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Whatever College Football Playoff window remained open upon the Tigers’ arrival in Alabama is closed now, slammed shut by the two-loss Crimson Tide’s 34-point domination of a Mizzou team that once again lost Cook to injury early in a game, this time without a heroic and victorious return.

Mizzou’s two big road trips this season — at Texas A&M and at Alabama — have resulted in two losses by a combined score of 75-10. It would be hard for the Tigers to explain that away even if they win out from here. And even against more manageable SEC opponents making up the next four games, winning out from here seems unrealistic, with Cook so physically compromised.

The high ankle sprain Cook suffered against Auburn could impact him the rest of the season. The damage seemingly done when his hand smacked off a helmet at Alabama could be even worse; a lack of updates from the team is not a good sign. Mizzou needs this week’s bye to heal a lot, probably more than it can.

Mizzou already has secured a bowl game and, on paper, a double-digit win season is still in play, but considering this season started with CFP hopes that are now mostly shot, the last bye week of the season is a good time to look ahead a little bit. There’s a lesson to be learned from this season, even before it ends. The 2025 Tigers need to pull their next starting quarterback from the transfer portal.

Coach Eli Drinkwitz, who has been a strong transfer portal recruiter but has yet to land his own starting quarterback, needs to crush a transfer-portal home run this offseason. It’s the only realistic way Mizzou could start 2025 with potential CFP hopes. The good news? It’s not impossible. Look around.

Oregon is doing it this season with Dillon Gabriel, who transferred in from Oklahoma. Miami is doing it this season with Cam Ward, who transferred in from Washington State. Indiana is doing it this season with Kurtis Rourke, who transferred in from Ohio. And when Rourke got hurt, in stepped Tayven Jackson at Indiana, who had previously transferred in from Tennessee.

So, no, it’s not just the bluebloods benefiting from instant-impact QB transfers.

Cook’s eligibility is expiring. Someone else must soon become the star of this show. If there’s a potential long-term silver lining to the seemingly stalled state of the Tigers offense this season when Cook hasn’t been on the field, it’s a growing body of evidence that suggests Drew Pyne, who was recruited as Cook’s backup and a potential starting option in 2025, is not cut out for the SEC.

I’m sorry to be blunt about that, but what was concerning against Auburn became undeniable against Alabama, with a lot more time to prepare seeming to make little difference. I won’t knock Drinkwitz for not having a third QB option he likes. Few do. But it’s fair to question what the staff saw in Pyne, considering what’s played out on the field. Against Auburn and Alabama he completed just 48.5 percent of his passes, threw three interceptions (it could have been more) and did not run effectively, which has become a must in this league.

Pyne isn’t a young player. What you see is what you are going to get. Sam Horn, who can’t play at all this season due to recovering from Tommy John surgery needed to keep his baseball career on track, can’t be counted upon as another sport is his primary concern. If there was a backup option that was close to being trusted, we would know by now.

I’m as optimistic as anyone about incoming freshman Matt Zollers, but no one should be overly optimistic about starting a true freshman quarterback in the SEC, especially not one who recently saw his senior high school season cut short with a scary ankle injury. Zollers is expected to be recovered and ready by next season. Great news. Still, it’s asking too much of him to star upon arrival. Seeing a transfer arrive ahead of him, especially one with just a couple seasons of eligibility left, should not be a threat to him.

With the easy-enter transfer portal humming and name, image and likeness money flowing at the most important position on the field, it’s never been harder to build QB depth. Horn’s baseball-caused setback threw the Tigers an unexpected QB curveball. Still, too many eggs were placed in Cook’s basket and the staff misfired on both Pyne and now-departed former backup Jake Garcia. Then again, recruiting a backup QB may be even harder than recruiting a starting one. Mizzou shouldn’t have that problem this offseason. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will need a new No. 1.

The Tigers should present themselves as one of the most enthusiastic transfer QB pursuers. Just one request: Steer clear of former UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka, who bailed on his team because of supposedly promised NIL dollars he alleged (without evidence) he did not receive. That was a bad QB transfer tale. There are more good ones than bad this season. One look around the sport’s landscape shows new transfers leading their teams to CFP berths. One look at how Mizzou got here and where it must go from here proves the Tigers need to lean into the trend and score a big win.