DALLAS — Eli Drinkwitz tried to set the tone.
Once he turned his attention toward his own team during a 10-minute opening statement on the Southeastern Conference media days stage, the fifth-year Missouri coach touted some accomplishments. And then he got to his thesis.
“Let me state this as clearly as I can state it,” Drinkwitz said. “That was last year, and last year has nothing to do with this year.”
The discussion of the Tigers’ 2023 season came up of his own volition, talking about a Cotton Bowl victory that came in a stadium 19 miles from the hotel housing the unofficial start to the 2024 season.