Mizzou-Auburn: a battle of coaching friends (and both teams desperately need a victory)

The intersection of happy memories and professional influences will intersect for Eli Drinkwitz at Missouri’s next game.

A trip to Auburn for an 11 a.m. ESPN kickoff Saturday brings Drinkwitz to the site of his first college job. The MU head football coach was a quality control coach there when Cam Newton-led Auburn beat Oregon for the 2010 FBS National Championship.

Drinkwitz’s career continued at Arkansas State, where Harsin — by then, Arkansas State’s head coach — made him a co-offensive coordinator in 2013. Harsin is now Auburn’s coach.

“Coach Harsin gave me an opportunity and believed in me when not very many other people did and really kept me in college football,” Drinkwitz said. “I’m very appreciative to him for that and will always be indebted to him.”

Despite their history of working together, Drinkwitz doesn’t believe familiarity will be a factor in their first meeting as head coaches on opposite sidelines.

“I think we’re both focused on attacking the other team’s schemes,” Drinkwitz said. “And both of us have evolved so much, and football has evolved so much since 2013. Or even 2015, the last time we’ve coached together. I mean, that’s over seven seasons ago. There are a lot of things that have changed.”

Now, the men are rival SEC coaches who each hunger for a triumph. Harsin, who came to Auburn from Boise State — Drinkwitz served on his staff there for two years — is 8-8 in two seasons at the SEC school. Auburn is coming off a 41-12 loss to Penn State, the program’s largest home loss to a non-conference opponent since 1982.

Speculation about Harsin’s uncertain future was well underway before last weekend. In August, the person who hired Harsin, athletic director Allen Greene, stepped down.

Like Auburn, Missouri stands 2-1 with a similarly painful loss. Mizzou dropped a 40-12 decision at Kansas State two weeks ago. The Tigers are coming off a 34-17 over FCS Abilene Christian last weekend.

Also like Harsin, Drinkwitz owns a break-even record at his school: 13-13.

In the SEC preseason poll, Missouri was picked to finish sixth in the East, Auburn seventh in the West. Both programs finished in the bottom half of their divisions last season, but both qualified for bowl games.

It’s the SEC opener for both schools, but Missouri gained experience playing away from home this season at K-State. Auburn’s first five games are at home.

“You take what you learned from what you thought you didn’t do well at Kansas State.” Drinkwitz said. “What are the things that put us in a bad situation and learn from it.”

In that game, the fact that Mizzou quarterbacks threw interceptions on four straight possessions in the second half doomed any kind of comeback attempt. Starting quarterback Brady Cook, who had two of those picks, looked much better last weekend when he threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns.

Auburn’s quarterback situation is more unclear. Harsin has rotated TJ Finley, who started his career at LSU, and Robby Ashford. But Drinkwitz said the identity of Saturday’s starter at QB for Auburn isn’t essential to Mizzou’s game-planning.

“There’s gonna be somebody back that we have to be ready for,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s what we’re prepared for. We’re prepared for all of that. And it’s really not about them. It’s about us.”