Oklahoma Sooners defense faces stiff challenge from Missouri RB Ahmad Hardy

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The Oklahoma Sooners enter Saturday’s game as a favorite over the Missouri Tigers. But it’s a game that will provide challenges, particularly on defense. The Sooners‘ defense is one of the best in the nation, but they’re about to face one of the best running backs in the country, Ahmad Hardy.

Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy is first in the nation in rushing yards after rushing for 300 yards and three touchdowns against Mississippi State. He averaged an incredible 12 yards per carry in the win with eight runs of 12 yards or more and five runs of 15 yards or more.

Hardy leads the nation with an incredible 932 rushing yards after contact. He averages 4.71 yards after contact per carry, which is third among running backs with at least 116 carries on the season. He’s third in the nation in missed tackles forced.

Hardy’s 15 rushing touchdowns are third in the nation. He has seven games of more than 100 yards rushing this season and seven games with more than 20 carries.

He’s been fantastic for the Missouri Tigers after transferring in from Louisiana-Monroe this offseason. There have been a couple of games where he’s been contained.

In back-to-back games against Alabama and Auburn, Hardy wasn’t as productive. The Iron Bowl rivals held Missouri’s best offensive weapon to a combined 110 rushing yards on 36 carries in the two games, an average of 55 yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry. In each of those games, Hardy had just one carry of more than 10 yards.

Hardy is a weapon. He’s physical and difficult to bring down. He’s been the focal point of the offense all season, but with the Tigers relying on true freshman quarterback Matt Zollers due to the injury of starter Beau Pribula, they’ve had to lean on Hardy even more.

The Oklahoma Sooners have the best run defense in the SEC and currently rank third in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game. The Sooners are tied for second in the nation and are first in the SEC in yards per carry allowed in 2025.

For Oklahoma to come away with another top 25 win and to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive, they’ll have to contain Hardy on Saturday. The defensive front will have to control the line of scrimmage, and the Sooners will need to play strong team defense, getting multiple defenders to Hardy to bring him down.

There’s so much that goes into every game, but how Oklahoma performs against the Missouri Tigers’ rushing attack is what will determine the game. If they can limit Hardy’s ability to create big plays, they’ll have a great shot at keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard and winning the game.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners defense to face difficult test vs. Missouri Tigers

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