According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, former Arizona State and Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne will transfer to Missouri and enroll this summer.

READ: Reports: Bill O’Brien, Boston College hire Doug Marrone as senior analyst

Pyne spent last season with the Sun Devils. He played in two games and threw for 273 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while injuries kept him out of more competition.

Pyne served a successful role as starter for Notre Dame in 2022. The Fighting Irish went 8-2 in games he started, and the New Canaan, Connecticut, native threw for 2,021 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.

READ: Reports: CFP reconsiders automatic byes amid possible 14-team Playoff

According to ESPN, the “likely scenario” in 2024 will be Pyne backing up Brady Cook, who has started at Missouri the past two years. Then, Pyne will have two seasons of eligibility remaining beginning with 2025 when he’ll likely compete for the starting role with the Tigers.

He’s currently enrolled back at Notre Dame to graduate this spring, according to ESPN.

Pyne was a four-star recruit by most recruiting outlets as part of the class of 2020. He was a two-time state champion.

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It was a defensive showcase for both teams as the Buckeyes (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten Conference) held a 3-0 lead entering the fourth quarter.

READ: Reports: Buffalo to hire Dave Patenaude as next offensive coordinator

Ohio State was down to its third-string quarterback Lincoln Kienholz after Devin Brown exited with an ankle injury early in the second quarter.

Jayden Fielding kicked a 44-yard field goal with 3:12 left in the first quarter to give Ohio State its lead.

Missouri (11-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) converted just 10 first downs and Ohio State eight going into the fourth quarter.

The Tigers converted nine first downs in the final quarter as part of a 14-point onslaught. Quarterback Brady Cook went 2-of-2 in the fourth quarter for 38 passing yards.

Cook finished with 128 passing yards on 61% completion. Receiver Luther Burden III had 15 receiving yards and a touchdown.

READ: No. 25 Kansas State wins wire to wire 28-19 over No. 18 NC State in Pop-Tarts Bowl

Schrader totaled 128 rushing yards to become Missouri’s single-season rushing leader. He has over 1,600 rushing yards this year.

Kienholz went 6-of-17 for 86 passing yards. TreVeyon Henderson had 72 rushing yards and Emeka Egbuka had 63 receiving yards.

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Since the 2014 season, the Tigers have gone 66-56. Their most recent bowl game win came in the Citrus Bowl in 2014. 

PODCAST: Week 11 Recap: Are things getting any clearer?

This season, Missouri is 8-2 under head coach Eli Drinkwitz who is in his fourth year after taking over in 2020, and the Tigers climbed to No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings, their highest in program history. 

Drinkwitz has a saying around the team.  

“Restore the roar of Faurot Field, and hopefully it’s a new trajectory of Tiger football,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve kind of been stuck there in that middle, and now obviously this year we’re not. And obviously, we got to finish. We got to finish the season but there’s a new respectability to our program, whether it’s on the recruiting trail or on the football field, and that’s a tribute to those guys and their belief.” 

Drinkwitz’ teams are a combined 25-25 in his tenure as head coach. The Tigers’ eight wins this season are their most since going 8-5 in 2018 under head coach Barry Odom. 

Missouri is raising its standard this season under the watchful eye of Drinkwitz, who also says his team’s goal is to be “one team, one goal, 1-0.” 

“We’re going to have our challenges this week but it really starts with us and choosing what it takes to win,” Drinkwitz said. “We talk about winning doesn’t negotiate, and we have to choose the standard of toughness Tuesday and the way that we’re going to practice this week. We can’t rely on last week’s performance. We have to stand alone on what we’re going to do this week.” 

READ: Big Board: Week 12

Florida will try and play spoiler to Missouri’s magical season. 

The Gators are 5-5 and trying to play their way into a bowl game in the final two games of the regular season. They haven’t finished above .500 since going 8-4 in 2020. 

Drinkwitz likes what Florida’s defense presents under defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, who Drinkwitz said has a wealth of talent and ability to give opposing teams a tough time. 

“Their defensive coordinator has made the comment that he has a toolshed of defense — I think it’s more like a mancave,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s got all kinds of defense and plays multiple fronts, coverages, blitz schemes, has all kinds of corrections and does a really good job with what they’re trying to do.” 

Missouri’s offense paces the team. It’s loaded with quarterback Brady Cook, wide receiver Luther Burden III and running back Cody Schrader. 

Cook is fourth in the Southeastern Conference with 2,746 passing yards. He has 17 passing touchdowns to six interceptions, and his experience is what drives the Tigers offense according to Drinkwitz. 

“I think he’s very efficient with the football,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s very decisive in his reads, and he just doesn’t put the ball in jeopardy very much,” Drinkwitz said. “You can tell he’s an experienced football player experienced in making decisions that don’t negatively impact the team or the drive.” 

READ: San Diego State head coach Hoke to retire at end of season

Burden lines the perimeter as well as any receiver in the country. He’s third in the SEC with 984 receiving yards, and he’s also caught eight touchdowns which ties for seventh-most in the conference. 

Schrader had a big performance last week against Tennessee. The former walk-on became the first player in SEC history to rush for at least 200 yards and catch at least 100, totaling 205 rushing yards and a touchdown and hauling in 116 yards on five catches. 

“Cody’s story is going to be, I mean, it’s going to be a story of Mizzou football, and quite honestly, it’s going to be a story of the University of Missouri and for a long, long time,” Drinkwitz said. 

Drinkwitz has turned a middling program into one that can contend for a top spot in both the SEC and College Football rankings, with sights set on something bigger down the road. 

But first, the Gators are up in front of the Tigers, and then they’ll travel to Arkansas to close out the regular season. Missouri’s special season will continue on by honoring graduating players on Saturday, and soon the Tigers will find out where they’ll play in a bowl game. 

“This week’s a special week for us in honoring our 27 seniors, guys who have a combination, which is what makes the team so unique,” Drinkwitz said. “A combination of guys who have spent their entire careers here, stayed through a coaching transition, some that believed in me and stayed committed to us and some who committed while we were in the transition, others who chose to join us on their journey, and just appreciative to these guys and men who have seen tough days and great days and sold out days at Faurot and hopefully they’ll get one more opportunity to run out in front of a sold out Faurot Field and play their last home game for the Missouri Tigers.” 

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The top-ranked Buckeyes will hit the road for a second-consecutive week when they travel to face Rutgers, which boasts a 6-2 record on an upward trajectory. The Scarlet Knights have won each of their past two games. 

PODCAST: Lance Leipold is the Exact Opposite of Deion Sanders 

Sticking in the Big Ten Conference, No. 3 Michigan will play host to Purdue as the Boilermakers look to play spoiler to the Wolverines’ undefeated season. 

Here are several games to watch this week. 

No. 23 Kansas State at No. 7 Texas 

There are plenty of Big 12 Conference title implications in this one. 

No. 7 Texas will play host to a hot No. 23 Kansas State team entering Austin, Texas, on a three-game winning streak. 

Quinn Ewers continues to deal with a shoulder injury. The Longhorns will have a question mark at quarterback. 

Maalik Murphy quarterbacked the Longhorns for the entirety of the game against BYU. Murphy completed 64% of his passes for 170 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while the Texas defense terrorized Cougars quarterback Kedon Slovis for two interceptions. 

The Wildcats have outscored their past three opponents 120-24, and they’ve done so with a rolling offense. Kansas State has posted three-consecutive games of at least 394 total yards of offense, peaking at 587 yards recorded against TCU. 

“This is a really hot team right now. They’ve been playing as good as anybody in the country in all three phases for the last two to three weeks,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I think it’s really important that we focus on us and what we need to do, that the details and the level of physicality in which we play the game are at the forefront of what we do. I do believe our best football is still ahead of us, and that part is exciting to me, and we’re going to need to play complimentary football Saturday against a very good, well-coached football team in Kansas State.” 

No. 12 Missouri at No. 2 Georgia 

The No. 2 Bulldogs will face their second ranked opponent of the season on Saturday when No. 12 Missouri comes to town. 

These two teams faced off a season ago in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers had Georgia’s number for most of the game, getting out to a 13-0 lead that turned into a 16-6 halftime advantage. 

Georgia scored two rushing touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the game to complete its comeback and win 26-22. 

This season, Missouri’s Brady Cook will get another chance to upend the Bulldogs against first-year starting quarterback Carson Beck, who is second in the Southeastern Conference with 2,462 passing yards. Cook is third with 2,259 passing yards. 

READ: Big Board: Week 10 

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said “it helped” trailing last season against Missouri and having to come back from a double-digit deficit. 

“Being down in a game or not playing well maybe because of them playing well and you not playing well, it makes you question yourself,” Smart said. “There was a lot of things they did to help us and a lot of things that we did to help them but at the end of the day, we didn’t play very well until the fourth quarter and a lot of that had to do with them, and give them credit for the way they played. But, yeah, last year’s team, retrospect, it helped build the resiliency of that team.” 

No. 5 Washington at No. 20 USC 

A matchup between last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and this season’s frontrunner is on tap in Southern California on Saturday. 

Caleb Williams and No. 20 USC will host Michael Penix Jr. and the No. 5 Huskies. Washington came out on top 28-14 in their last meeting during the 2019 season — before either head coach Lincoln Riley or Kalen DeBoer took their posts at their respective programs. 

Both USC and Washington are atop the Pac-12 Conference standings at 5-1 and 5-0 in conference play this year, respectively. The Trojans are reeling from having lost two of their past three games but bounced back in a close win against Cal 50-49. 

READ: Ohio State, Georgia lead first CFP rankings 

The Huskies are second in the Pac-12 in total offense behind an average of 501.3 yards per game. They’ve had a couple of relatively close calls the past two weeks against Arizona State and Stanford, winning 15-7 and 42-33 in those games, and is seeking to make another statement win. 

Riley said Washington is “a good football team” that has “done a great job this year.” 

“Their quarterback has obviously played at a high level and does a great job distributing to their playmakers which they’ve got a really good group of playmakers,” Riley said. “Runs the offense really, really well. You can tell obviously he’s got a lot of experience with Kalen and his system, and you can tell, right, that it shows up and he’s played at a high level. They’ve got some really good players defensively as well. It’s a very, very talented roster. You got a number of guys that are projected pretty high NFL draft picks, a couple on both sides of the ball so a good group. A good group, a good challenge, I mean, like it should be here at the end to have two good football teams going at it so it’s going to be great.” 

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Mevis kicked a 61-yard field goal as time expired and helped the Tigers upset No. 15 Kansas State 30-27 on Saturday afternoon.

WATCH: Missouri kicker Harrison Mevis kicks walk-off 61-yard field goal

The Tigers trailed by a touchdown until the early seconds of the fourth quarter when Mevis kicked a 25-yarder to bring the score to 24-20. 

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook found receiver Luther Burden on a 26-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a brief 27-24 lead with about 8 minutes left to play. 

Kansas State kicked a game-tying field goal with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats were stopped at their own 45-yard line during their final drive before punting the ball back to Missouri. 

Cook and the Tigers drove from their own 18-yard marker to midfield, setting up Mevis’ walk-off kick. It was the second-longest in Missouri program history. 

The win also marked Missouri’s first ranked non-league win since 1990. 

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