Alabama kept their season and playoff hopes alive by blowing out Missouri 34-0. Going into the game, the big question was the health of Missouri’s quarterback Brady Cook, and featured back Nate Noel. Noel missed the game but Cook did start, so maybe Missouri had a shot against an iffy Alabama defense. But the offense couldn’t do anything with him and turned over the ball regularly without him. Most importantly, Alabama finally dominated in the run game again. But while the final score was impressive, it’s hard to know how much to glean from it.
Better Start
In this game, Bama got off to a good start. After forcing a three-and-out, they got the ball at their own 21. A Missouri face mask plus a Kendrick Law 21-yard run got them to the Missouri 30. But the drive stalled out, and they kicked a field goal to go up 3-0. It was an eight-play drive that went 50 yards and lasted over four minutes. They want more drives like that.
Vanishing Offenses
But then the offenses completely disappeared. The next seven combined possessions led to punts, three of which were by Bama. During that stretch, they ran 13 plays for only 13 yards. Fortunately, the defense was able to take advantage of the hobbled Cook and the absence of Noel. Their first five drives featured five punts and three three-and-outs.
Alabama finally got another good drive going. Jalen Milroe hit Germie Bernard for two 20-plus yard gains. They mixed in a few runs and entered the red zone. It looked like they could have first-and-goal inside the five, but Justice Haynes was called for holding. That put them in a second-and-19 and eventually settled for a field goal to make it 6-0.
With 4:38 left before the half, Cook went to the locker room. That ankle was clearly bothering him, having only thrown for 30 yards to this point. Senior journeyman Drew Pyne entered the game. They ran the ball four times before letting Pyne throw on third down. He made a horrendously inaccurate throw right into the hands of Malachi Moore for an interception.
Strong End to Half
Alabama took over at Missouri’s 35-yard line. Milroe hit Emmanuel Henderson Jr. for a 28-yard pass to get them down to the three. Next play, Jam Miller took it in for a touchdown to make it 13-0. Eli Drinkwitz took the conservative approach, seeming too afraid to let Pyne throw again. He ran it four times in a row, wasting a lot of clock. He finally completed three short passes getting them across midfield. But two incompletions led to a 49-yard field goal attempt. It wasn’t even close and Bama led 13-0 at half.
Cook’s Day Ends
Cook sustained an injury to his throwing hand on top of his bad ankle. The hand injury was significant enough to end his day. On cue, Milroe broke a 32-yard run and hit a 23-yard completion to CJ Dippre to get them inside the 10. After getting stuffed the play before, Milroe was caught in the backfield. But he reversed it and out-ran everyone for a nine-yard touchdown. That made the score 20-0 and, given the Missouri offense, the lead seemed insurmountable.
Terrible Turnovers
Pyne was able to get into a bit of a rhythm. He completed a pass that got Missouri their first third-down conversion of the game. Pyne took a shot downfield, but he didn’t see Bray Hubbard coming over to double-team Luther Burden. He intercepted it, Pyne’s second of the day. The only upside was that it was thrown far enough to flip the field.
Alabama started at their own 27. With a chance to put a drive together and end the game, Alabama went three-and-out. On the ensuing punt, Alabama committed two penalties on one play. They ran into the punter and Law was assessed yet another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a late hit. They punted again giving the Tigers good field position.
But it wouldn’t matter. What should have been an easy, short pass by Pyne was again off-target and picked off by Qua Russaw. Bama started the next drive fast with a completion to Ryan Williams for 15 yards. Then the running backs got involved. Justice Haynes busted off a 28-yard run. Two plays later, Jam Miller had a beautiful run with an acrobatic finish from 11 yards out to put Bama up 27-0. With 4:28 left in the third quarter, this game seemed over.
Blowout Official
On the next drive, Bama had another personal foul penalty and more inconsistency in the passing game leading to a punt. Missouri ran the ball three times and punted again. Then Alabama finally put the nail in the coffin. A five-play, 77-yard drive was capped by Haynes’s impressive 35-yard touchdown run. It was 34-0 and officially a blowout. That score would hold and the shutout was complete.
Shutout Complete
Coach Kalen DeBoer must be happy. Alabama finally got their run game going today with 37 carries for 271 yards. A lot of those yards did come late in the game when the Missouri defense was exhausted. But they dominated a team just like they should have. The penalties were still an issue with seven for 85 yards, but they only committed two in the second half. Missouri wasn’t a competitive team with their injuries, but Alabama took advantage. A win is a win especially when it’s a blowout. Now Alabama gets a week off before their next must-win game against a very good LSU team.
