COLLEGE STATION, Texas — While Kyle Field echoed with cheers from the Aggie faithful, junior running back Russell Hansbrough sprawled out on a training table away from the action.
At the back corner of the Missouri sideline, he laid perfectly still amid the ruckus while the medical staff massaged his cramping hamstrings. Jeers directed at Hansbrough came pouring down from the bleachers.
“What’s the matter, 32?” one Texas A&M student asked. “You had enough?”
“How about another banana there, 32?” asked another.
Without saying a word, Hansbrough lifted his head and shot a wink in their direction.
Minutes later after a 4th-and-goal stop at the Missouri one-yard line, Hansbrough limped out onto the field and lined up in the end zone behind his offensive line. He powered through the middle of the line for a two-yard gain and trotted back to the sideline.
His work was done.
Although the game was close, Hansbrough’s performance was nothing less than dominant. On a cold, rainy Texas night, Hansbrough carried Missouri to a 34-27 victory and silenced a crowd of 104,756 in College Station.
During the postgame endzone celebration, senior wide receiver Bud Sasser joked with his teammate about his career night.
“I knew you had a couple of hundred-yard games in you, but I didn’t know you had a 200-yarder,” Sasser said.
Hansbrough tallied a game-high and career-best 199 rushing yards on the night. He did so on a mere 20 carries. He added two scores on a pair of long touchdown runs — from 45 and 49 yards out — and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said he wasn’t surprised.
“We saw it on film many times,” Pinkel said. “He had the chance to break things. Maybe he was just a hand or missed block away, but today he finished.”
Hansbrough’s individual performance was only part of the much larger offensive explosion for the Tigers tonight. Hansbrough, along with fellow backs senior Marcus Murphy and freshman Ish Witter, combined for 335 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
The offense as a whole registered 587 total yards on the night with sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk and the senior receiving trio of Jimmie Hunt, Darius White and Sasser contributing in 252 yards through the air. It was another season high, and Hansbrough said it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We really needed this night,” Hansbrough said. “We haven’t been putting up points like that, so for us to do that against a great offense like they have, it was just a great night.”
Sasser said that Hansbrough deserved the performance.
“He’s a great competitor. He has to be unable to move before you can take him out,” Sasser said. “He practices extremely hard, so when he can go for 200 yards he deserves it.”
As for Hansbrough himself, he credited his success to being patient and grinding it out on the ground.
“Every running play is different from the last,” Hansbrough said. “Not every play is going to be wide open; most won’t. You just have to take it and be patient. Just take it one play at a time.”