Missouri leading rusher Nate Noel will sit out Saturday’s game at No. 15 Alabama as he deals with a foot injury, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Noel was not expected to practice this week and would be reevaluated after No. 21 Missouri’s bye week on Nov. 2.
Quarterback Brady Cook, meanwhile, was considered doubtful because of an ankle injury. He has been “extremely limited” in practice so far this week, sources told ESPN. He still might try to ramp up later in the week to attempt to play, but the outlook is pessimistic.
For now, Cook was still dealing with an ankle sprain sustained in Saturday’s game against Auburn, which led to a hospital trip. He was replaced against the Tigers by veteran backup Drew Pyne, who completed 10-of-21 passes. Pyne has experience, as he’s 8-3 over 11 games started at both Notre Dame and Arizona State earlier in his career. Cook has started 34 straight games for Missouri.
Noel, a transfer from Appalachian State, is the Tigers’ most productive tailback. He leads the team with 503 yards and an average of 5.9 yards per carry.
He left last week’s game against Auburn in the first half because of the foot injury and was ruled unlikely to return. He did come back and had one carry for 6 yards in the second half. He finished the game with six carries for 32 yards.
The loss of Noel would put an additional onus on senior Marcus Carroll, a Georgia State transfer who has run for 321 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Noel has been productive for Missouri this season, rushing for 199 yards against Vanderbilt and 121 yards against Boston College. Both were Missouri victories.
