For all of the puzzling, heartbreaking, and downright bad plays Mizzou football has endured this season, one play today stood out as a beacon of excellence.

Already with two return touchdowns under his belt this season, punt returner Marcus Murphy had to backpedal to catch a booming 54 yard UCF punt that easily out-kicked the coverage. With a simple side-step to his right and a cutback to the left, all that was left between Murphy and the endzone was the green grass and humid air of Orlando, Florida. Check it out below (courtesy of SEC OnDemand) – fast forward to 1:00 minute in!

By the time Murphy started making his way up the field, there wasn’t a single gold jersey outside of the left hashmarks (aside from the ones that were shaking their heads in dismay on the sideline). The only parts of the game that were more terrible were sideline reporter Desmond Purnell’s see-through button down and announcer Shaun King’s statement that the 59% humidity greater than anything that the Missouri players had ever felt.

After the Murphy return touchdown, the game was never the same.

The Tigers’ defense didn’t allow the deflated Knights of Central Florida back across the 50 yard line for the next 15 minutes, and Kendial Lawrence was able to get the ball moving on the ground.

So, for now, Tigers fans can forget all about the circus that was the Ace Sanders debacle on specials teams last week, as well as the 23-yard punts and extra points off the uprights. 

All is good when Marcus Murphy has room to run.