Another week, another big SEC matchup for Alabama football. The Crimson Tide will face a third consecutive ranked conference opponent this weekend, the second of which is on the road. After consecutive impressive wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt, Kalen DeBoer will hope to continue the momentum and upward trajectory in a difficult road test at Missouri.
Just as every opponent has been coming into games against Alabama this season, Missouri is undefeated. The 5-0 Tigers are ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll, but have faced just the 109-ranked strength of schedule to get there. That doesn't mean they aren't tested, however, as they do have wins over two Power Four opponents in Kansas and South Carolina.
Missouri represents a tremendous challenge, and just another tough game in a ridiculous stretch of them for Alabama. Such is life in the SEC. There are no off weeks. No time to rest on your accomplishments. DeBoer and this staff learned that lesson the hard way last season.
Last week, we went a perfect 3/3 on bold predictions for the Vanderbilt game. We correctly predicted Jam Miller to eclipse 100 rushing yards - he finished with 136 on 22 carries. We also called for a bounce back game for Ryan Williams, which his six receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown certainly qualifies. We also predicted Alabama would hold Vanderbilt under 50% on third downs. The 'Dores ultimately went 5-of-11 on third downs after ripping Alabama apart a year ago.
Let's see if we can maintain that momentum.
3 bold predictions for Alabama vs. Missouri
Alabama is perfect scoring touchdowns in the red zone
Alabama's red zone execution was porous last week against Vanderbilt and was undoubtedly a major point of emphasis in practice this week, which was alluded to on Monday by Ryan Grubb.
Alabama moved the ball at will against Vanderbilt, only punting once. But it settled for field goals on its first three possessions of the second half when the defense put them in position to put the game out of reach. That's not to mention an interception and a missed field goal in the first half on trips to Vandy territory.
Alabama can't have that happen again this week. Opportunities could be few and far between with Missouri's run game. The Tigers rank No. 1 in the FBS in rushing yards per game, led by the nation's leading rusher in Ahmad Hardy. They would love nothing more than to grind the game to a halt and keep Ty Simpson and the high-powered Alabama offense on the sideline.
Alabama will have to take advantage of every scoring opportunity it gets this week to pull out the road win. Here's predicting they will, scoring touchdowns every trip.
Jam Miller breaks free for an explosive run
I'll stop short of predicting a second straight 100-yard rushing performance for the standout senior, but I do think Alabama figured out some things on the ground against Vanderbilt. The Commodores were a highly ranked run defense coming in, and the Tide's offensive line consistently opened up holes for Miller to run through. He took advantage.
He always seemed just one missed tackle away from breaking one for a truly explosive play. This week, I think he breaks free for a long touchdown run. It won't be easy. Along with being the nation's top rushing offense, Missouri is also the nation's top run defense.
Miller may find it difficult to gain yards on a down-to-down basis, but an explosive play or two would more than make up for it.
Alabama sacks Beau Pribula 4+ times
As efficient as Missouri's offense has been this year, Penn State transfer QB Beau Pribula has taken quite a few sacks. Missouri ranks 106th in the FBS in sacks allowed per game at 2.8. In three of Missouri's five games, Pribula has been sacked multiple times, including four each in wins over Kansas and UMass.
That could be even more of a problem for Missouri in this game, with starting left tackle Cayden Green currently listed as questionable on this week's availability report.
Alabama's pass rush has been heating up in recent weeks, with the Crimson Tide generating pressure without having to blitz. Alabama's havoc rate is in the 86th percentile, per Game on Paper.
While Alabama only sacked Diego Pavia once last week, they constantly harassed the Vanderbilt QB and never let him get comfortable. They'll look to do the same thing against Pribula this week, though they'll have to stop the run first to put Missouri in uncomfortable passing situations.