Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said all the right things this week when discussing Tennessee’s blowout wins over the Tigers the last two seasons. He even joked about how it didn’t feel like they got a stop.
But after Missouri put the final touches on its 36-7 blowout victory over Tennessee, Drinkwitz showed his frustration with the last two seasons and his excitement after the Tigers’ eighth win of the season.
“We had some unfinished business from last year. We took care of business,” Drinkwitz told CBS postgame. “Our defense kicked their ass.”
He wasn’t lying.
More From RTI: Four Quick Takeaways On Tennessee’s Loss At Missouri
After combining for 122 points the last two seasons against Missouri, the Vols totaled just seven points against the Tigers Saturday afternoon in Columbia. It’s the lowest scoring total in Josh Heupel’s tenure as Tennessee’s head coach.
Missouri shut down Tennessee’s run game better than anyone has all season. The Vols totaled just 83 rushing yards with none of Tennessee’s top three running backs totaling more than 22 yards. Joe Milton III led the Vols in rushing with 36 yards as Tennessee failed to total triple digit rushing yards for the first time this season.
The Vols’ defense didn’t fair much better than their offense. Missouri rushed for 255 yards on its way to 530 total yards and 36 points. The Tigers converted 11-of-17 third down attempts and scored on six of 11 drives.
The 29-point defeat is the largest of the Josh Heupel era in Knoxville. Missouri’s victory over No. 13 Tennessee is its first since 2018 and the first of Eliah Drinkwitz’ tenure as the Tigers’ head coach.
