The SEC Network broadcast caught Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz giving Luther Burden III the hairdryer treatment.
Not familiar? Here’s a quick history of the idiom.
In his near-quarter century in the role, legendary Manchester United soccer manager Sir Alex Ferguson developed a bit of a reputation for how he dealt with players who he judged were not meeting the team’s standard.
The phrase came to be known as ‘the hairdryer treatment’: When the coach got so close to their faces and delivered, shall we say, constructive criticism, so passionately that it felt like there was a hairdryer pointed at their face.
It was brief. But it might be an important learning moment for this Mizzou team.
Burden had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on him for retaliating to an opponent who had grabbed and tossed his mouthpiece by reciprocating the gesture. That sent the Tigers marching back 15 yards.
Two plays later, a personal foul penalty was called on the receiver after he appeared to throw a football at an opponent, which played its part in moving the Tigers into a ghastly second-and-59 in the third quarter of their win over Boston College. The star wide receiver was perhaps lucky not to get a second unsportsmanlike and, with that, an ejection.
The wide receiver sure heard about it when he went to the sideline at the end of the quarter.
Burden wasn’t alone in making undisciplined decisions Saturday. So, the Missouri team heard about it this week, too.
“I challenged our staff and our players to put your feelings in a box. Like, don’t come into this team room and think we’re going to celebrate and party based off the film, because that’s not going to be it,” Drinkwitz said. “We’re going to challenge each other in here, because the lack of discipline is a result of a lack of accountability, and there’s going to be accountability.
“I mean, no different than (when) they caught me on tape getting on Luther between the third and fourth quarter. He deserved every bit of that, and he understood it. He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Yes, sir.’ Just like yesterday when we addressed it, he understood that selfish penalties cannot happen.”
Missouri football head coach Eliah Drinkwitz watches from the sideline during second half of the Tigers’ game against Boston College on Sept. 14, 2024 in Columbia, Missouri.
That’s quite an important response.
Mizzou is 3-0, and showed some punch to reach that mark against the Eagles.
But how long will Missouri be and-0 while it is giving up more than eight penalties per contest for an average of 71.7 yards of backtracking? Both of those stats rank bottom 30 in the FBS.
There is a balance to strike, quarterback Brady Cook said. “It’s a passionate game,” as Cook pointed out, and a little fire in the gut can be a good thing.
“We’re giving everything we have, and when you make plays or someone gets under your skin it’s pretty easy to fire back,” Cook said. “But at the same time, you know, you’ve got to have that balance and discipline and be able to tune it out and just move on, because whenever it starts to hurt your team, then it becomes a negative.”
Mizzou showed plenty of fight Saturday. Down 14-6 as time ticked away in the first half, the Tigers put together a pick, a three-play touchdown and a 46-second scoring drive that resulted in a 56-yard field goal to take the lead. The Tigers scored on the first drive of the second half to take the lead for good.
Tre’Vez Johnson, the safety who picked off Thomas Castellanos in the second quarter to get the comeback rolling, called it a “don’t flinch” mindset.
Missouri didn’t flinch, all the way up to a converted third-and-7 late in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed.
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But they also didn’t end the contest before then, either, even with opportunities. Already up 10 points, that could have been accomplished on the drive that included the second-and-59, but individual recklessness forced a punt.
“That was crazy. You know, obviously we ran the ball (and) Nate almost broke it there on second-and-59, but obviously penalties put us in that situation,” Cook said. “So, it’s funny to talk about, but at the end of the day, that was a pretty important drive in that game, and second-and-59 isn’t going to help us much, so we’ve definitely got to clean it up.”
Not all of Missouri’s penalty woes have been disciplinary, like Burden tossing the mouthguard.
Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III (3) runs in for a touchdown against the Boston College Eagles during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Mizzou gave up four holding penalties in a Week 2 win over Buffalo. Over the past two weeks, the Tigers have sacrificed 20 yards on four penalties on basics like illegal formation and ineligible receiver penalties.
Vanderbilt is next on deck. Even after a Week 3 loss on the road at Georgia State, that’s far from a set-in-stone win for the undefeated Tigers. Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia has been one of the league’s better newcomers through three games. Drinkwitz called this the best Vandy team since fourth-year head coach Clark Lea took over the program. An opening-week win over preseason ACC dark horse Virginia Tech made the case for that, too.
Mizzou has plenty to clean up by the time the Commodores come to Columbia, marking the start of SEC play.
Burden heard all about it. Now everyone is.
“The team’s mission is way more important than anybody’s individual hurt feelings,” Drinkwitz said. “So put your feelings in a box, put your big boy pants on, take accountability for the things that we have to improve on.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Missouri football is facing penalty problems before SEC play starts
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Publish date : 2024-09-17 07:42:00
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