Lost in this whirlwind of a season, as 1st-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz has guided Mizzou to a 5-3 record during a pandemic, is Larry Rountree establishing himself as one of the best running backs in program history.

Rountree, the Tigers’ bruising 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior from Raleigh, N.C., ranks 2nd in Mizzou history and 1st among running backs with 3,583 career rushing yards. Rountree likely has 3 games left to catch quarterback Brad Smith’s record of 4,289 yards. That’s going to be tough, though — he’d have to average around 235 yards per contest.

Rountree has logged a lot of miles in a Mizzou uniform, and he has hit paydirt plenty, too. His 37 rushing touchdowns rank 4th all-time at all positions, and he’ll likely end his career passing running back Zack Abron (40) and quarterback Corby Jones (38) for 2nd. With games against Georgia and Mississippi State left, plus a bowl game, Rountree has a shot at catching Smith, who is 1st with 45.

Although he was honored on Senior Day last week, Saturday’s game against Georgia should be a special one for Rountree, as it will be his last at Faurot Field in Columbia. And when his time at Mizzou is over, whenever that may be, he could own school records for career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by a running back.

Rountree could also have 2 of his 4 seasons rank in the top 10 in school history. His 1,216 rushing yards as a sophomore in 2018 already rank 5th. He currently has 835 yards and would need to beat 1,089 to crack the 10th spot, held by Bob Steuber from 1942.

Mizzou will need Rountree if they want to keep their hot streak alive on Saturday. The Bulldogs defense is stout, allowing just 20.6 points per game. It has given up 19 touchdowns, tied with Alabama’s D for the fewest in the SEC. Georgia has the best rushing defense in the conference, too, holding opponents to just 75 yards on the ground per outing.

Those aren’t numbers you’d want to see if you’re Rountree and the Tigers’ O-line, but the senior running back isn’t one to back down from a fight. The Bulldogs can be hurt with the pass; just look at their games against Alabama (417 passing yards, 4 touchdowns), Florida (474, 4) and Mississippi State (336, 1).

Yes, Florida is No. 1 in the nation and Alabama No. 4 in passing offense. Mizzou’s aerial attack with Connor Bazelak isn’t in the same stratosphere. But the Tigers are feeling good, winning 3 straight and 5 of their past 6. It’s a confident bunch right now.

Bazelak has found connections he likes with grad transfer Keke Chism, who has 22 catches the past 4 games, and Tauskie Dove, who has 13 in the past 2. And how about the other grad transfer wideout, Damon Hazelton, who has struggled to stay on the field? After forgettable outings against Florida and Vandy, when he had a combined 5 catches for 73 yards, he finally made an impact with 5 catches for 98 yards against Arkansas, including some clutch route-running and grabs late in the game on that final game-winning drive for the Tigers.

If Mizzou can find some success with the pass against this Georgia defense, that will create room for Rountree to get cooking against a team he has never had running room against. Rountree was held to just 24 yards on 9 attempts last year, when the Tigers got shut out, 27-0. As a sophomore against the Bulldogs, he managed only 33 yards on 8 touches. As a freshman, he had 22 on 6.

That’d be one heck of a story if Rountree helped lead his team to an upset win over the No. 8 Bulldogs in his final game in Columbia.