Five takeaways from No. 15 Alabama Football's demolition of No. 21 Missouri

After losing two of their last three games and coming off a win at home against unranked South Carolina, the Crimson Tide appeared to be back on track against the Tigers with an outstanding performance on both ends showed performance.

There is so much to analyze from this matchup at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Here are five takeaways:

Milroe went 25-for-45 passing for 239 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in last week's loss to Tennessee in what was widely considered his worst performance of his Crimson Tide career. There was speculation that he was a little banged up during the Volunteers' loss due to his lack of fighting ability, but head coach Kalen DeBoer quickly dismissed that. Milroe needed a big rebound against Mizzou to erase the nonstop negative criticism… and he had one against the Tigers.

Both offenses got off to a slow start, as Alabama punted on three of its first five drives and Mizzou did so on each of its first five possessions. However, Crimson Tide kicker Graham Nicholson's two early field goals gave Alabama and Milroe some momentum.

In the game's remaining seven drives, Alabama scored four touchdowns, most of which came from big air and ground plays by Milore. The dual-threat quarterback finished the day completing 16 of 26 passes for 215 yards while carrying the ball 11 times for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Milroe seemed much more confident at home with the Tennessee battle behind him. He stayed composed in the pocket and found open receivers in the middle like Germie Bernard, who had a team-high five receptions for 82 yards, but also recognized gaps inside and especially outside that he could run through. It's absolutely worth noting that Alabama's offensive line was a big reason for his time in the pocket, as Mizzou linebacker Johnny Walker recorded two early sacks. This was the only time the Tigers put Milroe on the ground with the ball in his hands.

Milroe may have been the most negatively criticized individual player last week, but since the second half against Georgia, Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and his unit have arguably been the most attacked part of the program in the college football world. This is certainly understandable since the Tide defense was unable to get off the field.

The appalling third-down numbers are the best evidence of this fact, as Vanderbilt converted 12 of 18 attempts, South Carolina 7 of 15 and Tennessee 6 of 14. The numbers against the Gamecocks and Vols appear to be much better than they did against the Commodores , but the majority of their third-down conversions came in the second half.

This was due to a strategy originally mastered by Vanderbilt, and the next two opponents seemed to take that page from the Commodores' playbook. Alabama opponents typically go for a go-big-or-win approach because they typically don't have much to lose and assume that's the only way to defeat the Tide. However, Vanderbilt recognized that methodical 4-5-6 yard gains were a weakness in Alabama's scheme and resulted in a massive possession differential, and the Gamecocks and Vols followed suit in their respective second half.

Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook came into the game with an injury he suffered last week against Auburn, so Alabama knew he would be limited, which meant the ball would often be in the running backs' court (for starter Nate Noel explained earlier this week). ) hands and out of his. Cook suffered another injury late in the first half that sidelined him for the rest of the game, and substitute Drew Pyne didn't throw the ball often either, as the running game was the Tigers' only hope of getting the ball downfield. Of course, Alabama's pass rush wasn't just fantastic because of Mizzou's injuries, as giving up zero points to a ranked SEC opponent is an outstanding accomplishment.

Missouri's 3.8 yards per play is impressive for Alabama's defense, but that number is a bit inflated as the Tigers' offense started to roar a bit in the fourth quarter, largely due to the Tide's starters not being on the field were. Linebacker Jihaad Campbell's early sack was Alabama's only one of the game, but defensive efforts from Tim Keenan III, LT Overton, Jah-Marien Latham and Carver High School (Montgomery) teammates Qua Russaw and James Smith, among others, eliminated the Tigers from them moved the ball a few yards while converting three of 13 third-down attempts — a huge improvement after a nightmare month in that stat category.

“Just coming off the field on third down is a catalyst,” DeBoer said during the postgame press conference. “Those are the positives that you can take away and apply today and everyone looks at each other and believes that you can go through the game and stop it. We can definitely build on that. Now.” They just know they can do it. Now you're going to line up and do it again.

Speaking of a difficult month in certain statistical categories, Alabama's running game has been relatively non-existent over the last few games. The Tide's one-two punch of running backs Jam Miller and Justice Haynes was used relatively frequently in the first half of previous games, but they rarely got carries in the second half, which wasn't really the case when DeBoer and Co. didn't really give after a small number of yards on a small number of runs, another chance, which would result in Alabama punts and more time of possession for opposing offenses.

But despite the aforementioned slow start, Alabama returned to its run game roots from start to finish as Miller and Haynes had quite a day. Miller had 11 carries for 48 yards and two touchdowns, while Haynes had eight carries for 79 yards, including a 35-yard score in the fourth quarter.

“The desire is there and to see it pay off in that way (was great),” DeBoer said. “And then the boys have to make plays. There are also a few momentum things we can build on. But that (Haynes touchdown) wasn't just his fault, everyone can see that physical type of run. I thought.” Jam also did a good job there on a few runs at different times. The double whammy there was a good step in the right direction.

Additionally, wide receiver Kendrick Law kicked a 21-yard run to set up Nicholson's first field goal of the first quarter, and with all starters out late in the game, running back Richard Young broke off a 62-yard run by Alabama to its own goal line. Milroe's efforts on the ground contributed to the Tide's 271 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Alabama really shined on both sides of the ball, but this wasn't a perfect game, regardless of what the final score might show.

The Tide offense scored 34 points, but threw some flags that brought back drives and were a factor in James Burnip's five punts and the completion of Nicholson's field goals. Alabama's offensive/special teams suffered six penalties: two possessions, a false start, a kick-catch interference, a chop block and a personal foul on Law, who also called on the final drive against Tennessee.

Another downside to Alabama's performance on Saturday was its third-down conversion stat category, as it went 2-for-9 against the Chains. Three of those misses came on possessions that only lasted three plays. However, the Crimson Tide's explosive offense didn't see the third-down marker very often, as they scored a few times within a few plays.

One reason for Alabama's quick results was Russaw's interceptions and safeties Malachi Moore and Bray Hubbard, who filled in for the injured Keon Sabb to put the Tide in favorable field position. Last week against Tennessee, turnovers seemed impossible for Alabama, but two touchdowns were the result of the defense's three takeaways against Missouri – all of which were converted by Pyne.

While the take-home numbers were extremely impressive, the overall performance of the defensive backs could be the deciding factor. A big reason for Mizzou's very solid start to the season is the wide receiver duo of Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. Burden, a 2023 First Team All-SEC member, has been a little quieter this season compared to last. The opponent is clearly a player who is widely expected to be selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he still produced some solid games and yards. Wease has taken advantage of the reduced recognition as he enters Saturday just ahead of Burden for the team lead and 11th place in the SEC.

However, Alabama's defensive backs room, led by Moore, who is the only returning starter from last season, held Mizzou's dynamic duo to a total of five receptions for 22 yards. On the pass-catching scale, Missouri's 72 passing yards were the fewest by an Alabama SEC opponent since Tennessee's 44 in 2017. Cornerbacks Domani Jackson and freshmen Jaylen Mbakwe and Zabien Brown, among others, played crucial roles in getting one of them Case to bring the best receivers in college football.

“I’m happy for Bray (Hubbard) to get this opportunity,” DeBoer said. “The boys really believe in him and he works extremely hard. And then across the board, every snap our young guys take, from ZB to Bak to everyone. There are a lot of new faces working together, Malachi and Domani are really the mainstays and pretty consistent. Today we had a few people rotating it, they did things like that too. I just liked how they got better and better.”

After this outstanding performance on both sides of the ball, Alabama is 6-2 (3-2 SEC) entering its second bye week. The Crimson Tide then face currently No. 8 LSU on Nov. 9, but a loss Saturday to currently No. 14 Texas A&M will change their place in the AP poll.