There was plenty to say after the 88th Cotton Bowl Classic.
Missouri football just staged a fourth quarter for the ages. The Tigers, down 3-0, put up 14 of the biggest points in MU history to down Ohio State 14-3.
It was exactly what Missouri set out to do when it started this historic season about one year ago after the Gasparilla Bowl.
“We talk about developing an elite edge, and the G and EDGE stands for grit, a stubborn refusal to quit, and that’s what our team displayed tonight to score 14 in the fourth quarter when you’re down 3-0,” Drinkwitz said. “Just really, really proud of those guys.
Here’s what Drinkwitz said after winning the 2023 Cotton Bowl.
What Mizzou was about this year
Going up against Ohio State didn’t mean going up against the No. 7 team in the nation. It also meant going up against an established history of college football excellence.
Eight national championships, five College Football Playoff appearances since 2014 and 964 total wins.
Missouri doesn’t have that kind of resume. It did not care.
“Last night, our chaplain, gave a message about the difference between a blue blood Brotherhood and a wilderness brotherhood,” Drinkwitz said. “A wilderness brotherhood forged through adversity and fight and scratching and clawing for everything you get, and it just totally encompassed everything that we’re about.”
Drinkwitz, with his back against the wall this season, put forth one of the best seasons in Missouri football history.
Just don’t think he’ll take much of the credit, though.
“I’ll be honest, it really doesn’t have much to do with me,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s really about our players and our team and the legacy of the 2023 brotherhood.”
‘It’s really not ever going to be about me’
Drinkwitz’s face is now the face of Missouri athletics.
He is the coach who won Missouri a Cotton Bowl. He is the coach who has Missouri in the conversation to be a playoff team next year when the CFP expands to 12 teams.
But, he is also the man who wants fans to know the players are the ones who deserve the most credit after Friday’s win.
“We have a sign in our locker room that goes around that says, ‘when the weakest choose to run, we stand shoulder to shoulder and move forward together,'” Drinkwitz said. “That’s what our brotherhood did.”
Drinkwitz made all the right decisions this season. It led to 11 wins and a win in the Cotton Bowl.
He’s willing to pass off all that credit in a heartbeat.
“It’s really not ever going to be about me,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s going to be about our team and our coaching staff and our university.”
On the game-winning fourth quarter
Missouri had some fourth-quarter inspiration from the NFL level.
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, after a last-minute win over the Philadelphia Eagles led by Missouri alum Drew Lock, mentioned that games are won in that final frame. Drinkwitz took that to heart.
“We saw Coach Carroll say the other day and actually talked to the team about it, you can’t win it the first, you can’t win it in the second, you can’t win in the third, but you can sure win it in the fourth quarter,” Drinkwitz said. “This team, they did that. They displayed that.”
MU scored 14 points and forced a game-sealing turnover in the fourth quarter. It played the best quarter of the season when it mattered most.
“Appreciative to Coach Carroll for demonstrating that, and then Drew Lock giving us the inspiration to go out there,” Drinkwitz said. “We didn’t have to quite do it on the last drive of the game, but it was sure a lot of fun.”
On Mizzou’s mentality going forward
Missouri went into the 2023 season with one single mantra.
It was plastered everywhere, repeated plenty of times and sounded like a broken record to some. To some, maybe, but not to Missouri. Now, the team gets to change that mantra.
“It’s why stop now,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s the mentality is.”
Missouri climbed its way from the depths. This team was mired in hell as a squad picked to finish sixth in the SEC behind Vanderbilt. The Tigers had everything to prove.
Eleven wins and a Cotton Bowl title later, they proved it all and more.
“We’ve worked really hard to get this opportunity and we’re not gonna sit here and change,” Drinkwitz said. “So, why stop now?”
2023-12-31 22:05:21
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