Read the full transcript of Mizzou beat writer Eli Hoff's sports chat

Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Eli Hoff: Morning, all! Thanks for coming by. Lot going on in the Mizzou universe, from homecoming weekend to the middle of football season to hoops getting ready to roll. I'll take your questions and hear out your takes for the next couple of hours!

DCG: Hey, Eli. You've noted in previous chats that there's been a strong anti-Cook contingent since he got the starting job. I've never felt that way ... until recently. Last week was the tipping point for me, and the biggest issue is accuracy. Last week, the stats looked solid, but the reality is that his inaccuracy is killing the team. At A&M, he missed Wease in the seam that would have gone for a touchdown (the play before the Burden TD was called back). It was an easy throw. Last week, he had a long completion to Wease, but the throw was too much to the sidelines, and Wease ended up going out of bounds rather than scoring a touchdown, which is what should have happened. And the pass that laid out Burden was inexcusable. I don't think Pyne is any kind of savior. If he was that good, he wouldn't be on his third team. But if Cook doesn't turn it around, a potentially great season is going to be wasted.

Hoff: It does seem folks who were "Brady Cook defenders" have been changing their minds recently, and I don't think you can really blame them. He's now thrown for 300 yards just once in the last 13 games and tossed multiple touchdown passes only three times in that span. He's averaging 215 passing yards per game in Mizzou's last 13 games... but the Tigers are 11-2. I'm someone who will fairly reflexively offer the question of "Well, what does Mizzou actually need Brady Cook to be in order to win games?" The answer will vary person to person, but I think that's the barometer that's actually worth discussing when it comes to Cook — at least the discussion that can be productive.

And your accuracy point is a good one. The only stat I've found that's really been a strong correlation between Mizzou winning in its last 13 games and Cook's performance is accuracy. In the Tigers' two losses in that span and A&M), Cook's completion percentage was below 50%. In the wins, his lowest single-game completion percentage was 57%. So the accuracy matters, and it can matter even on completions, like you mention.

Really, the whole notion of ball placement is interesting for this offense. Cook has to put it in a certain space or at a certain angle for his wideouts to be able to make a play on it. But they also, if they're really the best group of receivers in the nation, should be able to make plays on imperfect passes. I argued on a podcast episode that Ben Frederickson and I recorded this morning (should be out soon!) that neither party has been maximizing opportunities. That will turn more and more folks to skeptics as it continues happening.

KCCard: How healthy is Norfleet? Loved seeing him more involved last week. I believe hitting him on those center of the field throws could really help to open up this offense. He looked like a legit pro prospect last year. Would love to see his next step in progression with full health.

Hoff: I'm taking the sequence of catches from the UMass game to mean healthy enough with Norfleet. Eli Drinkwitz said this week that this is the first time all season that Mizzou has had its three top tight ends (Norfleet, Jordon Harris and Tyler Stephens) all healthy at the same time. Now and going forward you should be able to get a sense of how the Tigers actually want to be using Norfleet in this offense.

bigron: Hey Eli, is the game this Saturday sold out? Also when does Bball practice start?

Hoff: Yes, it'll be another sellout this weekend. This one (as the homecoming game) and Oklahoma were the first to sell out, actually. Of course, there are secondary-market tickets available. I haven't received official word on whether the regular season finale against Arkansas is a sellout yet.

Basketball is in full preseason mode, so practice has been up and running for a couple of weeks. They'll play an exhibition on Oct. 26 against Lincoln that will be free to attend and take place exactly two hours before football's game against Alabama so that everyone can then watch the game in Mizzou Arena. You'll start to see some more hoops stories coming out between now and then, too.

Igor: Thoughts on Gabe DeArmond leaving Rivals for 247?

Hoff: I'm happy for Gabe. I've got a ton of respect for his abilities as a journalist and the business he's built. He's the guy to beat for those of us who cover Mizzou, so I appreciate having him as a competitive benchmark too, even though we have a friendly relationship. I'm all for more competition on this beat. It makes all of us better, which benefits y'all as the readers — you get more content and better stuff, too. It's my job to make it clear that even with another outlet on the scene, we're still the best place to read for news and storytelling of Mizzou sports.

Happy in St Charles: Are Noel and Burden expected to play Saturday?

Hoff: At this point, yes. Burden was listed as probable on the first injury report of the week, and all signs point toward him being good to go. I assumed so for Noel, too, since he was just dealing with back tightness and wasn't wearing a non-contact jersey during Tuesday's practice — though he didn't quite seem to be a full participant. He was listed as questionable on the first injury report, though, so it might not be as clear with him as I'd thought. Still, I'd be pretty surprised if Noel isn't a go.

Evil Calvin: What was Burden's injury and will he play this weekend?

Hoff: We don't get anatomy listed with injuries, unfortunately — just status. I'd asked about the players who were ruled out for the UMass game, but the team declined to share that information. They don't have to, so I guess there isn't really an incentive to be transparent in-season. With Burden, it looked pretty obviously like his shoulder. Given the way his arm was dangling when he came off the field, I wondered if he could have popped his shoulder out on the play, and that's why he was able to stay out on the bench after some time in the tent. But like I said, no official word on it.

DEK: I'm glad to have you as a subscriber! I'm always extremely grateful for y'all trading hard-earned money for our writing. I think there's a recipe for a really fascinating game. You've got the consistent storyline of whether Mizzou's offense will really hit its stride, and that is something that to really gauge, you need more than just the highlights.

But I'm mostly fascinated by how Mizzou's defense will handle this one. Auburn (and quarterback Payton Thorne) turn the ball over a lot. And Corey Batoon has been fairly restrained through the first half of the season, I think, by having to emphasize containing mobile QBs or facing inferior teams. Against Auburn and Thorne, I think Batoon really has a chance to dial it up. Whether that's blitzes, different coverages or trying to throw out things that aren't on tape yet, it strikes me as an opportunity to try to make Thorne (who has had a bye week to prepare) doubt everything he looked at and practiced. Again, that's something that will unfold on a play-by-play basis as the game (and especially first few series) goes, though turnovers would make the highlights.

Plus, there are only 12 guaranteed games a year. I think that makes all of them worth watching.

Palmetto State Fan: Comments on Brady Cook's football performance. One, he is the QB for the rest of the 2024 season. Let's move on from the thought he will be "benched". Not happening. Second, I do not believe his receivers have done him any favors this season. That is, receivers making catches on throws that were not perfect. In other words "bailing out" the QB. Three, I want BC to be a "game manager", not someone that needs to connect on 50-yard passes multiple times a game. Someone effective and efficient. Minimal turnovers. Often it is the yards after the catch that are truly important (think: Burden, Wease). Finally, the O-line has left much to be desired with lack-of-focus penalties, poor pass protection, and the like. Certainly not Dierdorf-Dobler-DeMarco-McMillan-Banks college level quality. BTW, who is the O-Line coach and how long has he been in the position? Just curious. Thank you!

Hoff: I think you about summed up how I view Cook and the situation here. He's not getting benched. The receivers haven't maximized production on their end. And the ball in their hands will be more dangerous than it will be flying through the air. Cook should get credit for the fact that he has only one interception through the first half of the season. That's worth noting. And like I said in response to an earlier question, Mizzou is winning with him playing at this level. He's largely been what the Tigers have needed him to be — and in the case of the Texas A&M game, I genuinely don't think there's any college QB who could have been in Cook's place and turned that game around. No time and a poor game plan doomed the entire offense from the start.

I'll specify that it's the left side of the line that has certainly been a step backward from last year. Granted, it was always probably going to be that, given that both Javon Foster and Xavier Delgado had 40-some starts apiece and Foster went straight to the NFL. But Marcus Bryant in particular has not been what many expected. The O-line coach is Brandon Jones, who was a center at Texas Tech. He came over from Houston ahead of the 2023 season.

Ed from Idaho: Greetings Eli from Idaho, home of the best running back in college football. Burden III seems to get "dinged up" quite a bit. Is that a concern for pro scouts?

Hoff: Isn't Ashton Jeanty something? If my Heisman ballot were due today, he'd be leading it. So much fun to watch.

Burden has missed six or seven quarters of football this season with various things like that. Not saying any of it is illegitimate, but it does happen a fair amount. I do think some of it might be a flair for the dramatic. This is before my era so I can't claim credit for the comparison, but I've heard folks liken how Burden takes hits to Jeremy Maclin — that it always seems a little more catastrophic than it actually is. I don't know that it'll dissuade scouts much, since NFL teams routinely take players with histories of more serious injuries, but it could certainly be part of the draft profile on him. I'll see what sense I can get from scouts and draft folks as that cycle heats up in the early spring.

Groucho: I saw the rankings for MBB: When will we know how good this basketball team is?

Hoff: January. The nonconference schedule just isn't built to really show anything — unless it goes poorly, in which case something negative will be evident. Opening against Memphis will established a very helpful baseline for this team, but it won't matter for terribly long because it's Game 1. Then it goes Howard, Eastern Washington, Mississippi Valley State, Pacific, UAPB, Lindenwood. The game against Cal in earlier December will teach more. Kansas will be tough to compete with. LIU and Jax State are more nothing burgers. Braggin' Rights is another check-in opportunity. Alabama State doesn't mean anything. And then SEC play starts, which is when you can start learning things. I don't think the portrait that emerges from games against Memphis, Cal, Kansas and Illinois will be enough to really feel like you know what's coming against SEC teams.

Todd H: Good day to you Eli-!hope all is well your way. So what are the thoughts on why Cook has apparently regressed from last year when he was having 300 yard passing games and throwing beautiful accurate passes to his fleet of WRs? It's so baffling that he would just, as I said, regress like this. Any rumblings going on that maybe he's playing with some sort of injury again that might be hindering him? Is he having trouble(like the team as a whole might be) handling the higher expectations that were places on him and the team this season? Is he having the "shell-shocked effect" from being sacked so many times thanks in part to both him.holding on to the ball too long at times and the OL giving him poor pass protection? Break it down for me my good man!

Hoff: Howdy Todd! More and more, I'm drifting away from calling it a regression. I think those games just might have been a flash of something that isn't really what Cook has in his arsenal. What I mean: Since taking over as the starter with that Armed Forces Bowl, Cook has played 33 games. He has thrown for 300+ in five of those games. Only once has that happened in the last calendar year. His numbers through the first six games of this season are almost eerily on pace with his 2022 numbers, in terms of pass yards, completion %.

So I guess chronologically, that's something of a regression. But if you were to, say, take out Cook's best five games and worst five games from his career, his stats look pretty much the same through all of it. It's just strange that there was a really high ceiling there for a moment only for that to apparently disappear.

The O-line is certainly a factor, especially since now there's more pressure coming from his blind side. I've wondered whether he's playing through something at times watching him, especially while running, but both Cook and Drinkwitz have said that he's healthy. They have no incentive to tell the truth if he is hurt and therefore could be lying, but we don't get to inject anybody with truth serum before press conferences so that's what we have to roll with.

Todd H: Speaking of that non-con schedule for basketball: very weak and disappointing scheduling on I suppose Gates part? It reeks of trying to fatten up on wins to make your W-L record going into conference play sound better than your team actually is with the expectation(admittance?) that you'll have just two definite L's on there.

Hoff: That's one way of looking at it. I see it more in comparison to Gates' first two seasons. For his debut year, it looked a lot like this: A whole lot of nothin' until conference play. That benefitted the 2022-23 team — they had time to figure out playing with each other and a new coach. Then last year, Gates was touting a tougher nonconference schedule to ramp up a little faster. It... did not seem to be as effective. Now, with 10 new guys, he's chosen a gentler start. Whether or not it works won't be evident until SEC play and eventually, March, but I see that as more of the thinking behind the scheduling than trying to fatten up quick with wins.

Todd H: I'm surprised no one has brought up yet how we have lost two key players on defense for the rest of the season in Moore and Jacobs. This could be a big blow to the defense. Who are the likely next guys up that will hopefully be able to a decent job stepping in for those guys?

Hoff: I'd expect to see Jahkai Lang start out as the fill-in for Joe Moore at that backup defensive end spot to start. Williams Nwaneri got some snaps against UMass, but he was back in a scout team jersey on Tuesday which, to me, suggests Mizzou's not ready to be burning the redshirt quite yet. But we'll see.

Jacobs is the bigger blow. He had two sacks and was a key part of the looks Missouri will throw out on third and longs — the prowler package, for those who remember reading about it. Freshman Nick Rodriguez is the most likely player to step in, though it's not like-for-like. Rodriguez was the leading tackler against UMass, but it'll be some trial by fire for him against SEC opposition.

Todd H: Well, if you're saying 2022 Brady Cook is closer to what kind of QB he is than 2023, this team is in trouble. Sucks to think his performance last year as QB was nothing more than a mirage, a fluke, whatever you want to call it, but I can't help but infer from what you said that you think this to be the case with Brady.

Hoff: The key differences between 2022 Cook and 2024 Cook are turnovers (far, far fewer this year) and that Mizzou is winning close games whereas in 2022... that wasn't the case. Talent around the quarterback matters, too, and that's improved since '22. If Mizzou can go 11-2 in a 13-game stretch while Cook averages 215 passing yards per game, that's not a bad thing — and that's what the Tigers have done in their last 13 games.

Todd H: Nwaneri: okay, regarding him. Eh, what are the chances he stays 4 years anyway if he has potentially great years the next 2 seasons? So I don't see the point in trying to redshirt him based on that but hey, I take it the coaches know more than I do.

Hoff: Yep. If he's as good as his rating would suggest, he won't be in the college ranks for four years. It does seem that the goal for this year is to have it be a developmental one and that he'll see the field when he demonstrates he's ready. I don't think Mizzou is going to force that, and if it so happens that he redshirts, then that'll be what it is. It's more a byproduct of the approach than a priority, if that makes sense.

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Mizzou beat writer