Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy grew up 151 miles away from the campus of Mississippi State, starring for Lawrence County High School in Monticello. On Saturday, in a battle against his home-state team, he nearly doubled that number – at least in yardage, although it felt like he ran for miles – and notched his first-ever 300-yard game and led the Tigers to a 49-27 win.
Hardy had an impressive 97 yards and one touchdown in the first half before exploding for another 203 yards and two touchdowns in the second half as Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) blew the doors off a game that was close at times throughout the first 30 minutes of play. Touchdown runs for Hardy came from 10 yards, 72 yards, and 42 yards out.
The performance shattered Hardy’s previous career mark of 250 yards, a mark the sophomore set on Sept. 13 against Louisiana. Before that, his best was 206-yard performance against Marshall when he was a freshman at Louisiana-Monroe.
Missouri freshman Matt Zollers, making his second career start at quarterback, was 8 of 15 passing for 112 yards and two touchdowns. While he did throw an interception, his supporting case stepped up to secure the win.
For Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6), the Bulldogs controlled the time of possession, but any methodical clock-working was plagued by turnovers. A first-half fumble was returned 62 yards by Toriano Pride Jr. and turned into points for Missouri. Quarterback Blake Shapen threw two interceptions in the second half, both of which were taken into the end zone – one by Pride and the other by Marvin Burks Jr.
Shapen finished 19 of 33 passing for 199 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Freshman Kamario Taylor was 4 of 5 passing for 36 yards, including a touchdown pass to tight end Seydou Traore. Kyle Ferrie was 2 for 2 on field goals, his longest being from 47 yards.
The Bulldogs will have one more chance to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2022 when they play No. 7 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 29.
