Alabama at Missouri: Tide possibly losing to Tigers claimed to be 'not an upset'

Based on their respective seasons so far, No. 8 Alabama will be viewed as a big favorite against No. 14 Missouri in CoMo on Saturday. However, Josh Pate says a win for Mizzou over ‘Bama would be no upset in reality.

Previewing the game on ‘Get Up’ on Thursday, Pate says the Tigers are more than capable of winning over the Crimson Tide on Saturday. He views it as a high-level conference matchup, with the spread suggesting it to be too.

“I’m not even sure it’s that big an upset. It’s just a good football game here,” Pate said. “I mean, we’ve got a field goal or such line.”

Again, a lot of people may see Alabama (4-1) vs. Missouri (5-0) on the schedule and just roll with the Tide, especially so after their past month and specifically the past two weeks with Top 20 wins at Georgia and over Vanderbilt. That said, the Tigers, coming off a bye with an undefeated record, including victories over Kansas and South Carolina, are not to be outright doubted in this one.

In actually breaking down the matchup, Pate thinks it comes down to Alabama’s offensive line against Missouri’s pass rush, with the Tigers having a dozen sacks on the season with 33 TFLs. Keeping Ty Simpson, playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the country right now, upright and their offense on the field will be very important, especially with how Mizzou, the nation’s leader in time of possession, could play keep away from them while also running the clock behind the third-best rushing offense overall and the leading rusher in the entire sport this season in Ahmad Hardy.

“I think that all the fears that ‘Bama folks had about facing Georgia should actually applied to this game,” Pate said. “Unlike Georgia, Missouri can get after the quarterback. So, again, copy, paste. If Ty Simpson is given time to throw, he will eat against the Missouri secondary, just like he did against Georgia. My concern is, maybe he doesn’t have that time to throw, and maybe Missouri’s ground game gets cranking.”

Pate, who will be in attendance this weekend in Columbia, is still going with Alabama to win over Missouri. It’s just not certain, and it certainly wouldn’t be an upset if the Tigers get the victory and end their six-game homestand to open the season as unbeaten.

“I leaned Alabama in this thing. It is very slight,” Pate said. “This is not an upset if Missouri wins, to me.”