Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook speaks with the media on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, after a double-overtime win over Vanderbilt. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Brady Cook doesn鈥檛 look like Brady Cook.
Yes, sure, Cook and the No. 7 Missouri Tigers won Saturday at home 鈥 albeit in two overtimes 鈥 against Vanderbilt, 30-27. Great. They defeated a team they were favored by 18陆 points against. But the bigger issue coming out of the win is the Tigers鈥 quarterback, who missed deep passes (yet again), struggled on key passes, looked tentative at times and didn鈥檛 have the explosiveness in his legs to escape for run yards.
No, I haven鈥檛 lost faith in Cook. Guy already is a Mizzou legend and his passion to win 鈥 and to improve 鈥 is at an elite level.
But this isn鈥檛 going to cut it.
Heck, it barely cut it against the perennial worst team in the Southeastern Conference.
鈥淚鈥檓 a little disappointed in how I performed, how the offense performed, straight up,鈥 Cook said. 鈥淏ut at the end of the day, we found a way to win.鈥
The best thing after what happened this Saturday is that Mizzou (4-0) doesn鈥檛 have a game next Saturday. The bye week gives the Tigers two full weeks to rediscover the offensive cohesion that led to 11 wins in 2023. These are a crucial two weeks of practice, preparation and soul-searching. And, depending on how Mizzou reacts, crucial two weeks in Mizzou history. This is the year, folks. This is the year Mizzou is expected to make the College Football Playoff. And the Tigers sure don鈥檛 look like a CFP team right now.
Coach Eli Drinkwitz, to me, said a lot by not saying a lot. In the postgame news conference, asked about Cook鈥檚 day, the often-talkative coach said the very minimum: 鈥淗e was 23 for 37 for 226 yards. And two touchdowns. You know, obviously the three sacks are an issue. You know, efficient. He鈥檚 1-0 in the SEC.鈥
Cook, to be fair, wasn鈥檛 the only Mizzou player who was somewhere between 鈥渙ff鈥 and 鈥渁wful鈥 on Saturday. Mizzou played the first half as if it still was waking up. But if an offensive lineman is off, maybe they can hide that; if the quarterback is off, it鈥檚 hard to hide 鈥 even if your running back rushes for 199 yards.
That actually happened 鈥 Nate Noel broke tackle after tackle and broke off the best game of his life.
鈥淲ithout him, we don鈥檛 win that game,鈥 Cook said.
Cook just looked unsure with some of his decisions, even when he had a couple extra seconds in the pocket. Not on every play, but on enough plays that it was an issue. His timing wasn鈥檛 there, time and again: a first-quarter deep ball to Theo Wease Jr., a terribly short pass on third-and-6 from the 6, and a couple deeper balls to Luther Burden III, who did get at least a hand on them in coverage, which raises a question about his route and intensity in those occasions.
And goodness, there was a third-down pass to Jamal Roberts that was so off, the fans booed (for the second time).
This game reminded me of the Tigers鈥 2023 win against Middle Tennessee State. They won, yes. But just 23-19 against, again, Middle Tennessee State. I asked Cook about that day, and he said Saturday felt the same way.
鈥淚 actually thought about that,鈥 said Cook, the St. 不良研究所导航网址 native. 鈥淚 think everybody knows we can. We can be a lot better. We need to put ourselves in better situations, and at the end of the day, we just need to go execute the game plan and score more points.鈥
The good news is that Mizzou responded from that Middle Tennessee State game with a big win against Kansas State 鈥 and by the Cotton Bowl, Cook was the savior of the Tigers, who would defeat Ohio State for an 11th win.
But the reality is that on Saturday against Vanderbilt, Cook鈥檚 offense scored just 20 points in regulation. Cook, yes, threw a nifty touchdown pass to Burden in the first overtime. But in the second overtime, Cook had the ball on third down with 5 yards to go from the 20-yard-line.
Cook tried to throw a touchdown pass. He fired an overthrown ball to Burden in double coverage. Wease, meanwhile, was wide open, per Mizzou鈥檚 radio broadcast.
鈥淚 thought our best opportunity was to give (Burden) a chance,鈥 Cook said.
Mizzou settled for a field goal, but then Vanderbilt鈥檚 kicker missed his field-goal attempt to end the game.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we did well in overtime,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淜icked another field goal in the red zone. We鈥檝e got to take a hard look at what we鈥檙e doing in the red area and figure out why we can鈥檛 sustain drives and why we鈥檙e not able to convert third downs. So that鈥檚 on me as the head football coach, and I鈥檝e got to do better job finding answers. 鈥
鈥淲e got to go take a hard look at the Missouri Tigers, and we got to figure out why we鈥檙e not executing the third downs the red area, why we鈥檙e not kicking field goals, why we鈥檙e missing tackles, why we鈥檙e busting assignments. 鈥 What I鈥檓 concerned about is our team enjoying a win and being 4-0, which is as good as we can be record wise, but we鈥檙e not as good as we can be play wise. And we鈥檙e going to have to settle in on that and figure out what we got to do to improve. It starts with me, and it starts with that being the message to the team.鈥
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz took to the airwaves to once again forcefully back the Tigers' starting quarterback.
Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook throws to wide receiver Luther Burden III for a touchdown in the first overtime against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.