Missouri bans staffer from practice for bizarre reason ahead of Texas A&M showdown

I get that this is a huge SEC game with major College Football Playoff implications, but karma is certainly not in Missouri Tigers head coach Eliah Drinkwitz's favor right now. Apparently, he has kept one Missouri staffer by the name of Briah Reed from attending practice. She may be the assistant director of on campus recruiting at Mizzou, but her brother is Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed...

This may have been done by Drinkwitz to avoid a conflict of interest, but she is a professional! I understand her brother has played very well since assuming the Texas A&M starting job after Conner Weigman got hurt, but this just seems way too over the top for The Alpha Nerd. College football may be a huge deal in the south, but many of us have family members who went to other universities, too.

Here is what Drinkwitz said about keeping Reed in the dark during the lead-up vs. her brother's team.

"It's created an interesting dynamic," said Drinkwitz, h/t CBS Sports. "At the end of the day, that's her brother and that's her blood, and we know that she's doing her job here. But family is always so important, and so we don't want her to be in any type of conflict of interest. In fact, I just saw her in the hallway just a second ago. But I'm not letting her in the copy room and she's sure not going to have her eyes on the scouting report."

To me, this feels like Drinkwitz taking his eye off the prize. Maybe this was part of the plan all along. After Missouri has known for months, if not years, that Texas A&M would be on the Tigers' schedule this season. This cannot be the first time that Drinkwitz has come across a potential conflict of interest moment in his coaching career. If it is, well, then he may be in for a rude awakening here soon.

The fact I even have to write and comment on this means it was a distraction to not stay the course!

Eliah Drinkwitz keeps Missouri staffer in dark ahead of Texas A&M game

It may be a strategic move on his part, but it honestly feels patronizing. What does he think Reed was going to do? Give her brother the answers to the test? Come on now! Again, she is a professional, this is her job and this is her career. We live in a house divided society as is in pretty much all aspects of life. The seconds Drinkwitz and his staff had to spend on this took away from their game preparation.

Overall, there is a chance that Texas A&M may shrink in the big moment and this all could be a moot point. Texas A&M has it in them to do that. It is in their blood. You and I both know that. Conversely, there is a chance that Missouri could sleepwalk into another 11:00 a.m. CT start. The Tigers were able to get past Vanderbilt in overtime and over Boston College previously, but this feels a tad different.

Ultimately, there is way more at stake in this game for Missouri than even Texas A&M. Missouri has been a borderline playoff team all year long. Simply put, they have not passed the eye test and won't have the resume to back it up should they falter in any game that isn't vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide. Even at 11-1 (7-1), you would be grasping for straws to try and convince us that Missouri still belongs.

Believe it or not, there is a supervillain arc in Drinkwitz's coaching canon. I believe he is turning heel.