There’s no denying it: The Missouri Tigers, like many college football teams, perform significantly worse on the road than they do at home. Under coach Eli Drinkwitz for over four seasons, the Tigers have a record of 35-23, which gives them a .603 winning percentage, but their road record is just 7-14, corresponding to a much lower .333 winning percentage. Competing in the Southeastern Conference is notoriously challenging, and each time a top-10 team stumbles during a conference road game, the saying “no easy wins in the SEC” is reinforced. But to what extent are Drinkwitz’s struggles on the road due to the harsh realities of SEC travel? To explore this, let’s take a look at the records of his peers and see where he stands.
Since being hired in 2020, Drinkwitz is tied with Arkansas coach Sam Pittman and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin as the third-longest tenured coach in the SEC, each with nearly five years under their belts. Only Kentucky’s Mark Stoops (since 2013) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart (since 2016) have been with their teams longer. Stoops has been a model of consistency at Kentucky, racking up at least five wins in 10 of 12 seasons, though his overall record stands at 78-71, translating to a .523 winning percentage. Stoops took until his third season to secure his first road victory and has a 20-34 record on the road, a .370 percentage, providing him with a slightly better away record overall compared to Drinkwitz.
In contrast, Smart embodies success in the SEC, boasting an impressive record of 101-18 and a 32-6 mark on the road since joining the Bulldogs in 2016. Smart’s .842 road winning percentage is unparalleled among SEC coaches and likely will remain so for some time. Kiffin and Pittman have taken their programs in different directions since entering the SEC alongside Drinkwitz. Kiffin’s Rebels hold a 42-17 overall record, including 13-9 on the road, yielding a .591 percentage. Pittman, in his fifth season with Arkansas, has a 28-29 record, with a 7-13 road record, just one loss shy of Drinkwitz’s road performance; notably, eight of Pittman’s road losses have come against ranked teams, compared to six for Drinkwitz.
Shifting focus to the 2021 coaching class, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel has achieved a 35-13 record, though he has lost eight games on the road for a .467 winning percentage away from home. Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea has struggled, possessing a 15-31 record that includes two 2-10 seasons, resulting in a .326 overall and .286 road winning percentage, both worse than Drinkwitz’s stats. South Carolina, led by Shane Beamer, has a 26-21 record overall but struggles on the road with a 7-11 record and a .388 winning percentage.
In terms of more recent hires, LSU’s Brian Kelly has found immediate success with a 26-10 record and a 7-4 road record, yielding a .636 winning percentage. Florida’s Billy Napier, on the other hand, has a 15-19 record with only a 3-9 mark on the road, the lowest road winning percentage among SEC coaches with multiple years of experience. Auburn’s Hugh Freeze, hired in 2023, has a better road record (.500) compared to his overall mark (.409).
When examining where Drinkwitz stands, among the 11 SEC coaches with more than one season in the conference, his .333 road winning percentage ranks ninth. Only Vanderbilt and Florida have worse road records under their current coaches. The Tigers are in the same bracket as South Carolina, Kentucky, and Arkansas but lag significantly behind programs like Georgia and LSU. While it’s tough to win on the road in the SEC, Drinkwitz’s road troubles stand out in comparison to most of his peers.
Despite these challenges, Drinkwitz has maintained a perfect record against South Carolina, having won on the road at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2019 with Appalachian State, and again in 2020 and 2022 with Mizzou. The Tigers’ victory in 2022 is also one of only two ranked road wins during Drinkwitz’s tenure. As Mizzou aims for its sixth straight Mayor’s Cup victory, the question remains whether their past success against South Carolina will continue, or if Drinkwitz’s road struggles will resurface. Fans will find out on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. Central Time at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
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