Hello and Roll Tide!

Alabama travels to COMO where they will take on the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium. For the third week in a row, Alabama will face a ranked SEC opponent. Mizzou is coming off of a bye week and look to play spoiler on their home turf. Below are injury updates, a week 7 preview, and week 7 storylines. Let’s go!

Injury Updates:

  • Jaylen Mbakwe, Cayden Jones, Qua Russaw, and Jah-Marien Latham are listed as OUT for the Mizzou game
  • Ryan Williams is listed as PROBABLE

Week 7 Preview: Missouri Tigers

Alabama and Missouri have only played each other 8 times and the Tide lead the series 6-2. Alabama has won 6 straight against the Tigers, one of those being the 2014 SEC Championship game. Mizzou is led by head coach Eli Drinkwitz who is in his 6th season with the Tigers. Eli has turned this program around, winning 10 or more games each of the past two seasons. Eli is an offensive minded coach. He started his collegiate coaching career as the Quality Control coach at Auburn during their 2010 Championship season. Eli bounced around as the RB coach at Arkansas State, TE coach at Boise State, before eventually becoming the OC at Boise State, then NC State. In 2019 Eli took the head coaching job at Appalachian State leading them to a 12-1 record and Sun Belt conference championship. He has been at Missouri since 2020 posting a 43-24 record. Missouri enters this week’s game at 5-0 (1-0) and are ranked #14 in the AP Poll. Eli has this team dialed in on both sides of the ball.

Missouri’s offense is ranked #7 nationally in scoring (45.2 points per game) and has the best 3rd down offense in the country (61.6%). They are also #4 in yards per game (547.6) largely due to their rushing attack. Mizzou is averaging 292 rushing yards per game, 3rd best nationally, behind their workhorse Ahmad Hardy. Ahmad leads the SEC in both rushing yards (730) and touchdowns (9). He is averaging an impressive 7.1 yards per carry. The entire running back room has been effective: Jamal Roberts has rushed for 350 yards averaging 7.3 yards per carry; Marquise Davis has rushed for 200 yards averaging 5.9 yards per carry. The O-line is generating a lot of push up front, opening running lanes for their talented running backs. Leading the passing attack is Senior transfer Beau Pribula. Beau spent his first three years with Penn State and decided to transfer after they brought back Drew Allar. Missouri’s passing attack is a good compliment to their lethal rushing offense. Beau has completed 75% of his passes for 1,203 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Beau is a strong leader of this offense and does his job effectively. His favorite target this season is Kevin Coleman Jr. who has caught 39 passes for 386 yards and a touchdown. This Senior journeyman has played at Jackson State, Louisville, Mississippi State, and now Missouri. Last year at Miss State, Coleman had 932 receiving yards and is hoping to pass 1,000 this season. Mizzou’s big red zone threat has been Junior tight end Brett Norfleet who has 4 touchdown receptions on the year. Eli Drinkwitz has a very talented offense that has been exceptional so far this season.

Missouri’s defense has also been a strength of theirs this season. They rank 14th nationally in points allowed (14.6 ppg) and 2nd in yards allowed (203.8 ypg). They have the best rushing defense in the country allowing only 62.4 rushing yards per game and 2.6 yards per carry. The defense is also 6th best in the country on 3rd down, allowing only 22.5% of conversions. They are led by Sophomore linebacker Josiah Trotter who leads the team with 28 tackles. Through 5 games, the defense has 12 sacks and 33 tackles for a loss. The front seven has dominated their opponents at the line of scrimmage making life difficult for opposing QBs. Defensive ends Damon Wilson and Zion Young lead the team with 3.5 and 2 sacks respectively. Behind them are three talented safeties who fit runs well. Their defensive backs have forced 3 interceptions and recorded one defensive touchdown. Alabama’s offensive line has improved, yet this will likely be their toughest challenge yet.

Week 7 Storylines

Can Alabama win on 3rd down?: Missouri is one of the best 3rd down teams on both sides of the ball. They are the best offensive unit on 3rd down this year. It will be important for Alabama’s defense to put them into 3rd and long situations to get off the field. This starts with stopping the run. On the other side of the ball, the offense will need to convert against a stout Missouri defense. If Alabama can be better than Missouri on 3rd down, they will walk out of COMO with a win.

Strength vs Weakness: While Alabama’s run defense improved in the second half against Vanderbilt, it has been the most glaring weakness for this Alabama team. Alabama ranks 89th in the country allowing 155.4 rushing yards per game. Mizzou’s talented running backs will look to capitalize on this. Bama needs to limit explosive plays and force Missouri into 3rd and long situations. If Bama can force Mizzou to throw the football, this will create an advantage for the Tide.

Ty for Heisman (Ty-sman): Ty Simpson has been the best player on Alabama’s team through 5 games and is receiving a lot of national attention. This Missouri defense is playing better than anyone else in the SEC and will be a great test for Ty and the Alabama offense. Ty will need help from the O-line who will be battling in the trenches all game long. If they are able to deliver Ty with clean pockets, we should expect another great performance from the Senior. If he continues to perform the way that he has through 5 games, Ty should expect an invitation to New York.

Do you have a score prediction? Who will be the Offensive or Defensive MVP this week?

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Roll Tide! -Jake