Cook drives No. 11 Missouri to winning field goal with 5 seconds left for 33-31 victory over Florida
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Harrison Mevis kicked a 30-yard field goal with five seconds remaining, and Brady Cook completed 20 of 34 passes for 326 yards and a touchdown to help No. 11 Missouri rally past Florida 33-31 on Saturday night.
“It’s what they brought me here to do,” Mevis said. “I’m an operation kicker. I’m supposed to go in and make those kicks for the team and help us win. It’s a testament to the offense for putting me in position to go do that.”
Cody Schrader carried the ball 23 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, Luther Burden III caught nine passes for 158 yards, and Mevis converted all four of his field goal attempts as Missouri (9-2, 5-2 SEC, No. 9 CFP) narrowly avoided losing to an unranked opponent for the first time this season.
Montrell Johnson Jr. had 12 carries for 85 yards and Trevor Etienne ran 15 times for 82 yards and a touchdown as Florida (5-6, 3-5) gained 261 yards on 40 carries in its fourth straight loss.
Gators starting quarterback Graham Mertz completed 14 of 21 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns with an interception before exiting with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter with a non-displaced collarbone fracture.
Mertz left the field holding his collarbone after handing off to Johnson. Mertz appeared to hurt himself initiating contact with Missouri defenders Tre’Vez Johnson and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. on the previous play.
“He’ll be out for a little bit,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We’ll have more information whether it’s surgical or not. I think right now the belief is it may not be, but we’ll need to get more images before we make that decision.”
Redshirt freshman Max Brown completed four of five passes for 56 yards in relief of Mertz and gained 42 yards on seven carries.
“Give Max some credit,” Napier said. “Max settled in there a little bit and made a few plays. Obviously, he’s a good athlete and we were able to use his legs a little bit and the read game. He made some throws as well.”
Cook connected with Burden on a 27-yard reception with Missouri facing fourth-and-17 from its own 33-yard line with 38 seconds remaining to help put the Tigers in field-goal range for Mevis.
“It’s Luther,” Cook said. “He’s getting