COLUMBIA, Mo. — Two hours and three minutes after he hobbled to the locker room with an ankle injury and 28 minutes after he was officially deemed unlikely to return to the contest, Missouri quarterback Brady Cook sprinted out of the Memorial Stadium tunnel to win a football game.
He did it.
No. 19 Mizzou overcame injuries and a disappearing offense to engineer a 21-17 comeback win over Auburn on Saturday, a victory that came to be almost exclusively through whatever treatment Cook received during his two hours out of view.
His second-half return to play galvanized a home team that was floundering on offense and crumbling on defense and special teams, ultimately leading to a homecoming win for MU.