QUICK RECAP: Missouri bulldozes Bulldogs, 49-27
On Saturday night in Columbia, Mo., everything that could go wrong went wrong for Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs have had self-inflicted wounds come along all season long, but not quite like what happened against the Missouri Tigers. Two interceptions returned for touchdowns, a botched field goal, 5.0 Tiger sacks and 300 yards rushing from Ahmad Hardy doomed State on the road as it felt 49-27.
Despite Mizzou having 11 penalties for 74 yards and the Bulldogs running nearly 100 plays in the game, the Tigers took off with a comfortable win. Hardy ran wild against State’s helpless defensive front as the Mississippi native went for 300 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, averaging 12.0 yards per rush.
The Tigers had 35 fewer plays than State but more yards as they outgained the Bulldogs 438-345 with a 8.0 yard-per-play average to the Bulldogs 3.8. Mizzou also had 13.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks against the defeated offensive line of the Bulldogs.
If there was a way to find disaster, the Bulldogs searched it on Saturday. The first landmine came in the second quarter when the Bulldogs got a huge interception from Nic Mitchell in the middle of a 14-10 ball game. State got the ball to the 2 yard line and had 1st down but would be held to a field goal attempt. On the chip shot field goal, the snap went off the knee of the holder and was returned all the way to the State 22 yard line ending a 16-play drive with no points.
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The Tigers responded with a 10-yard run from Hardy and took a 21-10 lead into the locker room.
Despite the poor first half, the Bulldogs had a chance to get back in the game. Blake Shapen scored on State’s first possession of the third quarter with a 3-yard run and cut the advantage to 21-17, but the Bulldogs simply couldn’t take advantage.
Hardy broke off a 72-yard touchdown run and then Shapen had an interception returned for a touchdown. The Tigers added another pick six off of Shapen and then Hardy put the game away for good on a 43-yard run.
State ran the ball 52 times for just 110 yards averaging 2.1 yards per carry. Shapen had 17 carries for a net 16 yards and two touchdowns. He had one more carry than State’s top two running backs Davon Booth and Fluff Bothwell who had 16 carries for 59 yards.
Shapen was 19-of-33 for 199 yards and the two interceptions that turned into touchdowns. Freshman Kamario Taylor finished 4-of-5 for 36 yards and a passing scored and rushed 10 times for 22 yards. Anthony Evans had seven catches for 71 yards and Brenen Thompson two catches for 60 but Thompson exited the game in the second half with an undisclosed injury.
For the Bulldogs (5-5, 1-6 SEC), their bowl eligibility now hinges on beating a top 10 Ole Miss team in the Battle for the Golden Egg in two weeks. State and Ole Miss both get a bye next week to prepare for the rivalry game and State will try to diminish the Rebels’ playoff chances while also getting bowl eligible and winning the Egg Bowl trophy for the first time since 2022.
