<div>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 just that.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.Cook led an explosive touchdown drive upon re-entering the game and did so again late in the fourth quarter, stacking clutch third- and fourth-down throws on the game-winning touchdown drive.Mizzou has now won eight consecutive homecoming games and, at 6-1, is bowl-eligible for the fifth consecutive season.<h2>Injuries galore</h2>Catastrophe, from an injury standpoint, struck Missouri in the first quarter. Only a few plays into the game, Cook tried to escape forward through a collapsing pocket that closed in on him. The starting quarterback came up limping.He stayed in the game, hopping in between snaps while receiving play calls into his helmet. But when his ankle completely gave out during attempted scramble, Cook left the game. He hobbled straight to MU’s locker room.Backup quarterback Drew Pyne replaced Cook, though the swap clearly changed Mizzou’s offensive capabilities. Pyne wasn’t able to escape the pocket or scramble like Cook, leading to the replacement signal-caller taking his share of big blows.Tight end Brett Norfleet also left the game in the first quarter for a bit before returning. He caught a short pass from Pyne and lowered his shoulder — to which an early-season injury had previously kept him sidelined — into contact. Norfleet made it off the field but fell to the turf quickly, spending upwards of 10 minutes in the medical tent before jogging to the locker room. He returned to the game before halftime.Running back Nate Noel, who missed last week’s game against Massachusetts with back tightness and was listed on the injury report for part of the run-up to Saturday, did not receive a touch or target past the 11-minute mark of the second quarter. A committee of Marcus Carroll, Jamal Roberts and Kewan Lacy replaced Noel.Coming out of halftime, the team deemed Cook and Noel “unlikely to return” with lower body injuries, leaving the Tigers without their starting quarterback and running back — temporarily.<h2>Drab first half</h2>At halftime, the score matched the final tally of Missouri’s first-ever homecoming game, a 3-3 tie back in 1911.Blake Craig gave the hosts their field goal in the first quarter, converting from 51 yards out shortly after Cook’s injury. He attempted two other field goals in the first half but missed wide left from both 49 and 55 yards.Auburn’s Towns McGough put his side on the board early in the second quarter with a 32-yard make.MU had just 133 yards of total offense at the break, while Auburn had only 128.Mizzou wide receiver Luther Burden III didn’t get his hands on the ball until the black-and-gold Tigers’ 31st offensive play. With Missouri trying to find a bit of offense before the end of the first half, it got Burden the ball on a touch pass, which he turned into an eight-yard gain for a first down.“Defense is keeping us in the game,” MU coach Eli Drinkwitz told the home radio broadcast on his way to the locker room. “We’ve got to find some offensive rhythm with Drew. That’s what we’ll do in the second half.”<h2>Auburn breaks through first</h2>After the blah first half, the second 30 minutes started with a feeling that one touchdown might be enough to put one team ahead for good. Auburn got the big play first.Freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman, who had just nine catches on the season, burned Missouri safety Marvin Burks Jr. over the top — a familiar theme for the home team’s secondary at this point — for a crisp 47-yard touchdown.Auburn’s 10-3 lead arrived with 12:34 left in the third quarter.Then came a sequence that looked like disaster.Mizzou’s defense held Auburn to a 3-and-out, giving its offense a chance to claw something together. But Burden muffed the punt at his own 15-yard line, with the ball bouncing through his arms and behind him. Auburn recovered the ball in the end zone for a special teams touchdown.The costly error gave the visiting Tigers a 17-3 lead with slightly more than 11 minutes in the third quarter.A flash of optimism flickered across the Missouri sideline during its responsive drive as Carroll picked up a 20-yard carry and Cook came sprinting out of the MU tunnel. He immediately began throwing near the bench, with a team spokesperson confirming he would try to return.It wouldn’t be on that drive, though, which led to a 38-yard field goal from Craig that cut the lead to 17-6.<h2>Cooking up a comeback</h2>Cook came back into the game to sling the rock. He unsuccessfully tried to find Burden on a deep ball right off the bat, then wideout Mookie Cooper dropped Cook’s second pass since returning.The third time was the charm. Cook threaded the ball between overlapping defenders to Cooper, who held on this time. Cooper turned upfield and busted a few tackles, cutting diagonally for a 78-yard pickup.Starting the fourth quarter at the Auburn 2-yard line, Missouri punched in the touchdown through Carroll. Needing a two-point conversion, the recovered Cook plowed across the goal line himself.That cut Auburn’s lead to 17-14 with 14:57 left in the game.Over the next 10 minutes, both sets of Tigers traded fruitless possessions and punts.A pass interference penalty allowed Missouri to enter Auburn territory just inside the final two minutes of the fourth quarter — only for Cook to be sacked by an untouched blitzer on the next play. He connected with Burden downfield on 3rd and 18, but instead of cutting forward across the sticks, the wideout tried to juke his way for more yardage and set up a 4th and 5. With the game on the line, Cook got the ball to Burden again, safely past the first-down marker. He found wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. for another key completion on a third down to enter the red zone.Running back Jamal Roberts ferried the ball down to the 4-yard line to set up first and goal. He completed the comeback — and an 18-play, 95-yard scoring drive — with one more carry through contact.Roberts' touchdown put Missouri ahead 21-17 with 46 seconds to play.No. 19 Mizzou views next opponent Auburn as turnover-prone but 'dangerous'</div>

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Call it a comeback: QB Brady Cook returns from injury to rally No. 19 Mizzou for win over Auburn

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.