Notebook: Tigers look to build on red zone stops against No. 1 Alabama
Missouri head coach Barry Odom said that in the days leading up to the Tigers’ showdown with No. 1 Alabama, he stressed that the team would need to win the turnover battle and limit the number of explosive plays from the Crimson Tide offense.
Exactly one minute into the game, Missouri had already failed in both of those regards. On Alabama’s second snap of the game, Tua Tagovailoa hit a wide-open Jerry Jeudy for an 81-yard touchdown. On the Tigers’ second snap, Drew Lock threw an interception. Odom’s pregame keys proved prescient; those two plays essentially squashed whatever tiny hope Missouri harbored of derailing the Alabama juggernaut. The Crimson Tide turned the interception into a field goal, taking a 10-0 lead. Missouri only mustered 10 points the entire game, eventually falling 39-10.
Even before the opening kickoff, the Tigers’ chances of winning in Tuscaloosa were miniscule. Alabama won its first six games of the season by an average of 40 points and was favored by 29 against Missouri. But as Missouri enters a crucial back half of the season, Odom said there are positives the Tigers can take from its trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium. One of those positives began after Lock’s interception in the first quarter. Alabama started its drive at the Missouri 15-yard line and had to settle for a field goal.
“Any time you can make them kick a field goal in the red zone, we consider that a win for us,” junior linebacker Cale Garrett said after the game.
The Crimson Tide’s vaunted offense entered Saturday’s game having scored touchdowns on 27 of 33 trips inside an opponent’s 20-yard line. Against Missouri, Alabama made it into the red zone seven times, but scored just three touchdowns. Three times, Joseph Bulovas kicked a short field goal, and once, Missouri stuffed the Tide on fourth and one for a turnover on downs. Alabama moved the ball well, eclipsing 500 total yards for the seventh time in its seven games, but the team’s 39 points marked a season-low.
Odom said he was pleased with the defense’s performance in the red zone, especially considering two Missouri turnovers allowed the Crimson Tide favorable field position.
“It wasn’t perfect, but there were also some things, two drives, where I felt like the defense started inside the 15-yard line and came away with three points on both of them, so that’s a good thing,” Odom said. “... That’s something we can build on.”
Missouri was able to limit the damage inflicted by Alabama in the red zone because of its run defense. For most of the game, the Crimson Tide succeeded in running the ball, but inside the 20, the Tiger defense held firm. The most striking instance came in the third quarter, when Alabama faced a fourth down and one from the Missouri six-yard line. Damien Harris, the most physical of Alabama’s three regular running backs, rushed up the middle, and Missouri’s defensive front stuffed him for no gain.
“Making a team one-dimensional makes everything a little bit easier,” freshman linebacker Nick Bolton said. “If we can control the line of scrimmage, most of the time the game is in our favor.”
Missouri’s defensive players were far from jolly after the game, and Odom said he’s “not happy with getting beat 39-10.” But Odom and his players all insisted they’ll use this experience playing the nation’s No. 1 team in front of 101,821 fans to improve before a six-game stretch that will define the season and decide Odom’s future at the school. The bad plays will be watched again and used as teaching points. The positive moments, like keeping Alabama from the end zone on four of its six red zone trips, can give players confidence that those changes can be made.
“We’re going to go over all the film, say, hey, that was a good play there, that was a good play there,” Garrett said. “But we’re going to focus on what we need to get better. ... You can’t live in the good, especially when you’re not playing outstanding, so there’s a lot that we need to get fixed, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
Hall ejected for targeting
One of Alabama’s touchdown drives got a boost when linebacker Terez Hall was flagged and ejected for targeting. Hall met Harris at the line of scrimmage and tackled him for no gain, but a replay official paged a referee on the field and the hit was reviewed. Replay showed that Hall hit Harris’ head with the crown of his own helmet, so Hall was removed from the game and Alabama awarded eight yards and a first down.
After the game, Odom said the play was properly officiated, but said it’s difficult to eliminate helmet-to-helmet contact on running plays. Missouri’s other senior starting linebacker, Brandon Lee, was ejected on a similar play earlier this season against Purdue.
“The thing that is difficult to coach and teach is, when a defender has already gone into position to make a tackle,” Odom said, “... and also the ball-carrier, at the last minute, lowers as well to try to get a couple more yards or inches or whatever it is — when you’ve already gone into position to make a tackle and the ball-carrier does that after you’ve already gone into position, it’s really hard to get into position where it’s not a targeting.”
Bolton draws praise in relief
Hall was replaced by true freshman Nick Bolton. Bolton, a regular contributor on special teams for Missouri, hadn’t played a snap on defense since Missouri’s first two games of the season, when the Tigers blew out Tennessee-Martin and Wyoming. When he first entered the game, he said he was a bit anxious, but Odom and Garrett ultimately praised Bolton for his performance.
“I know he was assignment sound, because you go through the checks after the play series after every one and we go through the errors that might have taken place, and his name wasn’t coming up,” Odom said.
Players and coaches alike raved about Bolton during fall camp, and even though he hadn’t played much since prior to Saturday, Garrett said he was confident Bolton would deliver.
“I wasn’t super surprised that he played as well as he did,” Garrett said. “… Initial reaction is, shoot, Terez is out, because he is one of our playmakers. But it’s nice to have confidence in a guy like Bolton who can step in and play well.”
Pendleton shoulders blame for Lock’s tough night
For much of the game, Missouri’s offense looked out-matched against Alabama’s athletic defense. The Tigers mustered just 142 yards through the air and 212 total yards, both of which are season-lows. Quarterback Drew Lock threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked in his own end zone for a safety in the third quarter.
After the game, left guard Kevin Pendleton said Lock shouldn’t be criticized for the offense’s rough outing. Pendleton’s voice cracked as he explained that the offensive line, and he in particular, was to blame.
“When he struggles, it’s because of (the offensive line),” Pendleton said. “I gave up a sack, a strip fumble, but the people in the crowd are going to say, ‘Oh, he lost the ball, he folded under pressure.’ It’s bull, because it comes down to guys like me, guys like Paul Adams, guys like Trystan Colon-Castillo, that have played so much ball. ... I didn’t play well enough tonight, and I gotta get better.
“He’s going to go through hell this week,” Pendleton continued. “I’m going to see a report about how he’s falling on draft boards and scouts don’t like him under pressure and all this bull just because I didn’t do my job.”
Knox a bright spot for offense
Missouri’s offensive struggles resulted in part from the fact that, for the second consecutive week, it didn’t have many options in the receiving game. Seniors Emanuel Hall and Nate Brown are both battling groin injuries, and neither made the trip to Tuscaloosa. Junior Richaud Floyd dressed for the first time this season, but he never saw the field. Floyd broke a bone in his right leg during fall camp.
The lone bright spot was freshman wideout Jalen Knox. Knox finished the game with three catches for 61 yards, including Missouri’s only touchdown and an impressive diving grab down the sideline. The score came on a 20-yard reception, when Lock had plenty of time in the pocket and Knox extended his route, then snared Lock’s pass in the back of the end zone.
“After I ran my route, I saw that nothing was happening,” Knox said. “I just looked at Drew and I pointed. I ran across the field and I caught it. … He pointed at me to go the other way, but I was like, no, this way.”
Knox said he wasn’t overwhelmed by playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium; he said his upbringing playing high school football in Texas prepared him for such a stage. Odom said Knox showed the kind of playmaking ability Knox can bring to the Tiger receiving corps his career develops.
“For a guy that didn’t play receiver every snap in high school, he bounced around a lot at different positions, he’s got a natural feel for playing in the spot that he is,” Odom said. “He’s going to have the opportunity playing down the stretch here, and then the next couple years, he’s going to be dynamic.”