Drinkwitz Explains Lack of Carries for Hardy, Offensive Struggles vs Alabama

The star running back didn't take a single carry in the final 14 minutes.

Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO; USA; Missouri Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy celebrates a rush against the Alabama Crimson Tide. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

In No. 16 Missouri's loss to then-No. 8 Alabama, the Tigers' star playmaker, running back Ahmad Hardy, was conspicuously absent for most of it.

In the second half, where Missouri was struggling to find offensive rhythm in order to forge a comeback, Hardy only received four carries. In the final 14 minutes, he didn't receive a single one. Jamal Roberts, also one of the top rushers in the nation entering Week 7, only took one carry in the second half.

Quite the difference from the mentality head coach Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri coaching staff applied in the Tigers' win over South Carolina, leaning on the duo to overcome a 20-18 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

"In the fourth quarter, you got to run to win," Drinkwitz said after the win.

Following the loss to Alabama, Drinkwitz was asked why Missouri got away from the run game in the second half. In the moment, Drinkwitz was unsure.

"I have to watch it," Drinkwitz said. "It's a legit question, I just don't know."

But after having time to review the tape, Drinkwitz had more context to provide in a press conference Tuesday.

"I think when you watch the overall totality of the game, it comes down to our inability to stay on the field," Drinkwitz said. "We had 10 third downs in that game, we were 1 for 10. It's hard to establish any type of rhythm consistently on offense."

Though in hindsight the carry amounts for Hardy and Roberts are surprisingly low, Drinkwitz's point adds some valid context.

Additionally, in the first half, the Alabama run defense had done a better job at limiting Missouri's backfield than any other defense has so far this season. Five of Hardy's eight carries in the first half were stopped for two yards or fewer.

Missouri held the ball for just over nine minutes in the second half, running 29 total plays. In comparison, Alabama held it for just short of 21 minutes and ran 42 plays.

Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO; USA; Missouri Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy catches a pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

For most of the second half, Missouri was in somewhat of a desperation mode, looking to pass its way out of the deficit. For all besides one of its five drives in the second half, the Tigers were either tied with the Crimson Tide or trailed by just one possession.

As Drinkwitz mentioned, one of the key separators in the game was conversions on third and fourth downs. In the second half, Missouri was 1 for 6 on converting those downs. Alabama wasn't great on third down, going 2 for 9, but did convert all three of its fourth-down attempts.

Drinkwitz attributed that lack of success on key downs to all parts of the offense.

"It's the plan we put in place, it's the calls, it's the design of the scheme, it's the protection, it's the routes, it's the decision making," Drinkwitz said. "All of it has to improve."

Missouri didn't do a great job of staying ahead of the sticks on early downs to create shorter third and/or fourth downs. Three of the Tigers' failed third downs in the second half were of six yards or greater. On all three of those, Missouri passed on each of the first two downs that preceded. However, four of those six passes came on the Tigers' final drive of the game, needing to score with 1:17 remaining.

Because of the far distances, all besides one of the Tigers' six attempts on the 'money downs' were passes. The only one that was a run was a fake punt that went to Roberts.

READ: Drinkwitz Explains Mizzou's Surprising Fake-Punt Decision

The most costly of Missouri's failed third-down conversions was the final one of the game, where quarterback Beau Pribula sailed a pass intended for freshman wide receiver Donovan Olugbode into the hands of defensive back Dijon Lee Jr.

Olugbode, who was running a seam route, was Pribula's first read on the play, Pribula explained after the game. But, according to Drinkwitz, the Alabama defense caused the seam route to be thrown off target, leading to Pribula overshooting Olugbode.

"Didn't really react to the post-snap disruption of the read, and put a throw in there a little bit high," Drinkwitz said.

That was Pribula's second interception of the game. The turnovers from him, along with fumbles from other players on the offense, were also damaging to the unit's efforts to build rhythm.

Pribula has thrown five interceptions on the season, all of which have come in the last five weeks. Missouri has fumbled nine times on the season, including twice against Alabama. Though only one of those was recovered by the defense — one that Pribula lost against Kansas that was returned for a touchdown — Drinkwitz finds the rate "unacceptable."

"We got to clean it up," Drinkwitz said. "We focus on it, but it's got to translate."

Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO; USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula prepares for a throw against the Alabama Crimson Tide | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Turnovers, play calling and simple lack of execution have all compounded to lead to Missouri struggling to establish rhythm offensively.

The run game was the engine for the Tigers' offense in the first five weeks of the season. But with Alabama taking that away early, it forced Missouri to play in the style of game the Crimson Tide thrive in and the Tigers aren't currently built for.

But Drinkwitz believes both the problem and the solution to the offense's lack of consistency is within the unit itself.

"We got to make sure that the schemes that we're designing, that our quarterback's comfortable and our players understand the details of it," Drinkwitz said. "As soon as that ball's snapped, you got 22 people that can do whatever they actually want to do, and if they don't all work in sync, I mean, it's a complete clown show."