3 Questions for Mizzou Football Heading Into the Bye Week

What the rest of the season looks like for the Missouri Tigers is pretty cloudy after a loss to Alabama.

Oct 26, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eliah Drinkwitz looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images / Will McLelland-Imagn Images

The No. 25 Missouri Tigers' latest performance left plenty to be desired.

Though there's not too much questions on what went wrong, the outlook for the rest of Missouri's season is pretty cloudy. Their chance at a spot in the College Football Playoff is virtually diminished, but the rest of the season will still be significant.

There's plenty to ask, but here's three of the top questions for Missouri football as the Tigers head into their second bye week of the year.

1. How severe is Brady Cook's hand injury?

Obvious one out of the way first. Starting quarterback Brady Cook left the game late in the second quarter after his hand struck a defender's helmet while following through on a pass.

If Cook's hand is broken, its hard to see him making a return for the remainder of the regular season. In that case, the bowl game Missouri would be playing in after four games without him probably won't be very valuable for Cook to risk returning for.

Anything long-term would create for a long final stretch for Missouri.

If he only misses minimal time and is able to return to 100% though, Missouri still has something worth playing for. It would be a shame if Cook has to spend the final games of his collegiate career on the sideline, unable to help his team.

2. Is next year's starting quarterback on the roster now?

Drew Pyne certainly wasn't the de-facto starter for next season, but his performances against Auburn and Alabama haven't helped him create much of a argument in the competition.

Redshirt sophomore Sam Horn, a four-star recruit, would be the most obvious choice, but who knows if the Tommy-John surgery he underwent on his elbow will impact his throwing at all. He hasn't started a full football game since his high school career ended in the fall of 2021.

Aidan Glover, a four-star prospect, will be in his second season and could be in the mix too.

Five-star prospect Matt Zollers will be in the fold next year as a true freshman, but he'll also be working his way back from surgery on his ankle.

But Missouri might look to the transfer portal. Predicting exactly what level of player they'll be able to add from the portal is a crapshoot. But a SEC team with some exciting young receivers is easy to sell.

3. What would a 10-win season mean for the program?

The 12- team playoff format undeniably will create more exciting late-season matchups and provide many more fanbases with hope and excitement through the season.

However, it can also lead to results that would've been viewed as a success beforehand to now be viewed as massive letdowns. It feels like that's what this season will end up being for Missouri.

The loss to Alabama probably would've been much more crushing for the fanbase had most not accepted weeks ago that Missouri wasn't a playoff-caliber team.

But, it was stil right there for Missouri. They were only trailing 6-0 before Cook's exit and a interception from Pyne derailed everything. Find a way to get a win over Alabama, run the table against an unranked schedule and you're virtually guaranteed a playoff spot at 11-1 and likely a spot in the SEC title game.

No matter what happens in this final stretch though, this season will be viewed as a dissapointment from the Tigers. They were expected to atleast be in the running for a playoff spot deep into the season. But Drinkwitz of course still finds value in winning the last four.

"There's four SEC games left," Drinkwitz said after the loss. "There's a lot of football season left, and we just got to get home, get healthy, and flush this one and move on to the next one. "

A second-straight season with wins in the double digits would still be significant for a program that has only accomplished said feat two times in program history.

The SEC is much tougher than expected this season and, despite the high bar the 2023 season set for Missouri, it is still in the early stages of building the brand it is aiming for. The challenge will be continuing to recruit and develop the right talent.