Alabama football got a much-needed win on Saturday, taking down Missouri 34-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The win got UA bowl eligible once again and provided the Tide with a bit of momentum entering its bye week.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Ugly, but successful, football
The SEC has one of the best college football products available for consumption nationwide. Saturday’s game would have viewers thinking differently.
The officiating crew was abysmal, regularly confusing everyone in the stadium with odd explanations for calls. The two teams playing didn’t look much better at times.
Missouri’s big problem was its backup quarterback continuing to throw to the other team. Drew Pyne came in for Brady Cook and showed why he spent most of the season on the bench, tossing picks to Malachi Moore, Bray Hubbard and Qua Russaw while the game remained competitive.
The Tigers never did pull it together. Alabama did. The Tide was a more talented team, and for the first time in a few weeks, it was able to show it late, using a stout defensive effort to stifle Missouri’s hopes.
The concerns about Alabama weren’t erased. But in spite of some issues, UA completed its mission.
Slow start
Neither team was able to do anything especially inspiring in the first quarter. Missouri went three-and-out on its first drive after a poorly executed flea-flicker where Jihaad Campbell sacked an injured Brady Cook.
Alabama was able to advance just enough for a Graham Nicholson field goal, its last offensive success for quite some time. For the rest of the quarter the unit looked horrendous.
For a second game in a row, the Crimson Tide defense kept it in the game. Finally, late in the half, the offense took advantage.
After Cook left the game, Drew Pyne came in for the Tigers, and promptly threw an ugly interception to Malachi Moore. The Crimson Tide safety returned the ball into MU territory, where the offense was able to mount a touchdown drive, capped off by a Jam Miller touchdown.
UA headed to the locker room up 13-0. Had the offense taken advantage, it could have been nearly out of reach for the Tigers.
Survive and advance
Alabama fans can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for one week. With a loss, the Crimson Tide would have been all but eliminated from College Football Playoff contention.
Instead, UA stayed alive. Alabama went to 6-2 on the season with the win, 3-2 in SEC play. Alabama is now bowl eligible.
The Crimson Tide gained some momentum entering its second bye week with the victory. After the week off, things get more difficult.
UA’s toughest game the rest of the way is immediately after the open date. LSU, which faces Texas A&M on Saturday for sole possession of first place in the SEC, will welcome the Tide to Baton Rouge.
After that, the schedule includes Oklahoma, Auburn and Mercer. The route to a CFP bid remains fraught, but Alabama stayed on it Saturday with the win.
