Missouri’s backfield picture looked like it might be changing. Against Texas, it didn’t.
The Tigers went into Saturday’s 34-20 loss with the sense that Ahmad Hardy’s return could open up the rotation behind Jamal Roberts. Instead, Roberts remained the centerpiece, Hardy’s workload shrank, and Missouri’s ground game never found traction. The result was a rough afternoon on the ground: 84 yards on 24 carries, the team’s second-worst rushing showing of the season in both total yards and yards per carry.
Roberts carried the load, but not especially well. The senior tailback finished with 66 yards on 19 carries, with a long run of 12 yards and only two other gains of 6 yards or more. Hardy, meanwhile, had just one carry for 3 yards after making his season debut the week before against Arkansas.
That was a notable turn after Missouri’s game in Fayetteville. Hardy rushed twice for 5 yards against Arkansas, while Preston Hatfield added three carries for 49 yards. Going into the Texas game, coach Eli Drinkwitz had suggested the Tigers could spread the work around a little more.
“Where can we utilize him without throwing off the rhythm of what we've already established offensively with Jamal (Roberts)?” Drinkwitz said.
“I think you'll see more of a rotation than what we were last week. We're a more enhanced version of, ‘Hey, this is what his role will be.’”
But the Longhorns game pointed in the opposite direction. Hardy played one fewer snap and handled one fewer carry than he did against Arkansas, and Hatfield didn’t play at all.
That came even as Roberts continued to struggle against top competition, with no touchdowns against either Ole Miss or Texas. He managed 39 yards on 20 carries against then-No.
9 Ole Miss and 66 yards on 19 carries against then-No. 7 Texas.
For much of the season, Roberts has been the one holding the backfield together. During Missouri’s first seven games, Hardy was sidelined while recovering from a gunshot wound to his upper leg suffered May 10. Backup Malae Fonoti was lost for the season with a torn ACL in Week 1, transfer Xai’Shaun Edwards had only six touches for 8 total yards against Ole Miss and Texas A&M, and Max Warner, Anthony Favrow and Preston Hatfield hadn’t received a handoff since Week 1.
That’s why Roberts has stayed at the front of the line. Drinkwitz made that clear after the Texas game.
“Jamal is our workhorse,” Drinkwitz said. “Let me make no mistake about it.
Jamal is the running back for our football team. And there will be guys who can rotate in with him, but if we're only going to have 19 carries for backs, maybe 22 carries total for backs, as of right now, I would say he's going to get 19 or 20 of them.
That's just what it's going to be. He's got production this year at that.”
Still, Drinkwitz also said Missouri needs more from the run game overall, even after the struggles against Texas.
“The first thing we have to do is be more committed to the run,” Drinkwitz said. “I think 19 carries for a tailback, especially in that kind of game - we can do more in that run game.”
He also pointed to the possibility that Hardy could become more involved, while stressing that some of the missed chances came from the way the offense unfolded.
“We do need to get Ahmad going more,” Drinkwitz said. “But when we were in there - and not all of that is because our offense didn't call runs - the fade was an RPO. There were several opportunities when Ahmad was in there that there were RPOs that we decided to make the throws, and that's fine, that's part of the scheme but I think there is the cumulative effect of making sure that we land body blows throughout the game, and we got to continue to do that.”
So while Hardy may see a bigger role down the road, the hierarchy hasn’t changed. Roberts is still Missouri’s lead back, and the Tigers will keep leaning on him as they head to face No.
1 Georgia at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Athens, Georgia.
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