Missouri football has had somewhat of an odd season so far, but it still finds itself on the fringes of the SEC title picture with a month to go in the regular season. Missouri has looked unimpressive at times and uncompetitive at others, but the Tigers enter Week 11 at 6-2 with just a pair of conference losses.
With a 2-2 record in SEC play, Missouri has absolutely no margin for error the rest of the way. If it wants to reach the College Football Playoff or have any chance of making it to Atlanta for the conference title game, it must win out over the final four games of the season. That task got a little more difficult on Friday when it was announced that quarterback Brady Cook will not play on Saturday against Oklahoma, accoridng to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
“Sources: No. 24 Missouri will be without starting quarterback Brady Cook against Oklahoma on Saturday night,” Thamel reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Cook is dealing with both an ankle and wrist injury, as he’s exited Missouri’s last two games while dealing with injuries.”
Cook left Missouri's blowout loss against Alabama on Oct. 26 due to the injuries.
There is some good news for Missouri on the injury front. Leading rusher Nate Noel is expected to make his return on Saturday for the Tigers after missing the Alabama game with a foot injury, per Thamel.
“Sources: Nate Noel is expected to return for Missouri against Oklahoma on Saturday night, as he recovers from a foot injury,” Thamel wrote. “He hasn’t played since the Auburn game on Oct. 19.”
Noel has rushed for 503 yards on 85 carries this season and has found the end zone twice.
Drew Pyne in line for start for Missouri without Brady Cook
Even without Brady Cook in the lineup on Saturday for Missouri, the Tigers still have experience on their side. Backup quarterback Drew Pyne is expected to get the start, and he is one of the more well-traveled players in college football.
Pyne stared his career at Notre Dame, where he earned some starting experience, before spending last season at Arizona State. Missouri is his third stop, and now he gets the chance to lead a top 25 team in his fifth year at the college level.
Unfortunately, that experience hasn't always led to success for Pyne. After Cook left the Alabama game due to his injuries, Pyne's first pass attempt was intercepted, and the day didn't get much better from there. Pyne finished the game 6-for-12 with 42 yards and three interceptions.
The hope for Missouri is that two weeks to prepare Pyne to start will do the trick, and the veteran quarterback will be able to manage a functional offense on Saturday. Of course, the opponent helps as well. While Oklahoma still has a solid defense even during a disappointing season, it is not Alabama, so Pyne should have an easier time.
Missouri will be hoping that Cook can make it back for the Tigers' Week 12 clash against South Carolina. Until then, the burden is on Pyne to carry the load on offense.
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