Tennessee football vs. Missouri: Five key Tigers to watch for against Vols

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Part of Missouri’s offense is a dominant rushing attack. Cody Schrader is the leading rusher with over 500 yards. Nathaniel Peat is also a threat, and both are good receivers as well. However, given Tennessee football’s rush defense, Dominic Lovett remains the biggest weapon, and Brady Cook’s mobility results in him taking the cake over the running backs.

Cook hasn’t been too bad at quarterback, as he has completed 162 of 247 passes (65.6 percent) for 1,790 yards (7.2 yards per attempt). Throwing six touchdowns to just seven interceptions isn’t a good look, but touchdown to interception ratio can be overrated depending on the system.

What really stands out, though, is Cook’s effectiveness on the ground. He has 84 carries for 232 yards and five touchdowns. It’s been much better this year, but the Vols still have a history of struggling with mobile quarterbacks who can throw the ball, largely because of all the attrition they suffered at linebacker a year ago.

Taking that into account, the Vols have a lot of work to do to make Cook uncomfortable. Last week, Stetson Bennett became the first quarterback all year whose mobility truly created a problem for UT, so the issues still remain. If they aren’t careful, Cook could exploit them.