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Grading No. 1 Alabama’s dominating 42-13 win over No. 16 Missouri in the SEC Championship.
OFFENSE: A
Alabama cruised to 500-plus yards, picking up 504 total yards, and Blake Sims was once again lights out for the Crimson Tide. He leaned heavily on Amari Cooper early, hitting the star on all kinds of short passes to move the ball up and down the field. Sims also looked to his secondary receivers, Christion Jones and DeAndrew White, and the two seniors each came up with one of Sims’ touchdown tosses. Alabama didn’t run the ball exceptionally well early, but salted the game away behind the massive frame of Derrick Henry. T.J. Yeldon was reliable in short yardage, punching in two goal line touchdowns, but Alabama turned to Henry and his 7.1 yards-per-carry average to drain the clock.
DEFENSE: B-
The Tide limited Missouri to 313 yards, just 41 on the ground, but they once again were burned through the air. The front four bullied Missouri’s offensive line all night, flushing Maty Mauk from the pocket repeatedly. While they brought the pressure, mostly with just the down linemen, the Tide were burned by Mauk’s scrambles. The sophomore quarterback kept slinging balls deep as he ran for his life, and the Alabama secondary kept losing track of Jimmie Hunt on those plays. Alabama was plagued by the same issues a week ago, when Auburn burned them deep, and the Crimson Tide will be almost certainly be facing a team that likes to throw it in the semifinals in January. The Tide do have Landon Collins on hand, the best turnover-generator on the team, and he forced a fumble late to officially end Missouri’s hopes. They’ll need more of that going forward.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
JK Scott continues to prove his worth as a freshman, averaging 43.3 yards per punt, including one that he got one off after a bad snap amidst heavy defensive pressure. Christion Jones was a bit iffier in the return game and was adventurous as ever, fielding one fair catch inside the 10-yard line and attempting to return a couple under heavy pressure. Additionally, Adam Griffith missed yet another field goal, pushing a 43-yard attempt wide.
Coaching: A
Nick Saban did not overlook the underdog, and his team came out and steamrolled Missouri from the opening kickoff. While Kirby Smart was shown blowing up on the sidelines a few times, his defense played well other than losing Hunt on those few occasions. Lane Kiffin deserves plenty of credit for this one, using Cooper as an extension of the running game and putting the rest of the offensive weapons in the position to come up with big plays.
OVERALL: B+
There are still defensive issues to clear up in the secondary, but Alabama looks primed and ready for a playoff run. Sims has been on his game since his third interception against Auburn, Cooper has found ways to operate even with teams keying all their attention on hi, and the Crimson Tide have one of the best finishers in the country in Henry. If the defense can sort out its problems, Alabama could well finish the season No. 1.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
