When No. 20 Missouri hosts Troy on Saturday night in Columbia, Mo., any shenanigans related to Kansas and the Border War will be behind coach Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers.
Fueled by strong performance from quarterback Austin Simmons on Friday night, Missouri won 38-21 at Kansas, a longtime rival it doesn’t face on an annual basis anymore.
Drinkwitz said he was upset that the Jayhawks’ post, in the context of sports, made negative references to Missouri as it related to historical events with Kansas that helped bring about the U.S. Civil War.
Mizzou and Kansas aren’t scheduled to resume their series until 2031, which rankles some fans who want to see them play every year.
“If they’re going to be weird about it, what’s the point? If they want to have a football game and a great rivalry on the border, awesome, let’s do it,” Drinkwitz said. “But if we want to make it deeper than that, man, we left Kansas bleeding again, so call it good.”
Mizzou (2-0) feels no such irritation toward Troy (2-0), which is 1-3 all time against the Tigers and hasn’t played them since 2019. Troy went 8-6 a season ago, winning the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division before losing the conference championship to College Football Playoff-bound James Madison.
Gerad Parker’s squad beat Alabama State 34-17 on Saturday after taking a 31-7 lead at halftime. Parker said Monday the Trojans regressed to “a complete, undisciplined brand of football” with too many penalties, and generally played below their standards.
“That’s got to be fixed and fixed quickly,” Parker said. “There’s got to be ownership on both sides (of the ball). I certainly look inward as to why we did not play a better version of football.”
They almost surely will need improvement to slow down Simmons, a transfer from Ole Miss who has completed 36 of 48 passes for 544 yards and seven touchdowns in two games.
“He played unbelievable, didn’t flinch. I thought his third-down conversions were as good as I’ve seen. He’s putting balls in tight spots, and they were doing so many different things on the back end,” Drinkwitz said of Simmons’ performance against Kansas. “Normally a quarterback gets frustrated. He didn’t. He just locked in. I thought he made incredible reads. Didn’t make very many misses. The ball was not in jeopardy.”
Mizzou’s offensive line has been in flux, which has made for inconsistency. Left tackle Cayden Green missed the opening week after undergoing a “minor procedure” to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. Drinkwitz gave Green a game ball for his play against Kansas just 10 days removed from the procedure.
“That guy, man, he is exactly what being a captain is all about,” Drinkwitz said.
Linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. made a huge impact for Mizzou’s defense, forcing turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter.
Troy’s Jaheim Merriweather, a transfer from Purdue, rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns — one a 69-yard scamper — on 13 carries against Alabama State.
Goose Crowder completed 14 of 27 passes for 201 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
