Five Takeaways from Mizzou’s 21-17 win over Auburn

Oct 19, 2024 | Uncategorized

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BRADY COOK. HOMECOMING. ONE-LEGGED MAGIC.

There’s something magical about Homecoming, isn’t there? I can’t analyze it more than that. Just a feeling.

Read Quentin’s gamer for a breakdown of Mizzou’s seemingly improbably 21-17 win over Auburn. Then say a prayer for his fingers and wrists. Then come back and read these takeaways.

1. The Brady Cook Game™

Mizzou has been on the wrong side of this story too many times: Starting QB gets injured and either (a) cedes the offense to a suddenly deadly backup or (b) returns miraculously to lead a comeback victory. If anyone — I repeat, ANYONE — felt like the right candidate to pull of such a gutsy heist for the Tigers, it’s Brady F****** Cook.

After a slow start to the season, Cook’s starting credentials were starting to be questioned by the louder, more remote corners of the fanbase. They got their wish when, before the first series of the game ended, Cook hobbled off the field injured. And after being initially likely to return, he never emerged. Mizzou’s offense under Drew Pyne wilted. It looked like a lost game and, more broadly, a lost season.

Then Cook rumbled back onto the field in the final minute of the third quarter and everything changed. Within a handful of plays, he hit Mookie Cooper for a 78-yard pass, leading a touchdown drive. Then he pulled off his unstoppable fake pitch for a two-point conversion. Then, with the game on the line and three minutes on the clock, Cook marched Mizzou down 95 yards down the field, converting a big fourth-down and two third-downs, before Jamal Roberts punctuated things with a rushing touchdown. Auburn had just under a minute to score, but it was too late. Brady Cook happened.

Cook’s legacy at Mizzou is still being written, though it’s clear now that he’ll always have detractors. That doesn’t matter. Cook’s CV speaks for itself, and now he’s got a gritty, memorable Homecoming comeback to add to it. And Mizzou’s College Football Playoff hopes live to fight another day thanks to him.

2. Credit to the defense

They’ll go undiscussed by national media due to the impact of Cook’s return. But how can you not be impressed by the defense? While the offense struggled to revive itself after Cook’s injury, Mizzou’s defense gave up only 286 total yards of offense, logged three sacks, eight tackles for loss, five pass breakups and a forced fumble. And while Auburn put 17 points on the board, seven of those game from a muffed punt recovery in the end zone.

The Tiger offense needed their partners on defense to step up, and Corey Batoon’s unit responded about as well as you could possibly hope. Two weeks after getting embarrassed by Texas A&M, it’s one hell of a statement.

3. Playmakers make plays when you need them

Luther Burden has been the subject of discussion this week. It’s no doubt been a disappointing season for him, even if his overall numbers are still strong. With the offense lagging, he hasn’t been in a place to put up the sort of numbers you’d expect from a future NFL Draft first-rounder. And after not seeing the ball for the vast majority of the first half, a muffed punt in the end zone seemed to sum up his junior season thus far.

But anyone who’s watched Burden knows he wouldn’t let that be the story of the game. On Mizzou’s game-winning drive, Burden hauled in two consecutive (and massive) receptions, one to set up a fourth-and-manageable and another to convert the fourth down, plus 11 extra yards. It isn’t the crowning moment of his Mizzou career, but it’s no doubt one of the most impactful.

4. A(nother) Mis-Coaching Clinic?

It won’t be the main takeaway after a Homecoming comeback win, but scrutiny of the Mizzou staff’s decision-making is becoming a pervasive complaint. Kirby Moore couldn’t manufacture a touch for Luther Burden until the end of the first half, while Eli Drinkwitz once again struggled with deciding how to approach the end of a half — he hesitated to use a timeout to stop the clock, giving the offense no wiggle room in their attempt to go up at half. He also continued to run out Blake Craig for unlikely field goal attempts when it became clear Craig’s accuracy was scattershot, failing to capitalize on the field position battle.

There’s no clear answer for improving a struggling staff, so it’s up to Eli Drinkwitz to get himself and his assistants right for the rest of the year.

5. A needed momentum shift

The whole 2024 season has felt like walking through a waking dream, a dream only punctuated by a brief trip into nightmare country aka College Station. Mizzou sits at 6-1, yet has never looked like a team worthy of its (mostly meaningless) accolades. As former Rock M’er Brandon “BK” Kiley stated in early October and reiterated mid-game:

Still very much true. https://t.co/WcQlQvTZ4E

— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) October 19, 2024

Something needed to wake Missouri up. It wasn’t a close call against Boston College. It wasn’t a closer call against Vanderbilt. And it wasn’t a punch in the face against Texas A&M. For the better part of three hours, it didn’t look like even a loss to 2-4 Auburn would do it.

But things happen in a college football season that you can’t quite explain. Things like, oh I don’t know, Brady Cook struggling with his mid-to-long range accuracy for six games, missing three quarters of the seventh game with an ankle injury, then returning unexpectedly to throw darts all over the field. And even if it’s only a win over 2-5 Auburn, this week’s victory feels different. It feels right. It feels, dare I say it, earned.

Mizzou heads to Alabama next week, and we’ll learn a lot about their capabilities then. But for the first time all year, they’re heading into a week with some positive momentum. It finally feels like they’re awake. Combine that energy with the talent that’s evidently on the roster and the best could be yet to come for a Tiger team that continues to claw its way into the win column.

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