COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was in no mood to talk about the Tigers’ recent history against ranked opponents on Saturday.
asserted
Drinkwitz → talk → Saturday
Not the first time he was asked about it.
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he → ask → it
There was Austin Simmons, who was 23 of 30 for 340 yards and two touchdowns, slinging the ball to all corners of the field with his strong left arm.
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who → be → arm
There was Jamal Roberts, who carried 24 times for 211 yards and three scores, including two long runs late to put away the game.
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who → be → game
And there was a defense that held the Gators more than 200 yards below their season average.
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that → be → average
“Doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
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he → mean → anything
“That’s noise people create on social media for no reason.
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people → ’ → reason
It has no meaning on anything.
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It → have → anything
It’s people searching for crap to talk about.
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people → ’ → crap
We try to make it the best matchup we can.”
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we → try → ?
They sure made it a lopsided one on Saturday.
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it → make → Saturday
After giving up a 12-yard carry to the Gators’ Jadan Baugh the first time the nation’s second-leading rusher touched the ball, they held him to one more yard — for the entire game.
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they → give → game
After allowing the Gators to convert three times on third down on an opening drive that ended with a field goal, Missouri held them to 3 for 13 in that crucial situation the rest of the way.
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Missouri → allow → way
The Tigers had three sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss, dominating the vaunted Florida offensive and defensive lines, and they made the Gators’ Aaron Philo so downright uncomfortable in the pocket that he finished with just 197 yards passing.
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he → have → yards
“We’re just a hungry team,” Missouri safety Kensley Louidor-Faustin said, “trying to prove something.
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Faustin → ’re → something
They accomplished that much.
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They → accomplish → much
It was the Tigers’ first win over a ranked team since beating No. 24 Boston College on Sept. 14, 2024, and their first win over a ranked conference opponent since beating No. 13 Tennessee on Nov. 11, 2023.
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It → beat → Nov.
“It’s a good win against a really good team today.
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It → ’ → team
That’s all it was,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“Nobody in our locker room could care less about that.
uncertain
Nobody → care → that
I couldn’t care less about that. ...
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I → care → that
I really couldn’t care less.
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I → care → ?
The SEC is a hard league, and yeah, I’m done with that.”
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I → do → that
The Gators struck first with that field goal, and they tied it 10-all on Philo’s touchdown throw with 4:26 left in the first half.
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they → strike → half
Then the Tigers scored 35 unanswered points.
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Tigers → score → points
The game was largely decided those last couple of minutes of the first half and the start of the second.
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game → decide → second
Rather than run out the clock on the first, the Tigers pressed when they got the ball with 1:33 left, and Blake Craig drilled a 50-yard field goal for a 20-10 lead.
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Craig → run → lead
Missouri proceeded to score on four straight possessions — three of those TDs — to start the second half.
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Missouri → proceed → half
And to think, the Tigers put together that kind of performance after a deflating loss last week at Mississippi State — a ranked team, by the way — when they blew a second-half lead by allowing two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 31-24 loss in Starkville.
“It kind of seemed like we never played that game last week,” Simmons said, “throughout this whole week of preparation.”
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Simmons → think → preparation
The Tigers had talked about that this week, how bouncing back in a league in which one loss can easily snowball into three or four is not just helpful but imperative.
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loss → talk → three
To do that, the Tigers blocked out the noise — all those people talking about all those losses to ranked opponents, for example — and focused entirely on themselves and what they needed to do to improve.
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they → do → what
Then they went out and did it.
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they → go → it
“Noise doesn’t bother me.
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Noise → bother → me
I don’t look at too many feeds, the critics or whatnot.
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I → look → feeds
I’m ready to play football with my guys, the brotherhood,” Roberts said.
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Roberts → ’m → guys
“All the social media posts, it’s all good one day, all bad the next day.
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all → ’ → ?
The Aporia
