Well that was a lot of fun! It feels good to be back in the win column, am I right?
Here are your five takeaways from Mizzou’s chaotic, whacky, and ultimately dominant win over Mississippi State.
1. The Ahmad Hardy Show
Ahmad Hardy
was starting to shake off a mid-season lull after going for 97 and 109 against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, respectively. But on Saturday night, Hardy fully left any midseason hangover – and pretty much every defensive player on Mississippi State’s roster – in the dust.
Hardy posted a career night against the Bulldogs, going for three touchdowns and an eye-watering 301 yards rushing. Not only did he display the trademark physicality that has put him on the national map, though. Hardy busted both a 72-yarder and a 43-yarder, outstripping Bulldog defenders with a pair of gnarly cutbacks and an open-field speed that we haven’t seen from him this season. With the performance, Hardy now ranks fifth on Mizzou’s all-time single season rushing yard list. He’ll have three games to get 282 yards and top Cody Schrader as the Tigers’ all-time single season rushing champion.
Could we be witnessing the greatest running back season in Mizzou Football history? To be determined.
2. A senior night to remember
The Tigers are graduating an impressive class of seniors and graduate students this season, and a number of them put on a show in their final home game. A non-exhaustive list:
- Toriano Pride, Jr., the hometown kid, might have had the best game of his college career. He recovered a fumbled snap on a Mississippi State field goal and returned it 62 yards, setting up a short field for the offense. He logged one of two pick-sixes, nabbing a ball just off the turf for a score. He logged another pass defended and had a tackle and a half for loss.
- Zion Young had a half sack and two more tackles for loss. He helped set up a big night for Darris Smith, who benefited from his power rushing.
- Khalil Jacobs logged 10 tackles in the absence of Josiah Trotter.
- Chris McClellan had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
I could keep going on, but you get the idea. For a team that needed some good vibes, the seniors did their part in delivering.
3. The HAVOC Factory at full capacity
Someone send an ice pack or 20 Blake Shapen’s way. He came into this game as one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the country, and Corey Batoon’s pass rush game him absolutely no reprieve on Saturday night. The Tigers’ pass rush was ruthless on the evening, totaling 5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and I can’t even begin to remember how many hurries and QB hits. It was a horror show for the Bulldogs’ backfield, and Shapen had to leave the game once or twice looking shaken up. And they did all this without Nate Johnson or Josiah Trotter!
Like many elements of this team, it’s unfortunate that such an elite unit is getting somewhat lost in a somewhat disappointing season. But in the last time we’ll see this group on home turf, they certainly gave the fans’ their money’s worth. Hopefully that momentum carries into Norman and Fayetteville in the next few weeks.
4. A lack of focus showing?
It might be understandable given the fact that last weekend’s loss put the College Football Playoff out of reach for this team. But the Tigers nearly put themselves in the danger zone early on with an uncharacteristic lack of focus. The Tigers lost two defenders in the first quarter to targeting calls – Johnson and Trotter – and bailed Mississippi State out multiple times with personal foul calls. Overall, the Tigers were flagged 11 times for 74 yards, though you could certainly argue with the multiple intentional grounding penalties on Matt Zollers.
In addition, the offense committed a few avoidable turnovers that kept the opposing team in the game for far too long. Perhaps the only blemish on Ahmad Hardy’s night was a fumble that led to a Bulldog touchdown, while Matt Zollers failed to put any semblance of touch on a fastball that went through his receivers hands and into the mitts of a Mississippi State linebacker. Thankfully, the Bulldogs were just as sloppy with the ball and Mizzou was able to turn those moments into points. But with two games left on the ledger, the coaching staff has to make sure the team is focused on the task at hand and not the one that has passed them by.
5. On the road again…
Mizzou finishes the home portion of the season 6-1 in their own friendly confines. But now comes the hard part – finishing the season with two tough road games. The Tigers are headed into a hornet’s nest next weekend to face a nasty Oklahoma team that just firmly staked its flag in CFP territory by going to Tuscaloosa and beating Alabama. Then, they’ll go to Arkansas, where the Razorbacks will be desperate to not drop another close game, especially against one of their rivals. All of this, we assume, will be happening under the growing scrutiny of Eli Drinkwitz and the potential for him to hop ship. Staying locked in will be a challenge for this group.
But the Tigers will walk into next weekend with house money and the chance to ruin one of their oldest rivals’ best seasons. Then they can go to Arkansas and bury the Razorbacks for what feels like the 40th time in a decade. Seems like a lot of fun to me!
