Alabama gets punched in the mouth by Mizzou, but still raises arms in victory
By David Wasson
Published:
Noted philosopher and student of humanity Mike Tyson once famously noted that everyone always has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
No. 8 Alabama certainly got punched in the mouth early and often Saturday by No. 14 Missouri. But unlike many of Tyson’s pugilistic foes, the Crimson Tide calmly took all those shots while swinging right back against the relentless Tigers.
Shrugging off not only Mizzou’s game-opening touchdown march that saw Alabama offer precious little resistance but also a slew of injuries and a gutsy Tigers effort, the Tide kept re-inserting their mouthpieces to earn a bruising 15-round decision against the Tigers at Ol’ Faurot.
Who knows where Alabama’s season will end up, but Saturday’s prize fight certainly felt like a split-decision victory with a 27-24 score. That’s because Missouri – yes, Missouri – matched the Tide shot for shot for the full 60 minutes.
Keeping with the boxing theme, you always know which combatant won the fight when they’re the ones dancing with their arms in the air at the end of the fight. And Alabama was that fighter in a thrilling fourth-quarter drive that featured 2 successful 4th-down conversions.
Coach Kalen DeBoer hasn’t earned the reputation as a riverboat gambler during his tenure in Tuscaloosa – at least, not until Saturday. But with the Tide hanging onto a 20-17 lead and Missouri absolutely refusing to go away, playing it safe wasn’t really an option.
First, facing a 4th-and-8 at the Mizzou 38 with 4:54 remaining, DeBoer eschewed a 55-yard field goal try and kept kicker Conor Talty on the bench – partially because Talty had already misfired from 49 yards the drive prior. Instead, quarterback Ty Simpson launched a perfect pass to freshman Lotzeir Brooks for a 29-yard gain.
That set up a 1st-and-goal, and 3 downs later it was decision time again with the Tide at the Tigers’ 1. Again Talty stayed put, and again Simpson found his open man – this time wide-open sophomore Daniel Hill to put Alabama ahead 27-17.
“You’ve just got to trust your guys,” DeBoer said after the game. “We practice these situations all the time. We said a year ago and all offseason, we’ve got to be great in critical positions and at critical times. Obviously, we could have done better here at the end, but there were some critical moments we went and made plays.
“Our guys are resilient, and I love the fight in them.”
The “here at the end” part DeBoer referenced was Missouri marching right back down the field for a touchdown to make it 27-24 with 1:40 remaining. But the Tigers’ last-gasp onside kick attempt was covered up by Alabama to cinch the victory and send the CoMo faithful home unhappy.
Winning on the road isn’t easy in the SEC, whether it be in Columbia, Missouri, or Columbia, South Carolina, or any point in between. And the conference is too absurdly stacked to expect any team to romp against a top-15 opponent in its home stadium. But Alabama’s struggles – and resilience – against Missouri portends well for the Tide moving forward.
After all, Saturday’s win marks 3-straight against ranked opponents – with 2 coming away from Bryant-Denny Stadium. The victory was Alabama’s 5th straight after a desultory season-opening loss at Florida State as well and keeps the Crimson Tide in position to control their own postseason destiny.
Not that victories like this come cheap, and Alabama may still not know the complete cost of seeing running back Jam Miller slowly walk straight off the field and to the locker room after he caught another 4th-down conversion pass earlier in the final 15 minutes of play. Miller had already missed the first part of the season with a dislocated collarbone, and he reportedly sustained a concussion Saturday that could cause him to miss next weekend’s annual fistfight with Tennessee.
But as the kids say, that’s next week Alabama’s problem. Because Saturday, facing the nation’s best running back in Ahmad Hardy (whom the Tide contained to 52 yards on 12 carries) and the best run defense in the country (Alabama managed 125 ground yards on 44 caries), Alabama simply did what it had to do to win on all scorecards.
Was it a flashy knockout like Alabama fans got used to seeing under Nick Saban? Nope. And that’s ok. Because after all… the Crimson Tide were still the ones who took Mizzou’s best shots and were still dancing after the final bell with their arms in the air.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
