Eli Drinkwitz credits Brady Cook for setting the tone for Missouri early in Music City Bowl

Brady Cook has Missouri off and running in the Music City Bowl against Iowa. The Tigers quarterback had seven rushing attempts in the first quarter for 33 yards, in addition to getting off to a hot start through the air.

On one of his rushing attempts, Missouri added some extra yards on the end of Cook’s run as Iowa’s Xavier Nwankpa was called for a personal foul for hitting Cook after he slid.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was asked by ESPN’s Alyssa Lang at the end of the first quarter about that run by Brady Cook, the late hit, and how it might impact the rest of the game.

“Well, I think it lets the team know it’s going to be a tough day and we’re going to have to really compete,” Eli Drinkwitz said. “And obviously he’s setting the tone for us right now.”

Missouri and Iowa both started hot on offense as the Tigers tied the score at 14-14 early in the second quarter when Brady Cook threw a touchdown pass to receiver Marquis Johnson.

Although it was a shootout early on, Eli Drinkwitz spoke about what it was going to take for Missouri to beat Iowa in the Music City Bowl, including needing the defense to play better.

“Well, we’re going to have to figure out how to run the football outside of Brady Cook,” Drinkwitz said. “And then defensively we’re going to have to be able to settle in. We didn’t really settle in on that first drive.”

Penn State transfer QB Beau Pribula commits to Missouri

Brady Cook is playing in the final game of his college career on Monday, but it appears as though Missouri already has his replacement.

Penn State transfer quarterback Beau Pribula committed to Missouri last weekend.

Pribula chose Missouri over Iowa after also considering Ole Miss, UCF and others, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Pribula played in 24 career games during his time with Penn State, mainly backing up Drew Allar. The redshirt sophomore will have two years of eligibility remaining. He’s thrown for 424 career yards with nine touchdowns and just one interception. Penn State relied on Pribula for his legs, too, rushing for 571 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career with the Nittany Lions.

With Allar sidelined due to injury in the second half against Wisconsin this season, Pribula guided Penn State to a 28-13 win. He was 11 of 13 for 98 yards in the game, throwing for a touchdown.

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report