Memorable Plays from 2012: Number Five, Ace Sanders Punt Return vs. Mizzou

This post continues our series on the most memorable plays of 2012. Today we're talking about Ace Sanders's punt return against Mizzou. Here's the play:

This play and the following Lattimore touchdown were key in helping us get the scoring started in this game, but considering that it turned out to be a blowout, you can't really say that this play was a huge difference-maker. What makes this play for me is simply how amazing it is in terms of Sanders's individual performance. It's one of the best punt returns I've ever seen in that regard. Most of the credit goes to Sanders himself, in the sense that it's not one of those returns where the blockers manage to part the red sea for the return man. The highlights include Sanders navigating his way through traffic at the beginning of the return, managing to keep his balance while a Missouri player tries to strip the ball, and then the absolutely sick step-back at around 14 or 15 seconds. Really fun play to watch.