So this is what the rest of the college football world feels like?

That sentiment is among the ones that was wafting through a sun-drenched Bryant-Denny Stadium throughout a goodly portion of Saturday – as Alabama fans were surely casting nervous glances at each other and wondering what the heck happened to the Joyless Murderball they had grown to love.

Just a year ago, their beloved Crimson Tide was beating the absolute snot out of all non-USF/non-Texas teams that had the misfortune to step in their paths. And now? A limping Missouri team that had absolutely no business ever being in the top 10 this season was stymieing the home squad.

Nope, this ain’t the Alabama the nation has feared for the better part of 2 decades now. Then again, didn’t Vanderbilt (!!!) already expose this fact on a similarly sun-drenched Nashville day?

This almost feels like a broken record-version of previous works here, simply because we have already explored the whys and wheres of Alabama’s shift away from said Joyless Murderball under former coach Nick Saban to whatever this Kalen DeBoer-coached Alabama program will end up becoming.

So a lot of this feels like previously trod ground – but bear with us, a’ight, because it helps Alabama fans process what they are seeing in real time.

Yes, 15th-ranked Alabama shut out No. 21 Missouri 34-0 to move to 6-2 and remain in theoretical contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Yes, Alabama piled up 486 total yards to survive, advance and – as a bonus – dismiss the Tigers as the preseason poseurs that they clearly were.

Yes, those who didn’t watch Tide-Tigers are glancing sideways at the score and mumble to themselves “Well, Alabama has clearly found its mojo again.”

And no, precisely no one wearing any crimson/houndstooth combination feels altogether thrilled by the manner their Crimson Tide got there.

Alabama’s offense was mostly toothless in a first half that was at times painful to watch. The Tide seem to lose bits of identity on a weekly basis when they have the rock – going from force-feeding talented freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams (have you heard that he is only 17 years old?) nearly 20 times in a road loss at Tennessee to disregarding him for large portions against Mizzou.

Conspiracy theorists out there have opined that Tide QB Jalen Milroe has to be nursing some sort of injury – one that is keeping DeBoer and the coaching staff from unleashing the potential that at an earlier juncture had him in the Heisman conversation. Don’t believe that jib-jab, though, as it seems more and more clear that Saban and his staff squeezed more out of Milroe than DeBoer’s staff has so far.

Matriculating the ball down the field on the ground was a little more successful, as Justice Haynes barreled his way to 79 yards and Jam Miller scored twice as the Tide did manage to finish with 271 rushing yards in a balanced effort. (That included a 62-yard run from freshman Richard Young.)

Still, and especially on third down (Alabama was 0-for-7 there through the first 3 quarters), it still felt like Alabama boarded the struggle bus every time Missouri surrendered the football.

Fortunately, Alabama’s defense was more than capable of fleecing Missouri of said football all afternoon. Quarterback Drew Pyne, who replaced a busted-up Brady Cook in the first half, uncorked 3 interceptions coming off the bench to allow the Tide plenty of opportunities to figure things out on offense in real time and with short fields.

Missouri was inept when they managed to hold onto the football, too, racking up only 239 total yards to prove the “was the blowout loss to Texas A&M a fluke, or a sign” thesis correct in the latter sense. Mizzou suffered its first shutout loss since 2019, and first under Eli Drinkwitz. At least now we know why Alabama scheduled the hapless Tigers for homecoming …

In the final analysis, both from punditry here and from the sidewalk alumni in the Bryant-Denny cheap seats, Alabama feels so much more like a work in progress than they should heading into November – and with 2 more losses before Halloween than anyone expected when 2024 began. The first half Saturday felt like a true representation of what Alabama really is, and the second half felt like a handful of fool’s gold.

Alabama nevertheless has all its true goals still in front of it – courtesy of the expanded College Football Playoff, which was helpfully expanded to 12 teams and now has about 73 teams (not Mizzou, alas…) still in the running for those spots.

Beat LSU in 2 weeks in Death Valley and manage to keep from getting tripped up by fading Oklahoma and arch-rival Auburn, and voila – the Tide will be playing meaningful football in December.

What that looks like, though, is still anyone’s guess after Saturday’s display.

This is what the rest of the college football world feels like?