Brady Cook, Missouri Offense Crumble Against Texas A&M

Missouri football scored a season-low of 10 points, struggling to get past Texas A&M's defense in a blowout loss.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (12) hands off the ball to running back Nate Noel (8) in the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

COLLEGE STATION, Tx. — There’s simply no nice way to put it; the No. 9 Missouri Tigers’ offense against the Texas A&M Aggies was dreadful. 

Entering its first road game of the season at a ruckus Kyle Field environment, Missouri knew it’d encounter one of its toughest challenges of the year. Though, what ensued couldn’t have been dreamt up worse. The Tigers were out of the game by halftime, eventually losing in a 41-10 blowout.

It’s not to say Missouri’s defense didn’t play a significant factor in the loss too, but regardless if it was able to stop a couple of extra drives, the offense wasn’t anywhere near the level needed to beat the Aggies on the road, or at home. It wasn't just head coach Eli Drinkwitz, quarterback Brady Cook or the offensive line — it was everyone.

The extra week of preparation didn't seem to pay off for the Tigers, as the Texas A&M defense hounded them all-game long. Its pass-rush defense was especially impressive, sacking Cook a total of six times for a loss of 25 yards.

Missouri's offensive line was consistently ran through by the Aggies, leaving Cook with little time or room to get off quality plays for the offense. Although, the senior had plenty of struggles in his own right.

Cook had his worst performance of the season — and arguably, one of the worst of his collegiate career — throwing for just 186 yards on 13-of-31 completions and sole touchdown. On several occasions he overthrew receivers or threw to spots with strong coverage, displaying poor accuracy that left his receivers with impossible catches.

Due to Texas A&M's strong pass-rush, Cook also found himself on scrambles throughout the game, but most of the time they were largely unsuccessful. Not only did he not extend drives on the run, he was forced to take a few tough hits that didn't make his day any easier.

Against a strong Aggie defense, Cook's play wasn't anywhere near to the standards the Tigers needed to pull out a win on the road. If he doesn't improve from his early season performances, the Tiger offense could be in serious trouble.

"Trying to get Brady Cook flustered, and it worked," defensive end Nic Scourton said on Texas A&M's defensive game plan. "He made some poor decisions in the game and it turned out in our favor."

Not every throw Cook made during the day wasn't accurate though, even the receiving core was to blame for failing to complete a few plays that could've swung the momentum in the offense's favor. The morale was low early, and as the score continued to dwindle in the Aggies' favor, the amount of effort from the entire offense whimpered away.

For Theo Wease Jr., the offense's collapse came down to a simple reason.

"We just didn't execute," Wease Jr. said.

Ultimately, Drinkwitz and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore's game plan preparation didn't seem to be developed enough, even with a bye week. Whether it be doing too much or too little, Missouri was out of sorts from the very beginning.

"We did more good on good in the past two weeks than I've probably ever done as a head coach," Drinkwitz said on practices during the break. "So, I don't know, maybe I did too much."

Regardless, the Tiger offense didn't come to play the way they needed to against Texas A&M. The Kyle Field crowd certainly played a factor, but at the end of the day, it was Missouri's job to prepare for anything and everything the Aggies could throw at it. That, it did not accomplish.

The Tigers get to step outside of the SEC once again against UMass in Week 7, but even then, the offense has to figure out the issues preventing it from being the elite offense that it should be. Cook may be the focus of the discussion, but the needed improvements extend to the whole team.

"The season really starts today, and how we respond will determine what kind of football season we're going to have," Drinkwitz said.

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