Brady Cook took to the lectern after beating Kansas State and let his guard down for a second.
"I hear it. I mean, it's hard," Mizzou football's starting quarterback said. "This is my dream school, All I want to do is play quarterback here."
Hear what ?
Hard ?
Cook had just put together what was likely the best outing of his career. He threw for a career-high 356 yards — that's 60 more than his previous best — for two touchdowns on 23-of-35 passing. He used his legs to score another, coming on a crucial fourth-and-goal in the back-and-forth battle between the former conference rivals.
Missouri , not an hour before Cook uttered those words, had just knocked off No. 15 Kansas State 30-27 , a piece of revenge that was sweeter to Cook than most. The grand finale, Harrison Mevis' astounding 61-yard field goal, was as dramatic an ending as you're ever likely to see, and prompted thousands of gold-clad fans to rush Faurot Field for the type of scene that's been absent on Faurot Field in Columbia for quite some time.
But on top of the satisfaction, there appeared to be something on the QB's mind.
There was certainly something bugging his head coach.
"It pissed me off when we booed our starting quarterback to start the game," Eli Drinkwitz said. "That pissed me off. He went out there and played his butt off for this university and this team, they need to get behind him. We need to get behind the young man. You want to boo me? Fine. You're going to boo the starting quarterback? Bull crap. I'll say it again. Should never happen."
MU's in-house belief in Cook never wavered.
Forget the head coach for a second …
Cook's teammates think the same.
"Brady Cook, man," Luther Burden III said after the game. "I've been knowing he had it in him since I've been here. I've (seen) that dog in him. He's gonna give it all he's got, no matter what. Let him cook."
"Bro, Brady is a dog," Mookie Cooper said. … "To battle through a game like this and then come up with a victory, it shows who he is and what he's all about. Every day, we know what we're gonna get from No. 12 here."
That faith paid off big Saturday.
Cook was near perfect.
He hit eight different receivers, four of them multiple times and five for more than 40 total yards.
On the Tigers' first drive of the game — in response to a methodical, 75-yard, 11-play Kansas State drive that resulted in a deflected-pass-turned-touchdown — Cook found Burden on a picture-perfect post route to tie it up.
Trailing again midway through the quarter, Cook showed the deep ball that had been oh-so-lacking through two games was no first-drive fluke.
He found Mookie Cooper, who juked a defender for a 41-yard gain. On the next play, Cook took the top off the stout K-State defense toward freshman tight end Brett Norfleet, who went up high to make a tremendous grab on the sideline and take the Tigers inside the 10.
Three straight handoffs only got the Tigers to the 2, but offensive coordinator Kirby Moore opted for the gutsy call.
On fourth and goal, Cook faked a handoff to Burden that had everyone fooled. The QB darted between defenders and into the end zone.
Even the seemingly all-Burden touchdown had Cook's fingerprints all over it.
Sure, the star receiver who finished the day with 114 yards and two scores defied even his lofty standards by making it home, but he was meant to be a decoy on the play, per Cook. But pressure off the edge changed the QB's plans quickly.
"I was like, 'Man, I better dish this off to Luther,'" Cook said.
Facing the Wildcats, he said, mattered more than most. A blowout loss in Manhattan, Kansas, also cost him a clean bill of health last season, as repeated hits caused him to suffer a torn labrum in his shoulder that he played with through the remainder of the year, but on which he had offseason surgery.
"It was revenge," he said.
For one hectic moment, it looked like the Mizzou that had squandered so many chances in so many close games in Cook's time starting was approaching.
Even Cook said he wasn't quite sure what happened as a delay of game penalty seemingly pushed the Tigers out of field-goal range with mere seconds remaining.
But they still were in Thicker Kicker country, apparently.
Cook said he had a conversation with Mevis before his teammate trotted out, telling him it was his time — that he comes up big in these moments.
The QB took a knee on the sideline to watch the kick go up.
Then: Payday.
That moment was a long time coming for the starting QB.
Cook heard the noise. It weighed on him.
No matter … down went Kansas State.
"It's a confidence builder for me," Cook said, "knowing (my teammates) have my back, knowing that I have it in me to do this. I'm proud of them. I know they're probably proud of me. This is just a good day for the Tigers overall."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Brady Cook shut out the noise, had career day as Mizzou football beat Kansas State
