Eli Drinkwitz’s squad is just coming off a 49-27 home win against Mississippi State. The offense was a storm with backup QB Matt Zollers taking the reins after Beau Pribula got sidelined with an injury. But the real highlight of the game was the ground attack, which Ahmad Hardy single-handedly led. However, the week 13 matchup shows the defensive experts, Oklahoma, in play. And guess what? It’s on Brent Venables’ turf.

Brent Venables’ squad is coming from a historic win against Alabama. The Sooners’ defense was relentless in containing Ty Simpson to just one touchdown, along with an interception. That’s why, against Mizzou, Venables’ focus will only be on Ahmad Hardy. Joel Klatt, on his 20th November podcast, clearly warns Eli Drinkwitz of what DeBoer might do to stop the Tigers.

“The only path for Missouri is to grind it out on the road, or excuse me, on the ground. Ahmad Hardy. I mean, criminal that Mississippi State is going against [Matt] Zollers, who’s a backup third-string quarterback from Missouri. [He] allowed Ahmad Hardy to go for 300 yards and three touchdowns last week,” Klatt said on the show.

“You think Oklahoma is not going to focus on Ahmad Hardy?” Hardy’s performance against Missouri State was straight-up Heisman-level magic, no doubt. Hardy went off for a career-best 300 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 25 carries. It was the second-highest total in Missouri history, only behind Devin West’s 319-yard explosion against Kansas in 1998.

And Zollers trusted him to make the plays; that’s why Hardy could prove himself. Plus, the motivation that he had did some of the work. “I’m from Mississippi,” Hardy said. “A lot of teams didn’t recruit me coming out of high school, so it was kind of personal. But then, again, like I told the guys, the seniors, I was doing it for them.” 

The defensive experts this season have left no stone unturned in making offenses miserable. You get the full throat of the OU defense focused on Ahmad Hardy. “I firmly believe this is one of the best defenses in all of college football. They stop the run, they get after the passer, they stop the pass. It was a bad matchup for Alabama,” Klatt added on the show.

“And guess what? They bring in a top 10 run defense into this matchup. They’re one of the best teams in terms of getting to the quarterback as well. They’re going to make life difficult.” It’s true. The Sooners managed just 212 yards on offense, relying heavily on their defense to pull off the upset and end Alabama’s 17-game home winning streak.

The defense forced three turnovers, including an electrifying 87-yard interception return for a touchdown by Eli Bowen in the first quarter. Alabama’s offense was held scoreless for the final 22-plus minutes.

Defensive lineman Taylor Wein was a standout, contributing a strip-sack fumble and two quarterback hurries. Oklahoma’s defense has been one of the nation’s best, ranking No. 7 and allowing just 278.4 yards per game. They play with a tough ‘fourth-and-one’ mindset.

After struggling to create turnovers early, they’ve heated up with eight in their last two games. Their nastiest performance came against Auburn, where they piled up nine sacks. The same ought to happen against Missouri. And especially to Ahmad Hardy, who is now under Brent Venables’ radar to stop.

Norman will see it all!

The stage is set in Norman. The stakes and master plans are already in place for both teams. Oklahoma rolls in as a 7.5-point favorite by the bookmakers, with a moneyline of -295 compared to Missouri’s +240, and an over/under marked at 42.5 points. So most insiders see the Sooners pulling out. The model gives Missouri about a 30-36% chance of the upset

The Sooners have muscled their way into the center of the College Football Playoff hunt, especially after Brent Venables’ defense silenced Alabama. This No. 7-ranked unit is riding high after generating 17 points off turnovers at Bryant-Denny and holding off a desperate, playoff-seeking Crimson Tide team. Oklahoma has won three times against top-25 opponents this fall and is coming fresh off back-to-back road victories at Tennessee and Alabama.

The “hard to kill” identity has become something real in Norman. On the other hand, Missouri mostly relied on Ahmad Hardy’s white-hot performance against Mississippi State. However, Mizzou has faded as a Playoff threat and struggled when cast as an underdog, going 0-3 against the spread.