Roman Harper explains his pick for Alabama vs. Missouri

Alabama and Missouri are a pair of teams that entered the season with College Football Playoff hopes, only to see those hopes go onto life support in the first half of the season.

A meeting on Saturday in Tuscaloosa between the two will be an elimination game, for all intents and purposes.

While Alabama already has two losses and almost certainly can’t survive a third, Missouri has one of the softest schedules in the country for a power conference team and probably can’t survive a second.

But while the Crimson Tide are reeling after a loss to the Tennessee Volunteers, former safety Roman Harper, a current ESPN analyst, isn’t throwing in the towel on the Tide just yet.

“You know, look, Alabama’s bandwagon has collected a lot of people in the 17 years of winning,” Harper said on the College GameDay Podcast. “And I ain’t getting off of it yet, Pete (Thamel), I’m telling you. But this is a game that Missouri can get because you don’t know what Alabama’s going to show up.”

Harper has been vocal about Alabama’s defensive struggles in recent weeks. With the Crimson Tide a little slack on that side, opponents have had their opportunities to sneak away with wins.

Both Tennessee and Vanderbilt have managed to do so.

“Alabama’s struggled defensively for three weeks, and all the sudden versus Tennessee they had three turnovers in the first half,” Harper said. “And offensively that was leading the charge and you only came up with seven points. So when you don’t know what you’re going to get from a week to week basis it makes it hard for you to judge the team as a whole.”

It makes picking Saturday’s game hard, too.

There are a few factors that could come into play. First, Missouri quarterback Brady Cook came out of last week’s game with an injury. While he was able to return, how he’s feeling could be a significant factor Saturday.

Then there are a handful of other considerations. Harper outlined them.

“I still lean on the fact that I think Brady Cook’s still banged up,” Harper said. “Missouri’s not been as explosive offensively as they would like to be getting the ball to their star receivers and their run game just hasn’t been successful like they normally have. But it does make me nervous because Alabama has not been consistent, they have not really slowed down the run. And when you look up they haven’t got as many things going as they wanted to offensively as well, in the last week or so.

“So that gives me worry, but I do think Bryant-Denny Stadium, I think the wherewithal that the Alabama players understand the pressure that is on them, that they have to go out there and prove it now. There is no more leeway, there is no more wiggle room. That right there I think they do respond and go out there and get a win. I don’t know if they will cover, but I do anticipate them winning this game and Bryant-Denny being a factor in that.”

The two teams are slated to meet at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday with a national broadcast on ABC.