It wasn’t Russell Hansbrough’s best game from a yardage standpoint, but Mizzou’s junior ballcarrier was a red zone assassin on Saturday night at South Carolina, accounting for all three of the Tigers’ touchdowns inside Williams-Brice Stadium during an epic one-point win.

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Each of Hansbrough’s scores had a different flavor:

  • His 18-yard scamper in the first quarter was the textbook highlight on how to follow blocks and run to daylight. A simple stretch play to the right, Hansbrough bounced to the edge and made an oncoming safety miss before splitting two defenders for the touchdown.
  • Hansbrough’s second score from a yard out took him six yards behind the line of scrimmage after South Carolina’s front seven had appeared to snuff out a hand-off near the Mizzou’s sideline (short side of the field). He escaped a tackle, made a nice cutback and walked into the end zone without being touched.
  • On 4th-and-goal from the 1 with 1:36 remaining, Hansbrough’s second effort in the middle of a pile knotted the score at 20. Stopped on the initial push, Hansbrough kept moving his feet until he crossed the goal line and capped a fourth-quarter comeback.

Hansbrough’s career-high three touchdowns put him in a tie with Georgia’s Todd Gurley for the SEC East lead in rushing scores with six.