach to you and that's what makes a good football team. I know y'all have jobs to do and that's awesome and y'all got to do them, but for us, it's about ignoring the noise and staying focused on our trajectory."

After snapping a nine-game skid against ranked teams, Drinkwitz is now 8-19 against AP Top 25 opponents with the Tigers.

Drinkwitz said he "couldn't have cared less" about the "narratives" coming into the game about his program in spotlight games.

"Every game has a life of its own, and it's people searching for crap to talk about," Drinkwitz said.

Previously ranked 25th in the AP poll, the Tigers should vault inside the top 20 in Sunday's updated rankings with a winnable home game next week against Texas A&M before facing Ole Miss on the road. 

Missouri still has to face top-ranked Texas and No. 2 Georgia during the season's second half, creating opportunities for a squad having no issues scoring points this season despite preseason Doak Walker candidate Ahmad Hardy yet to suit up in the backfield.

Ole Miss transfer quarterback Austin Simmons has thrown for 1,287 yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception, while running back Jamal Roberts already has three 100-yard games following Saturday's 211-yard explosion against the Gators.

"Last week (at Mississippi State), we didn't set edges and we didn't tackle ... we didn't have situational execution on third downs in the red zone," Drinkwitz said. "Boom, (we) got them fixed. This week, we better start running the ball better on first or second down or we're going to be in real trouble vs. Texas A&M. 

"It's constantly figuring out where you got to plug holes. That's our job, and that's what we're going to do."

With four games left against top-10 opponents this season, Drinkwitz can legitimately sell Missouri (4-1) as a potential CFP threat inside his locker room — hopes that can morph into a real expectation if the Tigers win their next two SEC games with the Aggies and Rebels before an open date later this month.