Mizzou’s Brady Cook celebrates scoring a two-point conversion in the Tigers’ come-from-behind win over Auburn on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

NCAA Football	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Auburn (2-5, 0-4)	0	3	14	0	17
#19 Missouri (6-1, 2-1)	3	0	3	15	21

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

COLUMBIA, MO — There’s a pretty good chance Brady Cook won’t ever forget the University of Missouri’s 2024 Homecoming football game against Auburn.

The senior quarterback from St. Louis got injured on the sixth play of the game, then had to leave the field on the 10th play. The team’s trainers tried treatment on the sideline and in the locker room, before realizing they needed to send Cook to the hospital next door to get an MRI.

Cook spent most of the game away from the field and not knowing what was happening, but hoping he’d get a chance to return.

“It was a long hour-and-a-half for sure. I did not think I was going to come back to play in the game. My stuff was off, my pads were off,” Cook said later. “Ultimately, I realized I had 2 1/2 games left to play in Faurot Field. We were going to find a way.”

Cook returned late in the third quarter and was greeted by a large ovation from the home crowd. And the love from the crowd only got louder and stronger, as Cook led Missouri back from an 11-point deficit to a thrilling 21-17 win, with the winning score coming with just 46 seconds left in the game.

“There’s a lot of toughness in that team. A lot of young guys in that team that have never won like that before,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “There’s a lot of fight in that team. And to figure it out like that bodes well for the rest of the year.”

Mizzou’s Jamal Roberts breaks across the goal line to score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the Tigers’ win over Auburn on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

The comeback began when Mizzou got the ball back, following an Auburn missed field goal with 31 seconds left in the third quarter. That’s when Cook trotted back onto the field and the huge Homecoming crowd of 62,621 stood up and roared its excitement that the Tigers’ three-year captain and leader of the offense was coming back into the game.

On the third play of the drive, with Mizzou facing 3rd-and-10, Cook hit Mookie Cooper on a pass over the middle that was good enough for a first down, but Cooper turned it into so much more.

The 5-foot-8 speedster (also from St. Louis) broke a tackle and raced all the way to the Auburn 2-yard line, before he was brought down from behind by a defender. The play was the last play of the third quarter and went for 78 yards. Mizzou running back Marcus Carroll burst through the line on the next play for a touchdown that made the score 17-12.

Instead of kicking the extra-point, Mizzou went for two and got it, when Cook faked out a defender and dove across the goal line to pull the Tigers to within 17-14.

The score stayed that way until Mizzou got the ball back on its own 5, with 4:26 left in the game. Led by Cook, the Tigers then went on a nail-biting 17-play, 95-yard drive, which included three third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion that allowed Mizzou to move the ball to Auburn’s 4-yard line.

That’s when redshirt freshman running back Jamal Roberts plowed over two defenders to score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute to play.

“It just felt good especially because I could do it with my boys,” Roberts said. “We just stayed on schedule, that’s it. We were just playing our game, executing it well under pressure.”

Auburn got the ball back, but couldn’t move the ball, as it threw three incompletions and took a sack, before giving the ball back to Mizzou. The Tigers ran out the clock to preserve the win.

“Obviously another disappointing day, we’re not able to get across the finish line against another top 20 team,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “I’ll give Missouri the credit for not folding and continuing to battle. Our kids fought hard, but we’re not making enough plays, enough right calls at the right times to win these close games right now, obviously, and it’s disappointing for our administration, for our team, for our kids and our coaches.”

Mizzou LB Triston Newson brings down Auburn’s Jeremiah Cobb during the second quarter of Saturday’s NCAA Football game at Faurot Field. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

After the game went to halftime tied at 3, Auburn went ahead 17-3 when it scored two touchdowns early in the third quarter.

First, quarterback Payton Thorne hit receiver Cam Coleman for a 46-yard touchdown to put Auburn up 10-3. Then after Mizzou’s defense forced a punt on Auburn’s next possession, Missouri’s Luther Burden III muffed a punt, which Auburn recovered in the Mizzou end zone for a touchdown that put the visitors up by two touchdowns.

Missouri managed to move into field goal range on its next drive and converted to pull to within 17-6. Auburn moved the ball deep into Mizzou’s territory on its next possession, but missed the field goal. That set the stage for Cook’s return and the Tigers’ dramatic victory.

“He could have sat out and watched the game from the sideline, or on TV,” Roberts said about Cook, after stepping up big himself in place of injured starter Nate Noel, “and that showed the brotherhood we have here.”

Cayden Green and Luther Burden III celebrate with Jamal Roberts, following his game-winning touchdown in Saturday’s NCAA Football game against Auburn. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Mizzou is now 6-1 on the season, which makes the team bowl eligible for the season. The No. 19 Tigers are also 2-1 in SEC play, setting up a huge matchup next weekend against No. 7-ranked Alabama.

UPDATE: The SEC has announced that Saturday’s Missouri at Alabama game will kick off at 2:30 p.m., and will be televised nationally on ABC.

SCORING SUMMARY

Qtr	Time	Scoring Play	AUB	MIZ
1st	08:24	MIZ – Craig,Blake 51 yd field goal 12 plays, 41 yards, TOP 06:36	0	3
2nd	11:12	AUB – McGough,Towns 32 yd field goal 11 plays, 64 yards, TOP 05:45	3	3
3rd	12:34	AUB – Coleman,Cam 47 yd pass from Thorne,Payton (McGough,Towns kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:26	10	3
3rd	11:08	AUB – Kite,Antonio fumble recovery in Missouri end zone (McGough,Towns kick)	17	3
3rd	07:44	MIZ – Craig,Blake 38 yd field goal 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 03:24	17	6
4th	14:57	MIZ – Carroll,Marcus 2 yd run (Cook,Brady rush), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:34	17	14
4th	00:46	MIZ – Roberts,Jamal 4 yd run (Craig,Blake kick), 17 plays, 95 yards, TOP 03:40	17	21

MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date	Time	At	Opponent	Location	TV	Radio
October 26, 2024 (Saturday)	2:30 pm	Away	#7 Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.		Tiger Radio Network
November 9, 2024 (Saturday)	TBA	Home	Oklahoma	Columbia, Mo. / Faurot Field		Tiger Radio Network
November 16, 2024 (Saturday)	TBA	Away	South Carolina	Columbia, S.C.		Tiger Radio Network
November 23, 2024 (Saturday)	TBA	Away	Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.		Tiger Radio Network
November 30, 2024 (Saturday)	TBA	Home	Arkansas	Columbia, Mo. / Faurot Field		Tiger Radio Network