Eli Drinkwitz is convinced Missouri will see a different Kentucky football team than the one the Tigers defeated last season.
Mizzou handled the Wildcats 20-10 in Columbia, holding Kentucky to 145 total yards on 36 plays. The Tigers held whopping advantages in first downs (28-8) and possession time (43-17 minutes).
The Tigers coach said he saw nothing that resembled that team last weekend when Kentucky defeated Louisiana Monroe 45-10 in its opener.
"Totally different style, totally different feel," Drinkwitz said. "The only thing that surprises me is how quickly they've gotten to where they're at."
Saturday's game at Lexington, Kentucky kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Central time.
A new coordinator and key transfers can expedite change. Wildcats coach Mark Stoops brought in a new offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, who had spent the previous three years on the Los Angeles Rams' staff, working with wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Quarterback Will Levis spent his first three seasons at Penn State. He came to Kentucky as a graduate transfer and couldn't have made a better first impression, throwing for four touchdowns and 367 yards last weekend.
Two of those scores went to Nebraska transfer Wan'Dale Robinson. He was the Cornhuskers' leading receiver in 2020 with 51 receptions while playing some snaps at running back.
Kentucky needed the infusion on offense. The Wildcats were held to 13 or fewer points five times in a season that ended 5-6 but with a bowl victory.
Missouri was a mixed bag defensively in its season-opening victory over Central Michigan. In the 34-24 triumph, the Tigers came up with nine sacks, the most in a game since at least 2000, according to the school. Linebacker Blaze Alldredge came up with 3 1/2 sacks in his first game in a Mizzou uniform.
The Tigers came up with two interceptions. A year ago, the team had four for the season.
But Central Michigan rolled to 475 total yards and 27 first downs. The Chippewas also were led by a transfer quarterback playing his first game in Jacob Sirmon, from Washington.
"There were a lot of red flags," Drinkwitz said. "It starts with tackling. Our tackling was very poor. I think we had some eye-discipline issues. We had some loose coverage."
When the Tigers dialed up pressure, they disrupted Central Michigan. When they didn't, the Chippewas enjoyed success. Mizzou steps up in class on Saturday.
"It's can't be Jekyll and Hyde otherwise against a team like we're fixing to play that scoreboard will light up real quick," Drinkwitz said.
Saturday's game matches teams that popularly have picked to finish third and fourth in the SEC East, behind Georgia and Florida. It's been something of a measuring stick game over the past several years.
Since 2017, the teams have identical 16-18 league records and have finished either tied or within a place of each other in the standing each year.
Last season, Missouri ended a five-game losing streak in the series. Saturday's game sets up as a tone setter.
"I don't think anybody's season ends after Week 2, regardless of how it plays out," Drinkwitz said. "I think it's a big test for us on who we want to be and how we want to perform and what we do on the road.
"For us, it's more about a test to see how much we've grown and developed. I don't look at it as a where Kentucky's program is verses where Missouri's program is. That's making it probably a little too big."
