COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri’s win over Mississippi State hinged on a few explosive, and at time, ridiculous plays.

The Tigers scored on two pick sixes, benefitted from a 60-yard return on a botched snap on a field goal while Ahmad Hardy did something no Missouri player has done in the 21st century.

Here’s three takeaways from the victory for the Tigers.

If Ahmad Hardy only took carries on plays where he scored touchdowns, he still would’ve rushed for 125 yards on three carries. On touchdown carries of 72 and 43, Hardy was virtually untouched past the line of scrimmage.

In total, Hardy rushed for 300 yards on 25 carries, the second-most yards for any Missouri player in a single game.

READ: How Ahmad Hardy Almost Scored ‘Too Quick’ for the Mizzou Defense

To little fault of his own, this didn’t end up as the Heisman-worthy season for Hardy that it looked like it could be after the first four games of the season. But this performance was a deserved feather in the cap for Hardy, plus a peek into just how far his dominance could reach next season.

On top of Hardy, the rest of Missouri’s offense was able to find explosive plays at a higher rate than it has all season long.

Running back Jamal Roberts also had rushes of 19 and 21. Quarterback Matt Zollers also completed touchdown passes of 26, 34, along with a completion of 17 yards.

The runs were due to an impressive job from Missouri’s offensive line on blocking on the outside zone.

“I thought the O-line and tight ends obviously prevented penetration, allowed him to get to the second level,” Drinkwitz said of Hardy’s big runs.

The touchdown pass of 26 yards was arguably the best pass Zollers has made all season, connecting with true freshman Donovan Olugbode for the first points of the game.

Missouri seemed to have an over-reliance on hoping the deep pass game would get going against Texas A&M, with Zollers attempting eight passes of 20 or more yards.

Against Mississippi State, the Tigers instead connected on those deep passes more often on fewer attempts, while leaning much more on the run game.

The play distribution between the two teams in the first half was incredibly odd. Mississippi State ran 40 plays compared to 20 for Missouri. Mississippi State held the ball for 19:16 compared to 10:44 for Missouri.

Despite this, the Tigers outgained the Bulldogs with 232 total yards compared to 134 and held a 21-10 lead at halftime.

The disparity in plays was mostly due to penalties on the Missouri defense — the unit was called for six penalties for 44 yards. All six of those resulted in automatic first downs, extending drives for the Bulldogs. Two of those were targeting calls, leading to linebacker Josiah Trotter and edge rusher Nate Johnson being ejected from the game.

The penalties weren’t the best look for the Missouri defense, though several of the calls were questionable.

But the fact that Mississippi State was still held to the low output in the half is a huge credit to the Missouri defense. 

On one drive in the second quarter, Mississippi State ran seven plays inside Missouri’s 10-yard line thanks to a targeting and facemask call on the Tigers. But Missouri’s defense held them to zero points, with the snap on a field goal attempt bouncing off the holder’s knee and being returned 60 yards by Toriano Pride Jr. 

The first half was a weird half of football. The job the Missouri defense did to stand through the chaos was impressive.

Missouri football has transitioned to a new, but final part of its season. With the College Football Playoff now out of their reach, the Tigers set out to what can still be another impressive season if they’re able to win out.

That starts this weekend with Missouri’s final home game of the season, hosting Mississippi State. Missouri hasn’t hosted Mississippi State since 2015.

In the latest episode of the “All Things Mizzou” podcast, Missouri football reporters Joey Van Zummeren and Michael Stamps gave their thoughts on what a 10-win season could still mean for Missouri, the looming coaching carousel, how the Tigers match up with the Bulldogs and more.

You can watch the episode via YouTube with the link below, or through Spotify, Apple Podcasts or onAmazon.

The “All Things Mizzou” podcast is presented by MissouriOnSI. Tune in every week as reporters of various sports provide news, analysis and opinions on everything going on in the world of Mizzou athletics.

Though Beau Pribula was surprisingly listed as doubtful on Missouri’s availability report, this is expected to be the second game where the Tigers have true freshman Matt Zollers as the starting quarterback.

Zollers’ first career start in Week 11 was tough sledding for the former four-star prospect. He completed just 7 of his 22 passes for 77 yards. Missouri’s first three drives averaged four plays and 23 yards.

“It’s about getting comfortable earlier in the game and creating some easier opportunities for him to get into a rhythm,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a press conference Tuesday. “We never really got him into the rhythm offensively, and so we’ve got to do a better job of creating some offensive rhythm and not putting him in situations where he feels the entire pressure.”

The game will also include Missouri’s Senior Day celebrations for 20 players — Vince Brown, Kevin Coleman, Daylen Carnell, Jalen Catalon, Stephen Hall, Bralen Henderson, Khalil Jacobs, Tommy Lock, Xavier Loyd, Chris McClellan, Henry McDermott, Logan Muckey, Triston Newson, Drey Norwood, Toriano Pride, Connor Tollison, Keagen Trost, Sterling Webb, Connor Weselman and Zion Young.

“This group of men have worked extremely hard,” Drinkwitz said of the seniors. “Some have been here for a long time, some have been here for a short time, but all have contributed to the success of Mizzou football.”

Missouri takes on Mississippi State at 6:45 p.m. Saturday night. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.