Saturday night at Faurot Field may have held ceremonies for the 20 Mizzou seniors; however, it was the duo of Freshmen and Corey Batoon's defense that provided the spark that lit the flame for the Tigers' seventh victory of the season.
Mizzou football's pursuit of 10 wins remained very much alive after its victory over Mississippi State at Faurot Field in Columbia. The Tigers' offense, which struggled to make consistent gains against Texas A&M last week, burst out of the gate early against the Bulldogs.
The Ahmad Hardy Express rolled out of the station from the Mizzou 31-yard line, all the way to the 35-yard line of the Bulldogs on the Tigers' second play from scrimmage. Two follow up runs by Hardy gained five yards total and then a dynamic duo of Freshmen made more magic happen for the Tigers.
A 34-yard touchdown pass, guided just over the shoulders of Bulldogs cornerback Kelley Jones, found the freshman sensation at wide receiver, Donovan Olugbode, in the end zone. Just like that, Mizzou led 7-0 less than four minutes into the contest.
This wasn't the end of Hardy's 300-yard day on the ground, not by a long shot. 261 yards later, Hardy would have the second-highest rushing performance in Mizzou program history.
"This game means a lot to him," Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "He is a Mississippi young man who wasn't recruited by that school."
One drive later, Hardy's churning of 22 yards pushed Mizzou to the 34-yard line of the Bulldogs. One play later, Zollers found junior wide receiver Joshua Manning for a 34-yard house call. Tigers jumped in front 14-3 with 4:57 in the opening quarter. Then, momentum sparks flew.
Missouri’s offense sputtered early in the second quarter, and a high throw from true freshman QB Matt Zollers was picked off near midfield. State marched right back into the red zone, aided once again by multiple penalties — including targeting on Josiah Trotter, ejecting him from the game.
Mississippi State ran eight plays inside Missouri’s 10-yard line and scored zero points.
Then the truly miraculous occurred: A botched field-goal snap bounced off the holder, and Toriano Pride Jr. scooped it up, racing 62 yards the other way to flip the momentum.
The Tigers capitalized immediately. An offsides penalty gave Mizzou a fresh set of downs, and two plays later, Ahmad Hardy surged in for a 10-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21–10 with 4:53 remaining in the second quarter.
Missouri nearly tacked on more before the break, but Oliver Robbins’ 54-yard field goal hit the upright. Still, the Tigers entered halftime in control, having piled up 232 yards on just 29 plays—a staggering 8.0 yards per play.
Coming out of halftime, Hardy opened the third quarter with three straight carries… but fumbled on the third. State quickly turned that into points, trimming the lead to 21–17 and putting real pressure on the Tigers for the first time since the opening quarter.
Missouri’s next drive stalled, but the defense responded by forcing a three-and-out. And then the floodgates opened.
Two plays later, Hardy exploded around the right edge and sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown, giving him more than 200 yards rushing midway through the third quarter.
On the very next snap, Shapen’s pass slipped through Anthony Evans III’s hands, and Toriano Pride Jr. snagged the bobble in midair for a pick-six. In 14 seconds, Missouri turned a four-point game into a 35–17 lead.
State answered once more to keep things interesting, but the Tigers carried a comfortable 35–24 lead into the fourth.
arly in the fourth, Missouri forced Mississippi State into a baffling decision: the Bulldogs went for it on 4th-and-4 from their own 18. Shapen’s pass sailed high, and Marvin Burks Jr. intercepted it, racing 28 yards to the end zone.
Then Hardy delivered the dagger. On the first play of the next drive, he burst 43 yards for his third touchdown of the night, pushing Missouri ahead 49–24.
Hardy wasn’t done. Late in the fourth he broke another long run to become only the second player in program history to hit 300 rushing yards in a single game. Mississippi State added a field goal, but the Tigers kneeled out the clock on a dominant win.
When asked afterward if he had ever run for 300 yards before in his career, Hardy responded with this.
“I hit 400 in high school.”