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Mizzou had its chances in 27-24 loss to Alabama

Kyle McAreavyby: Kyle McAreavy10/11/25Kyle_mcareavy
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Alabama Crimson Tide running back Kevin Riley (28) is tackled by Missouri Tigers defensive end Zion Young (9) and linebacker Josiah Trotter (40) during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Coming into Saturday, the Missouri Tigers had a chance to take a major step forward in their quest for a College Football Playoff berth.

A win against No. 8 Alabama, which would have been a first for Mizzou since the Tigers moved into the SEC, could have propelled Missouri into the top 10 and serious contention.

But the Tigers didn’t take advantage.

Alabama held on to beat the No. 14 Tigers 27-24 Saturday at Faurot Field, handing Mizzou its first loss of the season after a 5-0 start.

“Proud of the way our defense fought, proud of the way our offense fought. But ultimately, we just had too many critical mistakes in critical situations to win,” Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said.

The Tigers had their chance during the game, too.

After going into halftime trailing 17-10, the Tigers came out of halftime grabbing all the momentum they could.

Zion Young broke into the backfield and stripped Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Then Damon Wilson jumped on the ball to give the Tigers possession at the Crimson Tide 19.

Three plays later, Beau Pribula kept a read option to the right, juked a defender and ran in a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game with 13:18 left to play.

The Tiger defense forced a three-and-out and Mizzou had a chance to drive for the lead early in the third.

Instead, the Tigers went three-and-out themselves and punted right back.

Alabama drove down the field and reached the 1 after offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor lined up in the backfield for a third-and-1 run. And on first down, it seemed as if Simpson tripped but handed off to running back Jam Miller for an easy touchdown.

Instead, a review showed Simpson’s knee was down and it was second-and-goal from the 5 for the Tide.

The Tiger defense held up and forced an Alabama field goal to take a 20-17 lead with 9 seconds left in the third.

The Tigers once again had a chance to drive to take the lead.

But after gaining 18 yards on four plays, Pribula attempted a pass to Kevin Coleman along the seam and it ended up in the hands of Alabama safety Bray Hubbard for the first of two interceptions.

“Obviously, it wasn’t good enough,” Pribula said of his performance. “We didn’t win the game. My job is to lead scoring drives so we score more than them. Wasn’t able to do that.”

Once again, the Tiger defense held up and forced a 49-yard field goal attempt, but the kick was wide left.

For a third time, the Tigers had a chance to drive to take the lead.

And for a third time, they failed.

Pribula was sacked, then settled for a 1-yard pass to Ahmad Hardy and a 7-yard pass to Jamal Roberts.

On fourth-and-4 from their own 37, the Tigers faked the punt and direct snapped to Roberts. He ran to the short sideline and tried to extend the ball past the chains, but was called short.

“We thought we could get 4 yards out there, snapped it to one of the best running backs in the country and ended up just getting a yard short,” Drinkwitz said. “We hadn’t been able to sustain drives.”

Alabama took advantage of the short field as Simpson converted two fourth downs, including a fourth-and-goal from the 1 to Daniel Hill for a touchdown to extend the lead to 10 points.

More opportunities

The Tigers responded with a quick drive for a touchdown, the first time the Tigers drove more than 20 yards in the second half and just the third of four times in the game. The Tigers drove more than 30 yards just three times.

And it came as the pass game began to open up.

Pribula hit Roberts for 16 yards, then Marquis Johnson for 14. Pribula ran for 14 yards, then hit Donovan Olugbode for a 27-yard catch that got the Tigers to the 3.

On the next play, Pribula found Olugbode again for the first touchdown of the true freshman’s career.

The score cut the Tide’s lead to 27-24 and the Tigers held all of their timeouts with 1:40 left to play.

Missouri attempted an onside kick and didn’t recover, giving Alabama possession at the Tiger 41.

“Give yourself another opportunity to recover the ball,” Drinkwitz said of why the Tigers attempted the onside kick. “There’s no guarantees you’re going to stop them, even with the three timeouts. So if you kick it deep and don’t stop then, you’re kicking yourself on why you didn’t at least give yourself a chance to recover it.”

And once again, the Tiger defense held up. On third-and-3, the Tigers forced a 2-yard loss. Then Mizzou didn’t jump as Alabama sent the offense back on the field to try to draw the Tigers offsides.

Eventually, the Tide punted and Mizzou had one final chance to go 82 yards with 1:17 on the clock.

The Tigers got to their own 47 after Pribula hit Olugbode with a 25-yard pass. But on third-and-10 from the 47, Pribula tried to attack the seam and once again, the throw sailed into the hands of an Alabama defender. This time it was Dijon Lee.

“Just thought I had a window there to Dom on that seam,” Pribula said.

Early mistakes

The Tigers got into the game immediately, cruising down the field on the opening drive.

Pribula did a lot of the work, rushing three times for 39 yards before firing a perfectly placed pass to Brett Norfleet down the sideline. Pribula slipped the ball above a defender and Norfleet did the rest, running in a 26-yard touchdown for his fifth touchdown, resetting the new career high he reached with his fourth against UMass.

Then the Mizzou defense had two fantastic plays on the first Alabama drive.

The Tigers stopped a run for no gain, then Daylan Carnell pushed his way through an outside blocker to take down Germie Bernard for a 5-yard loss on an attempted screen.

But Young charged over to celebrate with Carnell and stepped over Bernard and got in his face on the way.

Young was called for taunting and instead of a third-and-15, the Tide had a first down.

Alabama drove down and scored, helped by another third-down offsides penalty and a missed opportunity for an interception. 

After that, Alabama held the momentum.

The Tide scored on a 6-yard pass from Simpson to Kevin Riley. Then Alabama’s next drive finished when Simpson hit Isaiah Horton on a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Alabama extended to a 17-7 lead with a 46-yard field goal midway through the second.

Mizzou finally put a drive together in the two-minute drill. Starting at their own 26, the Tigers drove to Alabama’s 17, setting up a 35-yard Robert Meyer field goal to cut the lead to 17-10 going into halftime.

“They’re hurting in that locker room right now because they believed. They believed we could do it and just came up short,” Drinkwitz said.

Key stats

The Tigers went just 1-of-10 on third downs after entering the game as one of the best third-down conversion teams in the country at 45-of-73 (61.6 percent). 

They also came into the game leading the country in average time of possession with almost 40 minutes per game. Saturday, the Tigers totaled just 21:27.

  • Missouri outgained Alabama 330-325 overall and 163-125 on the ground.
  • Alabama led the air attack 200-167.
  • Pribula went 16-of-28 passing for 167 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also led the Tigers with 61 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries.
  • Hardy ran 12 times for 52 yards.
  • Roberts had five runs for 50 yards.
  • Olugbode led the Tigers with three catches for 55 yards and a score.
  • Norfleet had three catches for 38 yards and a touchdown.
  • Roberts had three catches for 27 yards.
  • Johnson had three catches for 26 yards.
  • Josiah Trotter led the Tiger defense with eight total tackles.
  • Santana Banner (who came in for Marvin Burks after a targeting ejection) had seven total tackles, as did Carnell and Khalil Jacobs.
  • Damon Wilson had two sacks to lead the Tigers, who totaled four sacks and seven tackles for loss.

Up next

The Tigers (5-1, 1-1 SEC) will hit the road for the first time to take on Auburn at 6 p.m. or 6:45 p.m. next Saturday.


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