COLUMBIA, M.o. – Mississippi State suffered its sixth loss of the season on Saturday, falling once again in SEC play on the road against Missouri. The Tigers got out to an early lead, and overcame several self-inflicted wounds to throttle the Bulldogs in a 49-27 win.

Mizzou running back Ahmad Hardy recorded 300 yards and three touchdowns in the win, blazing his way through acres of space made by blockers against a struggling MSU defense.

The Bulldogs came out looking sluggish, and Mizzou’s offense took full advantage. Five explosive plays for 135 yards on the first three drives helped to put the Tigers in front on the scoreboard early in the game. Two touchdowns looked set to become three until the ball finally fell MSU’s way. An errant pass by Matt Zollers went into the arms of Nic Mitchell, who returned it to midfield and set up an MSU drive.

The Bulldogs had scored a touchdown on their previous drive and had a chance to take a 17-14 lead, but despite several penalties gifting them first downs, the offense failed to score on first and goal inside the five-yard line.

Lebby sent the field goal unit out, but a bad snap saw the Tigers take the ball and run it 50 yards in the other direction, setting up a third touchdown drive before halftime to take a 21-10 lead into the break.

MSU’s game plan yielded some success, but there was a questionable reliance on the quarterback run early on. Quarterback Blake Shapen had 14 carries for 11 yards and a touchdown in the first half. That statistic was manipulated by a pair of sacks for the Tigers’ defense, but the strategy had limited success in short-yardage situations as well. Still, Shapen had the only touchdown of the first half for MSU, and began the second half the same way to get seven points off of a second turnover for the defense.

The Tigers were slow out of the break, but still found success on the ground.

A Bulldog three-and-out midway through the third quarter gave the hosts another chance to get back into gear, and Ahmad Hardy did just that with a 72-yard touchdown run.

Just a couple of plays later, the Tigers were in the end zone again. Cornerback Marquis Johnson snagged an interception on a tip drill and walked into the end zone to establish a 35-17 lead.

A quick touchdown on the next drive gave MSU some hope, but another pick-six on the following possession effectively ended the contest.

MSU’s next game is the Egg Bowl at home against Ole Miss on Black Friday.