Missouri’s Week 3 clash against Louisiana ended 52-10, and if you only glanced at the scoreboard, you’d think everything was perfect. But Eli Drinkwitz doesn’t roll like that. Even after a game where the Tigers piled up 427 rushing yards and bullied the Cajuns on both lines of scrimmage, the head coach stepped to the mic and reminded everyone: Mizzou still has issues to deal with.

“We are 3-0, I think there’s always room for improvement,” Drinkwitz told reporters, pointing to some sloppy moments. “Obviously, we had the close call right there with Marquis [Johnson] extending the ball at the goal line, which we don’t do. Obviously, we had the big run at the interception. Had some leak yardage on kickoff coverage. So there’s plenty of stuff to work on and get better. But I liked their mentality going into the game.”

That’s classic Drinkwitz—never letting his guys sip Kool-Aid too early. Missouri’s offense was rolling: Hardy scored 3 times, backup Marquise Davis tacked on 113 rushing yards of his own, and Beau Pribula threw for 174 yards with two touchdowns while keeping drives alive with his legs. But the head coach wasn’t playing the highlight reel.

And honestly, he’s right. Even in a 52-10 rout, Missouri left meat on the bone. The Tigers surrendered an 84-yard touchdown run to Zylan Perry, missed a field goal, and let Pribula hit the turf twice on sacks. Drinkwitz knows these little cracks turn into craters when SEC heavyweights like South Carolina roll into town.

Defensively, Missouri played like they had Louisiana’s playbook tattooed on their arms. They held the Cajuns to 121 total yards, including a passing game that finished 2-for-14 with—wait for it—four passing yards. The only stain? That 84-yard touchdown. Outside of that one slip, the Tigers looked like a defense made for SEC wars, stacking three-and-outs and delivering 5 sacks with 16 tackles for loss.

Even special teams, which had their hiccups, didn’t dent the vibe too much. A missed 41-yard field goal might sting in closer games, but in this kind of rout, it barely registered. The bigger story was Missouri’s ability to dominate on both sides of the ball while still leaving room for growth. Drinkwitz’s words weren’t nitpicking—they were the fuel for a team chasing bigger prizes. At 3-0, Missouri is squarely in the SEC conversation, and if they can clean up the little lapses, they won’t just be contenders, they’ll be nightmares.

Eli Drinkwitz does not like when his quarterback gets sacked

The box score screams dominance—62 carries, 427 yards, 5 rushing touchdowns. Missouri’s offensive line looked like a bulldozer on cheat mode. But in pass pro? They slipped, and Drinkwitz wasn’t shy about saying it. He watched his QB, who just transferred in and is still finding rhythm in SEC ball, eat 2 sacks against a Sun Belt team. That’ll make any coach spit out his coffee.

Mizzou insider Michael Stamps spilled on the x: “#Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said he “doesn’t love where they’re at” in terms of protecting the quarterback. The Tigers allowed two sacks today, both of which were on Beau Pribula.” It’s not about Pribula crumbling—because he hasn’t.

The former Penn State backup has been ice cold since the opener, carving up defenses with a 68% completion rate and avoiding turnovers. He knows when to tuck it, when to sling it, and he’s given Mizzou exactly what they needed after Horn went down. But none of that matters if he’s flat on his back.