“Great job!” Eli Drinkwitz from Missouri praises Mike Elko, Texas A&M

The undefeated No. 9 Missouri Tigers are fresh off a bye week and face a tall task next Saturday against Mike Elko and the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies in College Station at Kyle Field to continue SEC play.

And no one is more aware of this than head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

After offering his condolences to the victims of Hurricane Helene, Drinkwitz began his press conference Tuesday afternoon honoring Elko's coaching, and not just at Texas A&M.

“Mike Elko has done a great job as head football coach,” Drinkwitz said. “Obviously this is his first year with the team and I really think he’s doing a great job of finding the identity of this team.”

The Missouri coach also noted Marcel Reed's style of play and how it seems somewhat similar to that of his offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who was quarterback for the Kansas State Wildcats from 2009 to 2012 and was known for his dual-threat skills and finishing Third in the 2012 Heisman voting behind Johnny Manziel and Manti Te'o.

“It all starts with their new quarterback Marcel Reed, who has clearly become the focal point of their offensive work,” the coach said. “In my opinion, Coach Klein was very comfortable with him as a quarterback. I think his style of play reflects what Coach Klein had at Kansas State in the past and what type of player he was. He does a great job designing running plans for him and using him on the road.

Ironically, Drinkwitz revealed that Reed's sister Briah is the assistant director of recruiting on the Missouri Tigers' campus, so this week's showdown could be more interesting than some might imagine.

The No. 25 Aggies and No. 9 Tigers kick off at Kyle Field at 11 a.m. Saturday morning.