Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-04 · by Dave Skretta The Associated Press
Missouri’s football team defeated Florida 45-17 in a game where Missouri's coach, Eli Drinkwitz, downplayed previous losses to ranked teams. Despite being asked multiple times about his record against top-ranked opponents, Drinkwitz focused on the positives of this win, including quarterback Austin Simmons' 340 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Jamal Roberts’ 211 rushing yards and three scores. Missouri's defense also dominated, holding Florida’s high-scoring offense well below its season average.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Florida, ranked No. 8, suffered a significant defeat on October 7, losing to Missouri (ranked No. 25) by a score of 45-17 in Columbia, Missouri. This loss likely caused Florida's ranking to drop significantly in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Meanwhile, top-ranked teams like Alabama, who remained undefeated with a decisive victory over Mississippi State, and other untested high-ranking schools such as Georgia and Notre Dame, stayed strong. The game highlighted Missouri’s offensive prowess, led by quarterback Austin Simmons, who threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, while Jamal Roberts added 211 rushing yards and three scores. This win marked a significant turnaround for coach Eli Drinkwitz, breaking his nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
Written for “Florida Missouri Football Game” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was in no mood to talk about the Tigers’ recent history against ranked opponents on Saturday.
asserted
Drinkwitz → talk → Saturday
Not the first time he was asked about it.
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he → ask → it
There was Austin Simmons, who was 23 of 30 for 340 yards and two touchdowns, slinging the ball to all corners of the field with his strong left arm.
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who → be → arm
There was Jamal Roberts, who carried 24 times for 211 yards and three scores, including two long runs late to put away the game.
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who → be → game
And there was a defense that held the Gators more than 200 yards below their season average.
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that → be → average
“Doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
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he → mean → anything
“That’s noise people create on social media for no reason.
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people → ’ → reason
It has no meaning on anything.
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It → have → anything
It’s people searching for crap to talk about.
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people → ’ → crap
We try to make it the best matchup we can.”
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we → try → ?
They sure made it a lopsided one on Saturday.
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it → make → Saturday
After giving up a 12-yard carry to the Gators’ Jadan Baugh the first time the nation’s second-leading rusher touched the ball, they held him to one more yard — for the entire game.
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they → give → game
After allowing the Gators to convert three times on third down on an opening drive that ended with a field goal, Missouri held them to 3 for 13 in that crucial situation the rest of the way.
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Missouri → allow → way
The Tigers had three sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss, dominating the vaunted Florida offensive and defensive lines, and they made the Gators’ Aaron Philo so downright uncomfortable in the pocket that he finished with just 197 yards passing.
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he → have → yards
“We’re just a hungry team,” Missouri safety Kensley Louidor-Faustin said, “trying to prove something.
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Faustin → ’re → something
They accomplished that much.
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They → accomplish → much
It was the Tigers’ first win over a ranked team since beating No. 24 Boston College on Sept. 14, 2024, and their first win over a ranked conference opponent since beating No. 13 Tennessee on Nov. 11, 2023.
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It → beat → Nov.
“It’s a good win against a really good team today.
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It → ’ → team
That’s all it was,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“Nobody in our locker room could care less about that.
uncertain
Nobody → care → that
I couldn’t care less about that. ...
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I → care → that
I really couldn’t care less.
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I → care → ?
The SEC is a hard league, and yeah, I’m done with that.”
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I → do → that
The Gators struck first with that field goal, and they tied it 10-all on Philo’s touchdown throw with 4:26 left in the first half.
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they → strike → half
Then the Tigers scored 35 unanswered points.
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Tigers → score → points
The game was largely decided those last couple of minutes of the first half and the start of the second.
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game → decide → second
Rather than run out the clock on the first, the Tigers pressed when they got the ball with 1:33 left, and Blake Craig drilled a 50-yard field goal for a 20-10 lead.
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Craig → run → lead
Missouri proceeded to score on four straight possessions — three of those TDs — to start the second half.
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Missouri → proceed → half
And to think, the Tigers put together that kind of performance after a deflating loss last week at Mississippi State — a ranked team, by the way — when they blew a second-half lead by allowing two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 31-24 loss in Starkville.
“It kind of seemed like we never played that game last week,” Simmons said, “throughout this whole week of preparation.”
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Simmons → think → preparation
The Tigers had talked about that this week, how bouncing back in a league in which one loss can easily snowball into three or four is not just helpful but imperative.
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loss → talk → three
To do that, the Tigers blocked out the noise — all those people talking about all those losses to ranked opponents, for example — and focused entirely on themselves and what they needed to do to improve.
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they → do → what
Then they went out and did it.
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they → go → it
“Noise doesn’t bother me.
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Noise → bother → me
I don’t look at too many feeds, the critics or whatnot.
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I → look → feeds
I’m ready to play football with my guys, the brotherhood,” Roberts said.
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Roberts → ’m → guys
“All the social media posts, it’s all good one day, all bad the next day.
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all → ’ → ?
The Aporia
