BenFred: Save a spot in Mizzou football lore for Brady Cook's epic homecoming heroics
COLUMBIA, Mo.
There have been bigger wins against better opponents and more impressive statistical individual performances.
But in terms of grit and guts displayed in a Missouri football game, let the record show what Tigers quarterback Brady Cook did here Saturday afternoon in a 21-17 win against Auburn deserves an eternal place in program history.
And yes, Cook does score some extra points because he saved homecoming along with the season.
All that was missing was some theme music.
Memorial Stadium was as dead as its sounded in years as fans wrapped their minds around what a loss to Auburn would mean for a season that began with College Football Playoff hopes.
A 14-point second-half deficit faced an offense that suddenly could not score touchdowns.
Auburn, losers of 13 consecutive games against ranked teams, looked poised to snap that streak on No.
19 Mizzous homecoming.
And that wasnt even the worst of it.
Cook was out of the game (and stadium) after he couldnt will himself through a right ankle injury, the latest of the lower-body ailments that have kept him from playing his best at times.
Cook tried.
Hard.
He went multiple snaps on basically one leg after a twisting Auburn tackle during his first drive caused the problem that eventually forced him to exit while backup Drew Pyne entered.
Meanwhile, lead running back Nate Noel was missing because of a newly sustained foot injury.
Star receiver Luther Burden, who had inexplicably gone 30 plays before getting his hands on a football, had fumbled away an attempted punt return that led to an Auburn touchdown.
It felt over, honestly.
The game.
Maybe more.
If getting blown out by Texas A&M didnt spoil Mizzous playoff hopes, losing to SEC win-less Auburn sure would.
And if Cook was going to miss significant time? Maybe a winning season was on the line.
Then, there he was.
Sprinting from a tunnel in his pads and helmet came the quarterback who has proven and re-proven himself to fans time and time again.
Spoiler alert.
He was about to prove himself again, this time to those who had wondered without any evidence if Pyne could be a better option.
When Cook first left the game, the team announced he was going to come back after getting his ankle taped.
When he had stayed missing, the teams report changed, saying he was unlikely to return.
He spent a good chunk of a two-hour period getting an MRI at a nearby hospital, riding there in a trainers truck while receiving game updates.
He declined to disclose the remedy that finally worked, but one wonders if the veterinarian school had to rush over something usually meant for large animals.
Im kidding.
I think? Theres a lot, Cook repeated about the methods used upon him during his absence.
Theres a lot of stuff.
Yeah.
Ultimately we found a way to come back and win the game, huh? Whatever it was, it worked.
He suited back up.
He sprinted to the field.
Your call, Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz told Cook.
No question, he responded.
MUs offense had shriveled without Cook, and between a breakdown on defense that allowed Auburns 47-yard touchdown pass and the Burden fumble turned touchdown, erasing the 14-point lead Auburn claimed with a little more than 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter seemed impossible until Cook came roaring out of the tunnel near the end of the third quarter as if propelled by cannon.
The queasy crowd noticed, then clapped, then roared.
That gave everybody on the team juice, Cook said of the ovation.
That made a huge difference.
Cook started firing passes to a teammate on the sideline, zipping spirals as he bobbed to music.
The Tigers had mustered six points on two field goals between his injury and his return.
They scored 15 in the fourth quarter.
Cooks first pass was incomplete, but it sent a clear message.
The intended deep strike to Burden activated the crowd and the receiver who had muffed a punt earlier.
Then Cook, moments after Mookie Cooper dropped a pass, went back to Cooper for a 78-yard catch and run.
The crowd went from regaining a semblance of a pulse to rocking.
After Marcus Carroll punched in the 2-yard touchdown, Cook (who else?) housed the 2-point conversion after faking a handoff, diving headfirst into the end zone.
Cook rolled his hands in a wheel motion.
Message received.
Keep going.
Two punts and two defensive stops later the movie version of this game would edit those out Cook engineered a drive that will forever be linked to his legacy.
The 17-play, 95-yard march over 46 seconds included him running for 14 yards on a third-and-7 play, creating a pass interference penalty on an accurate strike to Theo Wease Jr., finding Burden on a game-extending fourth-and-5 situation that went for 16 yards and one final third-and-10 conversion on a pass to Wease that set up Jamal Roberts go-ahead touchdown.
I dont believe it, Drinkwitz said.
Its one thing to come back.
Its another thing to scramble for first downs, move in the pocket, deliver accurate throws.
The number one characteristic in an elite quarterback is toughness.
Hes got it written all over him.
Mizzou alums know how nostalgia hits hard during homecoming.
The longer you have been gone, the more it means to return.
For Cook, two hours away from one of his final home games made him desperate to get back in the game.
A time is coming soon when that wont be an option for him.
There isnt an athletic tape (or pain-killing substance) strong enough to reverse time and restore expiring eligibility.
Mizzou fans, appreciate Cook while you still can.
Sometimes you dont know what you have until its gone.
Everything the Tigers hoped to accomplish this season still is within their reach at 6-1, and as long as their quarterback has breath in his chest, hes going to fight while inspiring a team that follows his lead.
If we lose that game, the rest of our season looks a little different, Cook said.
I recognize that.
I knew we needed to go win..
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