Kalen DeBoer's 4th down gambles pay off as Alabama tops Missouri on the road

Alabama did a lot wrong on Saturday, but did just enough right to escape from Columbia with a 27-24 win over Missouri in the early window on Saturday.

After taking a 17-10 lead in the first half, Alabama's offense did what has become all too common the last few weeks: bogged down in opponent territory. Two lengthy drives ended with field goal attempts: one make and one miss by Connor Talty, and the Crimson Tide held just a 20-17 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

A key play by backup RB Dre Washington to sniff out a fake punt near midfield gave Alabama the ball with a chance to finally take a two-possession lead. But a Missouri sack and a big loss of yards by Kevin Riley on a screen pass set up a 3rd-and-24.

A check-down to Riley gained 16 yards and set the Tide up with a 4th-and-8 from the Missouri 39. Leading by just three, DeBoer chose to roll the dice and go for it. Ty Simpson delivered a beautiful pass to Lotzeir Brooks for 29 yards and a 1st-and-goal.

A gutsy play call led to another gutsy play call. After only getting down to the one on the first three plays, DeBoer elected to go for it again. Simpson hit Daniel Hill out of the backfield for a touchdown to put Alabama up by 10.

Of course, Alabama couldn't make it easy from there. Missouri scored a touchdown, forced a three-and-out, and then had the ball with a chance to win or tie the game. But freshman CB Dijon Lee picked off a Beau Pribula pass to ice the game.

Alabama missed a lot of chances. They left a lot of plays out there, but DeBoer's willingness to roll the dice helped the Tide escape with a win.

Kalen DeBoer trusted Ty Simpson in critical situations

"You just have to trust your guys," DeBoer said in the interview right after the game.

More importantly, DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb showed just how much they trust Simpson in critical situations. The 4th-and-1 was an obvious go-for-it situation, but the 4th-and-8 was not. Most coaches would have punted. And most coaches probably would have lost the game as a result.

The offense wasn't perfect, but Simpson was efficient again. He threw for 200 yards, completing 23-of-31 passes and made several plays that helped the Tide win the game down the stretch.

Along with those two fourth down conversions, DeBoer and Grubb put the ball in his hands on another 4th-and-1 a drive earlier. On a play-action pass, Simpson dumped the ball off to Jam Miller for a first down to keep the chains moving.

Alabama has a lot to work on. DeBoer won't be happy with the performance overall. Neither will Grubb or DC Kane Wommack. But the key is to win. And Alabama did that on Saturday against a quality opponent on the road.

DeBoer's belief in this team to make plays in crucial situations directly led to that result.