Homecoming hero: Brady Cook returns from injury, guides No. 19 Mizzou past Auburn

Eager for an all-Tigers matchup between Mizzou and Auburn on Homecoming, MU fans and alumni filed into Memorial Stadium on Saturday for the host team’s first Southeastern Conference game since losing 41-10 at Texas A&M on Oct. 5.

Once again, things looked bleak for Missouri.

The 19th-ranked team in the country was on the ropes again, staring at an 11-point deficit with 31 seconds left in the third quarter. Without its starting quarterback — Brady Cook, who left the game with an injury in the first quarter — there seemed to be little hope for Missouri.

Things changed for Mizzou when Cook made his unexpected return to the field. The crowd roared as No. 12 trotted back out — after being hit and leaving the stadium altogether for an MRI at a nearby hospital, per coach Eli Drinkwitz.

It was an incredible setup for what came next.

After Cook returned to the field, Mizzou outscored Auburn 15-0 in the fourth quarter to pull off an unlikely 21-17 comeback victory.

Cook, despite missing nearly three quarters of action, finished with 194 passing yards.

He departed the game on the first drive of the day. Backup Drew Pyne entered in relief but didn’t generate much success. Pyne finished 10-of-21 passing for 78 yards, guiding the offense to just six points (via field goals).

Cook leads decisive drives

At halftime, it was reported that Cook was unlikely to return to the game, but the senior signal-caller checked back in with 31 seconds left in the third quarter. MU was facing a 17-6 deficit at the time.

It did not take long for the veteran signal-caller to deliver a shot of adrenaline to both the Missouri offense and the crowd. His return to the game immediately shifted the momentum in Mizzou’s favor.

On the final play of the third quarter, facing a third-and-10 on the Missouri 20-yard line, Cook delivered a bullet pass to Mookie Cooper, who caught it and ran all the way to Auburn’s 2-yard line for a 78-yard gain.

One play later, running back Marcus Carroll scored Missouri’s first touchdown of the game on a 2-yard rush. Mizzou then converted the ensuing two-point conversion, as Cook faked a pitched to star wideout Luther Burden III and raced into the end zone himself.

That trimmed Auburn’s lead to three points, 17-14, with 14:57 remaining in the game.

Then Cook once again proved to Mizzou fans why he is the team’s starting quarterback and captain. He engineered the Tigers’ longest drive of the season with the game on the line.

Backed up deep in their own territory, the host Tigers still trailed 17-14 with 4:26 to go. But the MU offense proceeded to execute a methodical 95-yard march that ended with a late touchdown for the win.

The biggest play of the drive, and game, came on a fourth-and-5 just outside of field-goal range with 1:34 left. After the two teams exchanged timeouts, Cook found Burden on a crossing route for a pickup of 16 yards.

Six plays later, running back Jamal Roberts galloped into the end zone from 4 yards out, rushing through a swarm of tacklers with 46 seconds remaining.

Mizzou’s defense withstood a final-minute push from Auburn and that was that.

Noel hurt, but others step up

Cook wasn’t the only Missouri starter who was injured Saturday.

Running back Nate Noel also left the game with an injury. And he, unlike Cook, did not return — at least not for long.

Noel left the game in the first half (before briefly returning for one drive in the second) while dealing with a foot injury. So, for the second straight game, Marcus Carroll stepped up.

Without Noel, Mizzou used a stable of running backs in his place: Carroll, Roberts and Kewan Lacy all saw snaps in his absence. Carroll, who had three carries for 5 yards in the first half, finished with 40 yards and one rushing touchdown. Roberts had 20 and the winning TD on five carries.

Missouri ultimately prevailed Saturday thanks in large part to Cook. But when he wasn’t in the game, the Tigers’ offense struggled.

Missouri’s win against Auburn was its first against the Alabama school since joining the SEC.

Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian.