Eli Drinkwitz dropped an absolute bombshell after Missouri’s 38-21 win over Kansas in the Border Showdown on Friday, straight up admitting his team wanted to “embarrass” the Jayhawks. He told reporters, “We left Kansas bleeding again,” and the reason for that raw intensity stems directly from a pre-game hype video that clearly lit a fire under him and his squad.
The viral hype video Kansas unleashed hours before the game went deep into history, referencing the “Bleeding Kansas” era. It depicted revolutionary abolitionist John Brown as an avatar for Kansas and pro-slavery guerrilla leader William Quantrill for Missouri, with the narrator declaring, “There’s right and wrong. There’s Kansas and Missouri.” Drinkwitz didn’t mince words about seeing it. “I was embarrassed for them, to be honest,” he said, and that feeling directly fueled his team’s aggressive late-game approach. He felt the video was completely out of line and twisted the rivalry into something it shouldn’t be.
What really got Drinkwitz boiling was not just the content, but the timing of that video. It dropped just hours before the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Drinkwitz condemned it, stating, “I was disappointed in the rivalry, the turn that it took today. I thought that was uncalled for. This is about two teams playing football. Especially on 9/11, when we need more unity than ever before, to put some stuff on your screen celebrating… everybody’s got complicated pasts. To make that an icon was bizarre to me.” He wasn’t having any of the historical “right versus wrong” narrative bleeding onto the football field. Drinkwitz emphasized that it’s “an American football team that people love to come cheer for their teams. It’s not any deeper than that. I get there’s a past to it, but why are we stirring that bull crap up? It’s 9/11. This country needs unity now more than ever.” This strong conviction drove his decision to keep pushing late in the game.
With that video fresh in his mind, Drinkwitz didn’t hesitate to twist the knife. Even with a 17-point lead and only 28 seconds left, Missouri’s backup quarterback Matt Zollers threw toward the end zone from the 13-yard line after a Kansas turnover on downs. This late-game strategy clearly led to some pushing and shoving between players and coaches post-game. Drinkwitz said he wasn’t trying to score “too bad” or he would have called timeouts, but the message was undeniably sent. And he wasn’t done talking trash, either. After the game, Drinkwitz took to social media, tweeting, “Hey Jack!? How’d that hype video end!? Cause I’d didn’t see yall take the goalpost!? Was that supposed to happen?? #MIZ #WINNERSWIN” Talk about rubbing salt in the wound! This Border Showdown just got a whole lot spicier for next time.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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