Mizzou sprints past Mississippi State on senior night, rebounds from back-to-back losses

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou football's 20 seniors have earned their memento from Faurot Field's "Rock M".

You can watch extended highlights of Saturday's win in the video player below.

The Tigers (7-3) defended their home turf for the final time this season, securing a 49-27 win over Mississippi State (5-6) behind a career-best effort from Ahmad Hardy.

"All week, we talked about brothers are born for adversity. It had been a rough couple of weeks, and for our team and our brotherhood to really stand strong, stand resilient in the face of adversity... really, really proud of this senior class," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

You can watch the full postgame press conference with Coach Drinkwitz in the video player below.

The SEC's leading rusher turned 25 carries into 300 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 12 yards per attempt. Hardy became the second player in program history to reach 300 rushing yards in a single game, joining former Mizzou standout Devin West (319).

"It meant a lot. I'm from Mississippi, and a lot of teams didn't recruit me coming out of high school. So, it was kind of personal, but then again, like I told the guys and the seniors, I was doing it for them. I got number nine [written] on my forearm. I played for Zion Young and the rest of the seniors, so I really just give it to them," Hardy said.

You can watch the full postgame press conference with Hardy in the video player below.

The Louisiana-Monroe transfer kicked off his historic performance on his first rushing attempt. Hardy broke free for a 34-yard burst, setting the table for a 26-yard touchdown pass from Matt Zollers to Donovan Olugbode on Mizzou's opening drive.

"The main point of emphasis all week was to get me into a rhythm early, and I feel like we did that. That was definitely helpful throughout the game," Zollers said. "Just seeing that first pass be completed and then a couple after that, just feels good. Like, oh, you're meant for this. You know you can do it."

You can watch the full postgame press conference with Zollers in the video player below.

Mississippi State answered with a 47-yard field goal, but MU needed just three plays to pay another visit to the end zone. Zollers connected with Joshua Manning for a 34-yard score, his second touchdown throw of the game, to give his team a 14-3 lead in the first 10 minutes of action.

MU's true freshman quarterback was asked to attempt just 15 passes, completing eight of them for 112 passing yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Coleman Jr. was his top target, catching a team-best four passes for 41 yards.

However, the Bulldogs battled back before the first quarter concluded. Mississippi State strung together a 9-play, 75-yard drive to score its first touchdown on a two-yard run from quarterback Blake Shapen.

After that possession, the Bulldogs forced Zollers to throw his first career interception and marched down to Mizzou's two-yard line. Mississippi State had nine goal-to-go opportunities inside the five-yard line, but MU's defense made a stand, holding its opponent to a botched field goal attempt that Toriano Pride Jr. returned 62 yards into Mississippi State territory.

Hardy capitalized on that momentum-shifting moment by finding the end zone on a 10-yard run to extend his team's lead to 21-10 at halftime.

The Bulldogs threatened to erase MU's lead, turning a fumble into a touchdown drive to start the second half. However, the Tigers regained control of the contest midway through the third quarter. Hardy tallied a 72-yard touchdown, his longest run of the season, to make it a two-possession game. Then, Pride Jr. posted a 19-yard pick six on Mississippi State's first play after Hardy's touchdown to give the Tigers a 35-17 advantage.

From there, Marvin Burks Jr. returned Shapen's second interception for a touchdown, and Hardy added his third touchdown the scoreboard with a 43-yard sprint.

"Once I saw the ball, I was just really hoping I didn't drop it," Burks Jr. joked after the game. "I saw the man, but I saw the quarterback rolling out, as well, so I was really just hoping that like maybe he'd overthrow it, or if he didn't overthrow it, I was going to get a good hit on him. But, once I saw the ball released out of the quarterback's hand, I was like, man that's coming straight towards me, so I put my hands up. That's when I kind of boggled it, but I knew I had it."

You can watch the full postgame press conference with Burks Jr. in the video player below.

Collectively, MU's defense wreacked havoc in the backfield with five sacks and 13 tackles for loss. The Tigers also limited the Bulldogs to just 345 total yards.

"It's the same thing we've been seeing all year, man. We've got unlimited fight in this team," defensive tackle Chris McClellan said. "It didn't matter if we were down a million points, we're never going to give up. We're going to continue to be us and do what we're supposed to do."

You can watch the full postgame press conference with McClellan in the video player below.

Up next - Mizzou will wrap up the 2025 regular season with a two-game road trip, starting with a visit to Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 11 a.m.