Eli Drinkwitz refuses to bash officiating in loss to Texas: 'That would be disrespectful to Coach Sarkisian'

No. 7 Texas continued its march to the College Football Playoff on Saturday with a 34-20 road victory over No. 18 Missouri. The Longhorns racked up their fourth Top 25 ranked victory of the season, putting them in strong position to make the CFP field even if they suffer a loss over their final three games (No. 14 LSU, Arkansas, and Texas A&M). As for the Tigers, they have now lost two of their last four games since their dominant 45-17 win over No. 8 Florida on Oct. 3. Missouri fans were audibly upset during Saturday’s game due to some questionable refereeing decisions, including an Arch Manning fumble that traveled forward 12 yards and was picked up for a Texas first down. The referees also missed what appeared to be an apparent intentional grounding call on Manning. $39.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage Postgame, however, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz refused to bash officiating in the loss. Along with an attempt to avoid a fine, he chose not to be ‘disrespectful’ to Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns. “My job is to respond to the situations. They have officials, and they have a crew from the SEC that calls in. They reviewed it. I don’t know what to tell you,” Drinkwitz said. “If I say what I want to say, I’m going to get fined until I don’t have any retirement. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to blame the officials. That would be disrespectful to Coach Sarkisian & his team.” Missouri loss comes one day after Austin Simmons re-signed with program In the loss, Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons completed 23/43 passes for two touchdowns. The performance comes just one day after Simmons re-signed with the program for the 2027 season. In his first year at Mizzou, Simmons has led the Tigers to a 6-3 record. He currently ranks second in the SEC in passing yards (2,204) and is tied for first with passing touchdowns (20). Simmons spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Ole Miss, where he played under former head coach Lane Kiffin. He entered the 2025 season as the Rebels’ starter, but was soon passed up by backup Trinidad Chambliss after suffering an injury in their second game of the season. Simmons finished out the season as Ole Miss‘ backup, and hit the Transfer Portal in the offseason. The Miami native opted to remain in the SEC, winding up at Missouri to succeed quarterback Beau Pribula (who transferred to Virginia) in Columbia. Simmons has more than lived up to his expectations, and had the Tigers in the thick of the College Football Playoff race heading into Saturday’s game.