51ºÚÁÏ

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Running back Ahmad Hardy still had 30 yards to go before he crossed the goal line to score Missouri’s fifth touchdown of its 52-10 win over Louisiana on Saturday, but quarterback Beau Pribula’s fist was already raised in celebration.

He knew what was happening. It’d been happening all day.

The Tigers (3-0) dominated the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-2), riding an efficient ground game and oppressive defense to a breezy nonconference win despite temperatures in the 90s. It wasn’t perfect, but it was clearly good enough to thump the visitors.

There was no stopping Hardy during the best game of his career so far, and Louisiana couldn’t do much besides be stopped itself.

Here are five takeaways from Mizzou’s blowout win.

Great day on the ground

What an afternoon to be Hardy. The MU tailback who led the Sun Belt conference in rushing last season with 341 more yards than any other running back in the league put on a show against a team from his old conference.

Hardy’s final tally — 22 carries for a career-high 250 yards — was stellar yet still belies the degree to which he cruised against Louisiana. Saturday was his third career 200-yard outing.

He worked his way into the MU record books with the seventh-most rushing yards in a single game and fifth-highest yards per attempt (11.36) in a game.

Hardy scored the first touchdown of the game from 7 yards out on a pitch to the left side. His second touchdown came in the second quarter, when he broke through the right side and torched a Louisiana defender along the sideline to score from 71. That was one of eight runs of 10 or more yards that Hardy provided.

One play after picking up 25 yards with a defender holding on for most of them, Hardy punched in his third rushing score of the day.

Jamal Roberts, whose strong start to the season has turned the Tigers’ backfield into a tandem, posted 46 yards on eight carries. Though it wasn’t technically a run, he took a check-down pass from Pribula 39 yards into the end zone for a receiving score made mostly by his legs.

Pribula’s first pick

The other key part of Roberts’ receiving touchdown: A contortion act from Pribula to even get the ball out. He looked to roll to his right on the play but discovered a Louisiana blitzer charging him down head-on. With that defender in his face, Pribula leaned to make an off-balance toss to his check-down option.

On the next series, however, Pribula threw his first interception in a Missouri uniform. He nearly threw one on a play that didn’t wind up counting because of an defensive offside penalty, then channeled a pass low for Louisiana’s Cameron Whitfield to tip the ball up to himself and intercept.

The pick gave the Ragin’ Cajuns the ball at the MU 22-yard line, but they wound up settled for a field goal after advancing the ball a mere 5 yards following the turnover.

Interception aside, Pribula played well — solid, just not stellar.. He continued to find slot receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. often, to the tune of eight catches for 84 yards — some of which were nominal passing yards because of jet-sweep touch pass plays.

Pribula finished 15 for 22 with 174 passing yards, two touchdowns and two sacks taken. On the ground, he picked up a 14-yard rushing touchdown from a draw play.

Unique review

Ever seen a football play in which a video review changes the result from a touchdown for one team to a touchdown for the other? That happened in the first quarter of this contest.

Pribula hit wideout Marquis Johnson on an 11-yard slant that put Johnson right on the goal line. Before he hit the ground, though, the Ragin’ Cajuns ripped the ball away. Louisiana’s Maurion Eleam was off to the races for a 99-yard fumble return touchdown.

Upon review, however, replays clearly showed that Johnson had crossed the goal line before the fumble. Officials wiped the Louisiana score off the board and changed it to a Mizzou touchdown.

Defensive haymakers

Tigers coaches probably won’t be too happy with an 81-yard touchdown run that Louisiana running back Zylan Perry busted through the heart of the defense to earn, but it was otherwise a smothering day from the MU defense.

The Ragin’ Cajuns finished with 121 yards of total offense — only 4 yards of which came on passing plays — compared to a whopping 606 for Missouri.

Defensive end Zion Young and middle linebacker Josiah Trotter notched two tackles for a loss apiece. D-end Damon Wilson II and linebacker Khalil Jacobs each came away with a sack.

Davis closes strong

The Tigers pulled their starters with about eight minutes left in the third quarter. That meant opportunities for the likes of true freshman tailback Marquise Davis, who did the running part of running the clock down, took 20 carries for 113 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Backup quarterback Matt Zollers, also a true freshman, came in but only threw twice.

Up next

Mizzou’s homestand continues with its first SEC game of the season next Saturday, when No. 11 South Carolina comes to town. With the Mayor’s Cup on the line, the Tigers and Gamecocks will face off in an evening game. Kickoff will be at either 6 or 6:30 p.m., aired on ABC or ESPN — with that determination to be made this weekend.