It's truly been a special start to the 2025-26 campagin for the Missouri Tigers, led by head coach Eliah Drinkwitz, who has provided one of the best examples of 'changing the culture' that fans have ever seen in college sports.
Mizzou is 5-0, including 1-0 in the SEC Conference, and has one of the best odds to win the conference, in their hunt to make a deep run in the playoffs this December.
Since he came over from the sidelines at Arkansas, the Tigers have been a competitive ball club, competed for the top of what is likely the best conference in college football, and sent numerous players on all sides of the ball to the NFL.
That last trend has looked to continue with their addition of Ahmad Hardy, ahead of this season.
Hardy, who transferred from UL Monroe after a fantastic true freshman season last year, has already surpassed any expecations had of him heading into the year.
He averaged nearly six yards a carry in a year where he went over 1400 total yards, and 13 scores. In 12 games played, he solidified himself a Warhawk legend, ranking third all time in rushing yards in a season, and also has the sixth and seven best single-game performances in program history.
Despite the historic season, he moved onto Columbia this past offseason, giving another nod to Drinkwitz's ability to recruit the top players avaliable, adding to his terrifc resume as a coach.
Now, just a few games into the year, Hardy leads the country in a multitude of statisics. He's broken the century mark in every game this season, even reaching a whopping 250 in their contests versus Lousiana.
He's also broken nearly every tackle attempt that's come his way, leading the country in forced missed tackles every week since kickoff.
Going into the bye-week this weekend, Hardy leads the country with 730 yards rushing. His 544 yards that come after contact would place him No. 6 overall.
His running style, speed, and ability to force contact and missed tackles is something that fans haven't had the privilege to watch in years.
As the season continues and SEC Conference play begins, the road will only get tougher - and so will the defenses.
The back is starting to emerge as a Heisman favorite, but needs to keep up his level of play if he wants to contend for the award and make a playoff push later in the year.