Mizzou football report card: Grading the Missouri Tigers’ big Senior Night win
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- Ahmad Hardy ran 300 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns to end MU’s skid.
- Defense delivered turnovers and five sacks, but penalties and ejections marred play.
- Special teams had minimal impact, with a missed 54-yard FG and weak punts.
Mizzou’s first losing streak in three years came to an end on Senior Night, but it was a memorable performance from a sophomore that made it happen.
Ahmad Hardy ran for 300 yards on 25 carries in MU’s 49-27 drubbing of Mississippi State. It was a career best for the Mississippi native, who left it all on the field for one last showing at Faurot Field in 2025.
“It meant a lot to me,” Hardy said. “A lot of teams didn’t recruit me out of high school, so it was kind of personal.”
It was Senior Night, after all, and Hardy said he dedicated the night to those Tigers upperclassmen.
“I told the seniors I was doing it for them,” Hardy said, taking note of the No. 9 he was sporting on his forearm for senior Zion Young. “I played for Zion Young and the rest of the seniors, so I just give it to them.”
Here are our grades from Missouri’s win:
Mizzou offense: A
A record night from Hardy makes this grade an easy one. The Tigers had 438 yards of total offense. Hardy was responsible for 300 of them, with three touchdowns.
QB Matt Zollers is starting to find some footing, with two touchdowns despite a few rookie mistakes — like his pair of intentional-grounding calls and an interception. Zollers said that having Hardy on a roll was a big boost Saturday.
“He’s like a safety blanket,” Zollers said. “Feels like 99% of the time he’s going to get a positive game, so having him back there is very nice.”
Grade: A
Missouri defense: B+
Immediately after the win, MU head coach Eli Drinkwitz had a prediction for a specific accolade this week.
“How about our defense,” Drinkwitz said. “... Toriano Pride will obviously be SEC Defensive Player of the Week.”
Pride highlighted the defensive efforts with a pair of returns: He took a botched snap on a field goal attempt for 62 yards, and he recorded his second career pick-sick after getting ahold of a bobbled pass.
Marvin Burks had a pick-six, too. Mizzou’s defense recorded five sacks and 93 tackles.
But penalties knock this grade down just a bit: Nate Johnson and Josiah Trotter were ejected for targeting. Santana Banner was given an unnecessary-roughness flag, and Stephen Hall was called for a facemask.
Grade: B+
Missouri special teams: C
There’s nothing noteworthy from special teams here. Oliver Robbins missed a field goal attempt from 54 yards and Connor Weselman punted three times for an average of 39 yards.
Grade: C
Area for improvement
This defense has been a consistent force, but so have the flags. The Tigers had 11 penalties for a total of 74 yards on Saturday.
Player of the game: Ahmad Hardy
Was there any doubt about this one? There shouldn’t be, but Hardy noted the 300-yard performance wasn’t unprecedented for him.
“I hit 400 in high school,” he said with a smile.
