NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Eli Drinkwitz is hoping for one more ruling to keep his starting quarterback in town.
"I figured the NCAA would just grant everybody eligibility," Drinkwitz said. … "So, I just keep hoping that there's, like, some sort of magic that'll happen."
No wonder.
There was Brady Cook , for the final time as a Tiger by his coach's side,. The Missouri football QB was wearing his Music City Bowl Champions shirt. The bowl game trophy had been hoisted, and Drinkwitz had started an 'MVP' chant for his starting QB, who earned the title for his 287 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 54 rushing yards.
Cook had just done it again, helping stage a second-half Missouri comeback, as the Tigers rallied from 10 points down in the third quarter to beat Iowa 27-24 on Monday at Nissan Stadium. The Tigers finished the season 10-3, meaning they have double-digit wins in back-to-back years for just the third time in program history .
And that, as they say, is that.
It was Cook's last game as a Tiger.
The era is ending the way it almost seemed destined to end.
As Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said postgame, "it's no accident he won (20) games in two years."
Brady Cook is going out as a winner.
"That's what we've been working this whole month for," Cook said. "That's what we had our minds set on. I don't think it was a decision for me or Johnny (Walker Jr.) whether we were going to play in this one. We knew we were going to, and getting that 10th win, leaving our legacy, and going out with a win. Going out, winning a championship, no matter what the championship is. We won a championship today."
After the quick, semi-serious quip about the NCAA and eligibility, Drinkwitz's tone suddenly changed. The coach said after the Arkansas game that it was going to be difficult to be the head coach without Cook, his starting quarterback since the Tigers' 2021 bowl game.
The postgame scene made it pretty clear why.
Drinkwitz's voice showed cracks and his eyes slightly swelled. It was time to reminisce on the past three-plus years.
"It's been," the coach said, "a hell of a journey."
No kidding.
This season, as is well documented, has been rough on Cook's well-being.
More: Missouri football report card: How we graded Mizzou in Music City Bowl win over Iowa
The quarterback went to the hospital after the first series of MU"s game against Auburn on Oct. 19 for a high-ankle sprain, getting an MRI. He returned later that game to stage a two-touchdown, fourth-quarter comeback.
Cook hobbled out on that funky ankle the very next week in Tuscaloosa, and was rewarded for the valor with a broken wrist.
As it turns out, he suited up to face South Carolina on Nov. 16 and his wrist, X-rays showed, was still broken. Cook even tossed a score-flipping, 37-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden III with 70 seconds to play that, as it turned out, was not quite enough for a road win.
In his Faurot Field finale, he took a 30-yard QB draw in the snow for a touchdown on a hobbled ankle and with a hampered wrist to leave a winner at home.
Cook played a majority of his 2022 season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. There was the fourth-and-17 miracle against Florida and the late Cotton Bowl comeback and Kansas State and oh, so much more.
And on Monday in Music City, he had just enough time for one more bit of magic.
Down 10 points and without his top four wide receivers from 2024, he found Marquis Johnson — who finished with seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown — on a play-action shot 44 yards downfield to set up a red-zone possession. Cook placed a ball on the receiver's back shoulder at the 5 on the very next play. The QB very nearly had a rushing score as he faked a pitch right and rushed over the goal line, only to get pulled back for an illegal motion on the offense.
No matter, two plays later, a jet sweep to Joshua Manning had MU in the end zone and within 3 points.
Mizzou was back in touching distance in the Music City Bowl. Cook then got the help he needed.
Johnny Walker Jr., also playing his final game as a Tiger, had two timely sacks in the second half. Toriano Pride Jr. picked off a pass to open the final quarter. Corey Flagg Jr., a senior transfer playing for the final time in college, stuffed Iowa's fourth-and-1 QB sneak to seal the game. Missouri drives stalled out in Iowa territory twice in the fourth quarter, but Blake Craig, who has had some troubles this season, converted from 52 and 56 yards to flip the score.
"I look back at (losses in) 2021, 2022 — that's not fun," Cook said. "Leaving the bowl site and going out with the loss? Not at all. You think about it for a long time. That sits with you for a long time. I definitely didn't want that to be the case with my last game in a Tiger uniform.
"So proud of the team. Proud of how we prepared, how the coaches got us ready, how the team worked. … We prepared. We worked our butts off. And this was the result."
With 341 yards of total offense Monday, Cook surpassed 10,000-career all-purpose yards, which ranks fourth all-time at Missouri. With 287 passing yards, he moved ahead of Brad Smith and into third all-time for career passing yards at Mizzou.
With the win, Cook moved into second all-time in MU history for wins as a starting QB with 26, trailing only Chase Daniel , who he grew up watching.
Brady Cook is leaving Missouri. The Tigers have some choices to make soon, with Beau Pribula, Sam Horn and Drew Pyne surely soon to be in competition to be his successor — no small task.
Brady Cook, after all, is leaving Mizzou as a winner.
"I'll always be indebted to him for what he's done for my family and what he's done for this program," Drinkiwtz said. "But, you know, journeys aren't always meant to be together forever. And, so, he's going to go start his own path and his own career, and I have no doubt he will be successful in the NFL. He's going to get a chance, and just like we all found out, don't ever count him out. I'm sure he'll be starting quarterback someday in the NFL, and hopefully he'll let me come watch him play.
"It's time for him to go chase his journey now. And what's that old, weird saying, like, 'don't cry because don't cry because you're sad, be excited because it happened,' or something like that? I'm fortunate that it happened."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 'Hell of a journey': Missouri football QB Brady Cook is going out a winner
