MANHATTAN, Kan. — Just a month ago as the Missouri football team settled into preseason camp, Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz believed his team was closer to being equipped along the line of scrimmage to compete in the Southeastern Conference. On his watch, the Tigers had recruited and developed more depth on the offensive and defensive lines. He expected his 2022 Tigers to reflect that progress in the trenches.

Saturday said otherwise. Forget the SEC for now. In a 40-12 loss at Kansas State, the Tigers (1-1) appeared unfit to trade blows with the team picked fifth in the Big 12’s preseason poll.

In their first meeting in more than a decade, the Wildcats (20) bludgeoned Mizzou up front from the opening kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and sent their ex-conference pals headed home scrambling for answers. Four interceptions by Mizzou’s quarterbacks spoiled a few promising stretches from the defense, but this game was lost at

the point of attack.

When Kansas State defenders weren’t corralling Mizzou running backs in the backfield — their 21 carries netted just 32 yards — the Cats were swarming quarterback Brady Cook in the pocket. K-state finished the day with 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Eight of Mizzou’s 14 possessions saw the ball move no more than 6 yards.

Cook and his playmakers struggled all day, but the Tigers’ problems clearly started along the line, embodied by a short-yardage chance on the opening drive when tailback Nathaniel Peat ran behind six offensive linemen and two tight ends and still couldn’t move the pile on third-and-short. The Tigers had to settle for a field goal. They wouldn’t sniff the red zone until the game’s final seconds.

“We obviously weren’t clean in running the ball or in protecting the quarterback and then just didn’t make plays,” Drinkwitz said. “There were some plays early that I thought we missed that could have been changed the tide, but we didn’t get it done.”

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcat running game eventually took charge, gashing the Tigers for 235 yards and four touchdowns. On K-state’s 63 plays from scrimmage, Mizzou’s defense logged just one tackle for loss. MU’S fierce, attacking defense from a Week 1 win over Louisiana Tech let K-state’s rugged offensive line manipulate most drives. Star running back Deuce Vaughn jabbed the Tigers early, then delivered a knockout blow with a 24-yard touchdown, ending the day with 145 yards and two scores.

In a game that lasted 4 hours and 7 minutes and saw both teams combine for 129 plays from scrimmage, one simple, essential football truth emerged: The team that blocked and tackled best won the game.

All of which seemed to blindside the Tigers’ head coach.

“Yeah, I’m surprised. I’m surprised,” said Drinkwitz, who through 25 games at Mizzou is now 12-13 and 2-9 on the road. “I thought we were better prepared, but obviously I was wrong and my instincts on that were wrong.”

With plenty to second-guess about Saturday’s plan, preparation and execution, Drinkwitz insisted one thing won’t change going forward: He’s not about to make a quarterback change. He lifted Cook for backup Jack Abraham in the third quarter for two series after Cook absorbed a violent hit on one of his 13 carries. Abraham promptly followed with two interceptions. Cook came back and finished the game.

“Brady’s our quarterback,” Drinkwitz said. “I was just trying to light a spark or get something else going. But Brady’s our quarterback. … I’ll have to go back and watch the tape before I make any instant judgments, but I do think he showed a lot of toughness running the ball and taking hits.”

Cook completed 15 of 27 passes for 128 yards and two interceptions, an underthrown ball for Dominic Lovett then an inexplicable throw right to linebacker Daniel Green over the middle. Abraham completed two of his three attempts — both to Wildcats. It was the first time Mizzou threw four interceptions in a game since a 2014 loss to Georgia. Speaking of Georgia, the 2020 Bulldogs are the only team to hold Drinkwitz’s offense to fewer yards than Saturday’s 222.

Mizzou’s special teams didn’t escape without blame. How exactly did the Tigers spend the 60-minute lightning delay in the second quarter? Clearly not brushing up on their punt coverage. Seconds after resuming the game, K-state punt returner Phillip Brooks slipped through Jaylon Carlies’ whiff of a tackle and sprinted 76 yards for the touchdown.

The waterlogged mass of purple erupted.

“Man, it was a big response on their behalf,” Mizzou receiver Tauskie Dove said. “That played a big factor. Obviously, the crowd played a big factor.”

Mizzou managed to block the PAT but the damage was done. The Wildcats led 20-3, a lead that felt far more commanding than 17 points as the carnage continued along the line of scrimmage, leaving the Tigers wondering how they can regroup with so much season left.

“One game doesn’t define the season. How we respond will,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s going to be a lot of negative thoughts and opinions out there about it. But this team’s got to stay together. Everything we’re trying to accomplish is still out in front of us.

“But we got to get a lot better than what we were today.”