Brady Cook, Luther Burden III lead No. 11 Missouri to season-opening 51-0 rout of Murray State

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- |A| — Brady Cook threw |B| for 218 yards with |C| touchdowns running and throwing, |D| Toriano Pride Jr. returned |E| an interception 25 yards |F| for a score, and |G| No. 11 Missouri routed |H| Murray State 51-0 on |J| Thursday night in the |K| season opener for both |L| teams.

Luther Burden III |M| had a touchdown catch |O| while Nate Noel and |P| Marcus Carroll added TD |Q| runs, helping the Tigers |R| build a big lead |S| early enough that coach |U| Eli Drinkwitz was able |V| to rest his starters |Y| midway through the third |Z| quarter.

Murray State, which |A| was picked to finish |B| last in the Missouri |C| Valley, managed 85 yards |D| of total offense. Jayden |E| Johannsen was 7 of |F| 13 for 27 yards |G| with an interception while |H| getting sacked twice and |J| beaten up most of |K| the night.

The Takeaway

|L| dir="ltr">Murray State needed everything |M| to go right and |O| very little did. The |P| Racers gave Missouri a |Q| short field with a |R| failed onside kick to |S| start the game, got |U| stuffed on fourth-and-inches on |V| the next series, and |Y| trailed 28-0 by the |Z| end of the first |A| quarter.

Missouri was nearly |B| shut out in the |C| second quarter, eventually scoring |D| on Cooks keeper with |E| a second left. The |F| first half showed how |G| good the Tigers can |H| be when everything is |J| clicking but also how |K| pedestrian they can be |L| when things go awry.

|M| dir="ltr">Up Next

Murray State |O| returns home Sept. 7 |P| to play Butler, which |Q| also plays at the |R| Football Championship Subdivision level.

|S| dir="ltr">Missouri continues its four-game |U| homestand Sept. 7 against |V| Buffalo, which beat Lafayette |Y| 30-13 on Thursday night.

|Z| data-empty="true">

|A|