By Max Brucks
Missouri (Mizzou) and Kansas State squared off for the 99th time on Sept. 16, and the game was one for the record books. Mizzou won with a walk-off, SEC record 61-yard field goal thanks to Senior Harrison Mevis. Mizzou was able to knock off the 15th-ranked Wildcats only one year after Mizzou was beaten 40-12 in Manhattan. Kansas State came into Columbia coming off a quality win against Troy, while Mizzou struggled against Middle Tennessee State. Both teams played with injured quarterbacks for most of the game. Mizzou’s quarterback, Brady Cook, got Mizzou into field goal range, but a delay-of-game penalty would make the kick 5-yards farther.
In a post-game interview, Mizzou’s head coach, Eliah Drinkwitz, said “We took the penalty to make it more dramatic, this is all for TV anyway. This was in the script.”
Both teams played with hobbled quarterbacks as Kansas State’s, Will Howard, got hurt in the first half of the contest and Mizzou’s, Brady Cook, hurt his knee late in the second quarter. This was a big win for Drinkwitz and the Tigers as they look to have an above .500 record for the first time in his four years at Mizzou. Drinkwitz was also very critical of the fans who booed the starting quarterback, Brady Cook, before the game.
“That pissed me off. He went out and played his butt off for the university and this team. They need to get behind him,” the coach said. “We need to get behind the young man. You want to boo me? Fine. You don’t boo the starting quarterback. It’s bullcrap. I’ll say it again: It should never happen.”
Mizzou won’t open up conference play for one more week as they will head to Saint Louis to take on Memphis in the “ZOU to the LOU” game. Mizzou will look to advance to 4-0 for the first time since the Tigers won their first SEC East title in 2013.
For Kansas State, it wasn’t the ideal start to the season, but the Wildcats have shown the ability to bounce back from early season losses. The Wildcats dropped a game to Tulane early last year before bouncing back and winning the Big-12. Head coach Chris Kleinman also believes that the game against Mizzou was a good test for the Wildcats heading forward.
“This is what Big 12 football is going to be like starting next week. You’d better get used to tight ballgames that are hard to win.”
The Wildcats will open up Big-12 play as they take on Big-12 newcomer UCF. UCF enters the game undefeated and looking to make a statement in their first Big-12 game. Kansas State will look to defend their Big-12 crown as reigning champs and start Big-12 play 1-0.
