Through the fortune of scheduling and injury, the Missouri defense avoided Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson during his three-year career with the Sooners. Peterson was out with a broken collarbone for the only possible matchup during the 2006 season.

The Tigers will have no such luck against the college player compared most often to Peterson, Arkansas junior Darren McFadden. At the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl, the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up and most certain top-five pick in April’s NFL draft will be the most gifted and decorated running back Missouri has faced in the last four years. Correct?

"Yes," MU senior nose tackle Lorenzo Williams answered before the question was even completed. "If I would have played against Adrian Peterson, it’d probably be a toss-up. But Darren McFadden, you can’t say enough about the guy. Someone asked me early what our game plan is. I’d say you have to stop him, but it’s probably a little bit more about containing him: Keep him around 100 yards and not too much over that. Under would be great."

Missouri held its sixth bowl practice today inside the Devine Pavilion and began to narrow its focus on McFadden and the No. 25 Razorbacks (8-4). Luckily for No. 7 Missouri (11-2), McFadden won’t be facing the Tigers’ defense of old, the one that routinely gave up career rushing days to the ordinary and obscure. Not this year, though. At least, not most of this year.

Missouri finished fourth among Big 12 Conference teams in rushing defense, holding teams to 3.6 yards per carry and 118.9 per game. Only three opponents averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry, and four averaged less than 3.0.

In both 2005 and 2006, six Missouri opponents averaged 4.0 yards or more per carry.

This year, some of the best backs on the schedule had their least productive games of the season against Missouri. Illinois’ All-Big Ten junior Rashard Mendenhall collected just 33 yards on 11 carries in the season opener against Missouri, nearly 100 yards off his season average. Texas Tech’s Shannon Woods (30 yards), Kansas’ Brandon McAnderson (41), Colorado’s Hugh Charles (55) and Nebraska’s Marlon Lucky (67) all ran for significantly less yardage against Missouri than their season averages.

The Tigers weren’t perfect against the run. Mississippi’s BenJarvus Green-Ellis gashed MU for 226 yards on 33 carries in the second week of the season. Later, Kansas State’s James Johnson racked up 172 yards. Then there was Iowa State freshman Alexander Robinson, who seemingly emerged from nowhere to pile up 149 yards on the Tigers. All three games, though, were Missouri victories.

"We’re definitely a lot more confident," sophomore linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. "If this were Week 3, after we’d been gouged a few times, we might be still trying to find our" run defense. "But I think we found it. If we come out and fit up properly, we’ll make some plays."

"We know we can do it," Williams said. "Everyone’s fitting right. We’re getting a good push on front line. Linebackers are coming downhill, and safeties are making plays when they have to. The biggest thing we can do is control the line of scrimmage … and when we hit them, bring them down right there. Don’t let him break tackles or jump over us or all the great stuff that he does."

Him would be McFadden, the Razorbacks’ 6-foot-2, 215-pound back who averaged 5.7 yards per carry and 156.6 in eight games against the rugged competition of the Southeastern Conference. In four November games, those numbers shot up to 6.3 and 183.0.

Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel got the chance to meet McFadden twice earlier this month on the award circuit.

"I tried to talk him into not playing the bowl game," Pinkel joked this week. "But I don’t think he listened to me."

"McFadden’s got some really long, strong legs," Williams said. "His upper body is kind of short, but he’s really big and tall. The dude’s legs, you watch him on film, they look like they’re 6 feet tall by themselves."

McFadden’s not the only weapon in the Arkansas backfield. Fellow junior running back Felix Jones averages just 10 carries per game, but he leads the country in yards per attempt, averaging 9.1 per carry. Senior fullback Peyton Hillis is Arkansas’ third option. The 6-2, 243-pound blocker averages 5.7 yards per carry, more than Peterson has for the season.

"First down will probably be really key because we want to get them in third-and-long situations," Weatherspoon said. "They don’t get in many third-and-longs, so we definitely want to get them in some."

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