Eli Drinkwitz shoots back at Nick Saban’s schedule comparison as ‘rat poison’

Eli Drinkwitz doesn’t have any tolerance for Nick Saban’s “rat poison” remarks.

Saban recently offered his analysis on the Southeastern Conference, and there are not many more qualified to do just that. But Saban definitely ruffled some feathers and got some snark out of the Mizzou head coach on his comments comparing the strength of schedules between Missouri and Georgia.

Both teams stand a very strong chance of making it into the SEC Championship Game, but the reasons why differ in Saban’s mind.

“If you look at everybody’s schedule, Missouri has the easiest path to get in the (SEC) Championship game,” Saban said last Saturday. “Georgia has one of the toughest paths to get in the Championship game.”

Drinkwitz took a moment during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference to respond to Saban and referred to it as “rat poison” as it relates to the schedule.

“If you’re calling going into (Texas) A&M, Alabama, going to South Carolina, going to Mississippi State, playing home games versus Auburn and home games versus Oklahoma easy, I mean, sure,” Drinkwitz said. “But I don’t really get caught up in comparisons, and I sure don’t get caught up in the rat poison out there.”

Mizzou and Georgia are both set to officially get to it in Week 1 against Murray State for the Tigers on Thursday, and against Clemson for the Bulldogs on Saturday. Previously members of the SEC East, the two sides will not face off in the regular season as the SEC moves to a format without divisions in 2024.

Spice is nice, especially in the SEC: Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz makes it clear he has no time for Nick Saban & Saban's "rat poison" about Missouri's schedule: https://t.co/M4YaKVrRdw @FootballScoop #ItJustMeansMore #MIZ #STP

— John Brice (@JohnDBrice1) August 28, 2024

Crissy Froyd

Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.