Missouri quarterback Drew Pyne runs the ball during the first half of a game against Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Beating Oklahoma on Saturday meant something to Drew Pyne.
No. 24 Missouri鈥檚 backup quarterback recovered from a three-interception outing against Alabama and slow first half against the Sooners to play the second half that the Tigers very much needed, throwing three touchdowns and staying turnover-free as chaos took command of the game.
鈥淭his is definitely one of the proudest moments of my life,鈥 Pyne said.
He spent the two weeks between the debacle in Tuscaloosa and Saturday鈥檚 redemption 鈥渙ff the grid,鈥 in his words. That spared him from seeing the questions, critiques and general lambasting of his play and potential on the internet during that span.
But you know who wasn鈥檛 off the grid? Pyne鈥檚 head coach, Eli Drinkwitz. And the main man at Missouri鈥檚 algorithm seems to show him those things.
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鈥淚 just can鈥檛 say how proud I am of Drew Pyne for all the crap he鈥檚 taken,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 up here all the time having to defend my quarterback, which is not great. But for all the crap he鈥檚 taken on Twitter and X, for him to come out here and ignore the noise 鈥 some of it from y鈥檃ll in this room ... he goes out there and delivers in the keyset moments in the fourth quarter.鈥
Yes, there was a shot at the media covering Mizzou in there, and yes, this seemed a lot like Drinkwitz鈥檚 past impassioned defenses of his usual starting quarterback, Brady Cook.
It does seem, though, that the confidence Drinkwitz was projecting around Pyne鈥檚 performance was authentic and grounded in reality. Saturday showed that.
鈥淗e鈥檚 played a lot of college football,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 won a lot of college football games as a starter. One bad outing doesn鈥檛 define a player. We have to quit reacting to every single play. Like, let guys play, man. There鈥檚 a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL who threw three interceptions. They don鈥檛 go to the bench. You don鈥檛 shoot them to get another one. You let them play through it.鈥
Pyne鈥檚 performance against Alabama was clearly an outlier. He鈥檇 never before thrown three interceptions in a game and only had thrown multiple picks once before. And that much seemed clear at the time, that surely the quarterback couldn鈥檛 be that bad on a consistent basis.
The interesting question now for Missouri is what Pyne can consistently be moving forward.
There are short-term and long-term ways to view it. As things stand now, there鈥檚 a non-zero chance Pyne will start again for Mizzou when it faces No. 23 South Carolina on the road this weekend.
The determining factor in whether Pyne starts again will be whether Cook is a go against the Gamecocks. The latter quarterback was ruled out for the OU game the night prior. If recent trends around MU鈥檚 lack of injury transparency hold, Cook鈥檚 status is likely to remain unclear for as long as the program can maintain a shroud of uncertainty around his ankle and throwing-hand injuries.
But a quick note there: Cook did not appear to be wearing a cast or brace on his throwing arm at Saturday鈥檚 game and was walking around without a limp.
If Pyne starts again, the Tigers鈥 game plan will be interesting to watch. They started the game with an emphasis on the run and not much working through the air until things opened up in the second half.
鈥淒rew鈥檚 got a different feel and a different style, so we knew we needed to establish the run to take some pressure off of him,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚 think he delivered. I thought he did a really nice job stepping up in the pocket.鈥
Two things there: First, Pyne is a much better quarterback when the pocket is clean. His completion percentage with adequate protection this season is 70%, according to Pro Football Focus, but that drops to 31.8% when under pressure. That鈥檚 significant as far as game plan construction goes.
Second, once the field opened up, Pyne showed some rushing ability. He ran the ball once for 8 yards and later for 10 yards on fourth-quarter scrambles.
鈥淣one of us even knew he could do that,鈥 wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. joked.
And Pyne was willing to nuance what his legs can do with a little self-deprecation.
鈥淚 believe in myself moving (out of) the pocket,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 might not score a 50-yard touchdown, but I鈥檒l get you a first down.鈥
There鈥檚 also a long-term view of Pyne鈥檚 play. Because of a pandemic year, redshirt and medical waiver, he鈥檚 preserved quite a bit of eligibility. Should he choose to do so, Pyne could play during the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Cook鈥檚 career is over after this season, so Pyne could be in the discussion for the starting job for next year and beyond. But for now, Pyne鈥檚 focus is on filling in when Cook can鈥檛.
Like against the Sooners.
鈥(Cook has) been dying to play in this game his whole life,鈥 Pyne said. 鈥淚n this offseason, it was his (phone) background for a long time. I told him I鈥檇 do everything I could to go win that game for him.鈥
Tollison鈥檚 season over
Missouri center Connor Tollison will miss the rest of the 2024 season with an injury suffered during the Tigers鈥 Saturday win over Oklahoma.
Tollison, one of the best blockers at his position in the nation, has been Mizzou鈥檚 starter at the heart of the offensive line for three seasons.
ESPN first reported the significance of Tollison鈥檚 injury. A source confirmed the development to the Post-Dispatch. Drinkwitz is expected to announce the season-ending injury at the start of his Tuesday news conference, as is the norm.
Tollison appeared to hurt his leg while blocking for a screen play that produced one of Mizzou鈥檚 three offensive touchdowns against the Sooners. The center stayed down after the play and was helped off the field, clearly not putting weight on his injured leg.
Drake Heismeyer, a Francis Howell product, will likely be Missouri鈥檚 center for the rest of the season. He performed well during fill-in duty Saturday and has been with the program since 2020.
Tollison鈥檚 absence, though, is significant. He has started 34 games for the Tigers since enrolling ahead of the 2021 season.
He hails from Jackson, Missouri.
Tollison鈥檚 emergence as one of the best at his position could put him in contention for the spring NFL draft, though he does have one more year of collegiate eligibility, should he choose to return for 2025.
