Brady Cook wasn’t going to let an ankle damage cease him on Missouri’s homecoming weekend. He would not let even a visit to the hospital cease him.
The Tigers’ senior quarterback left halfway by way of the Auburn sport to bear an MRI scan after which returned to the sector late within the third quarter. With Mizzou trailing 17-6, Cook engineered two touchdowns within the fourth quarter to earn a memorable 21-17 comeback victory.
“I got here again and I knew, I simply knew we weren’t going to lose this sport. Not on homecoming. Not right now. Not like this. We weren’t going to lose,” an impassioned Cook advised the SEC Network after the win.
“Mizzou means a lot to me,” Cook continued. “To come out right here on the primary attempt to get harm, and be down, suppose I’m not going to get again within the sport after which discover a method and simply manifest it, do it and struggle, we struggle and struggle and win, I’m simply excited proper now.”
Cook was injured on the opening collection of the sport, and after the journey to the hospital, he additionally had a session on the close by indoor coaching facility, the place Missouri coaches wished to see if his ankle might perform correctly.
“It was undoubtedly an extended hour and a half. I did not suppose I used to be going to return again to play. My stuff was off, my pads had been off,” Cook mentioned later. “Eventually, I noticed I nonetheless had two and a half video games left to play at Faurot Field. We had been going to discover a method.”
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was breathless after the sport speaking about his quarterback’s heroics.
“For him to be on the market, and for him to place his physique on the road for us is unimaginable and ought to be an inspiration to everybody who noticed him right now,” Drinkwitz mentioned.
Chase Daniel, co-host of The Facility on FS1 and former Mizzou QB, was amongst these watching — and was surprised by Cook’s effort:
The comeback started when Cook hit Theo Wease Jr. with a 72-yard cross, organising Marcus Carroll’s landing run. Then, as time ticked away, Cook spearheaded a legacy-building initiative that stored his crew’s College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Taking over at his personal 5-yard line, and with 4:26 to go, Cook transformed a third-down by operating on his sore ankle, then linked with Luther Burden III on fourth-and-5 for one more first down. Cook hit Wease later within the drive on third-and-10, then discovered Mekhi Miller contained in the 10-yard line with simply over a minute left, organising Jamal Roberts’ landing run with 46 seconds remaining within the sport.
“He might have sat and watched the sport from the sideline or on TV,” mentioned Roberts, who stepped up rather than injured starter Nate Noel, “and that confirmed the brotherhood that is right here.”
Cook completed with 194 passing yards in lower than two quarters of play. With the win, Missouri improved to 6-1 and formally turned bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.
“Coming residence, ending like this, it means the whole lot,” Cook advised KMOV afterward, whereas pounding his chest.
“I simply determined, it doesn’t matter what, nothing was going to cease me from coming again. Nothing. Nothing,” he mentioned. “I knew I had three video games left right here in Faurot, to play in entrance of those followers, to play on this stadium, I did not intend to waste them.”
Cook did not know what occurred whereas he was out — cell telephones weren’t allowed within the hospital — however he knew his crew wanted him and the teaching workers did the whole lot in its energy to get him again on the sector in time to take action. some magic occurs.
“I had no intention of ending this sport,” Cook mentioned. “Mizzou deserves it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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