Alabama Gets the Performance It Needed Heading Into Bye

After struggling in the last three games, the Crimson Tide put together its most complete game of the season in Saturday's victory over Missouri.

Oct 26, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Justice Haynes (22) celebrates with offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor (74) after scoring a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / Will McLelland-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—  The game had already well been decided by that point, but a play with just over four minutes to go in, Kalen DeBoer decided to call timeout. Alabama had a double-digit lead over Missouri and had been pitching a shutout up until that point.

With a lot of Alabama's backup defenders in, the Tigers were able to move the ball deep inside the Crimson Tide red zone and faced a fourth-and-goal from the 1 to get on the board and end Alabama's chances at its first shutout in SEC play since 2020.

But the Alabama defense came up with the stop in the backfield, and No. 15 Alabama preserved the shutout on the way to a 34-0 victory over No. 21 Missouri.

Alabama was limping into Saturday's matchup against Missouri. The Crimson Tide had lost two of its last three games and had several key guys battling through injuries.

After Alabama's loss to Tennessee, DeBoer lamented his team's inability to have both sides of the ball clicking at the same time. Against Vanderbilt, the offense played well, but the defense couldn't get off the field. In the loss to Tennessee, the defense forced three turnovers and played well for most of the game, and the offense couldn't take advantage. But Saturday against Missouri, the two sides put together one of Alabama's most complete performances of the season.

"I really wanted them to get that shutout there," DeBoer said. "That's why I called the timeout. If there was any type of question at all, I wanted to let us get our feet in the ground and be able to play football. Wanted that for them because I know they've been working extremely hard and just staying the course and appreciate the effort today. Really kept us right there to where once the offense then got it rolling better and found ways there, especially the latter half of the second quarter to where we really started playing a full team game."

The defense once again forced three turnovers on Saturday against Missouri, and the Crimson Tide was able to convert two of those three into touchdowns after going 0 for 3 in those opportunities against Tennessee. Left guard Tyler Booker said it felt great to finally repay and reward the defense for their strong play.

"What I mean by that is they played a great game last week, and they got a lot of turnovers, and we weren’t able to capitalize," Booker said after the game. "Football’s a give-and-take game. So they give us the ball, we have to be able to take advantage of it. It felt great to be able to pay them back by putting some points on the board."

A lot of issues that had been plaguing Alabama the last few weeks were at least temporarily resolved against the Tigers. Alabama has struggled to get off the field and held Missouri to 3-of-13 on third downs and 0 for 1 on fourth down. The Crimson Tide's rushing attack, especially with the running backs, has been almost non-existent the last three games, but Jam Miller and Justice Haynes had a strong day on Saturday. Alabama had 271 total rushing yards, its highest total since the season opener against Western Kentucky.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe shook off a slow start and played well with 215 yards through the air and another 50 on the ground with a touchdown. More importantly, Milroe did not have a turnover after throwing multiple interceptions in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.

On special teams, transfer kicker Graham Nicholson made both of his field goal attempts (47 yards, 39 yards) in the first half. The two made-field goals matched his total through the first seven games, and the 47-yarder was his season long.

Granted, Missouri was missing key players like leading rusher Nate Noel and starting quarterback Brady Cook for most of the game, but the Crimson Tide has been struggling with some of these major issues no matter the quality of opponent or environment.

One concerning trend that continued for Alabama was the amount of penalties. The total number went down from last week's loss at Tennessee, but the Crimson Tide still committed seven penalties for 85 yards against Missouri.

It was far from a perfect game for the Crimson Tide. And coaches and players are always going to be critical of themselves after a game and point out room for improvement, but a shutout performance against a ranked SEC foe gives this Alabama team confidence going into a critical point in the season.

"We’re definitely increasing— increasing our will to have a certain standard stepping out on the field," starting linebacker Jihaad Campbell said after the game.

DeBoer said he saw a different level of physicality from his team, whether that was in the running game, like the powerful touchdown below from Haynes, or the hard-hitting tackles from the Crimson Tide defenders throughout the game.

BRING THE BOOOM!!! 💥💥💥@justicehaynes6

📺ABC pic.twitter.com/hk1GmN9uk3

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 26, 2024

At this point in a season, no one is completely healthy, and Alabama did suffer another injury on Saturday from redshirt freshman receiver Cole Adams, but this bye week comes at a good time to get players, especially in the secondary, back in better health.

The first eight games have been a mixed bag for Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC), but Saturday's performance was just what the Crimson Tide needed heading into the bye with its College Football Playoff chances still intact.

In the first two thirds of the season, Alabama has shown its floor in the two losses, and its ceiling when it's playing at its best (first half against Georgia.) Depending on the results of Saturday night's game at Texas A&M, LSU will either be the lone undefeated team remaining in SEC play if the Tigers beat the Aggies, or LSU will be tied for second with one conference loss.

Alabama knows it has its back up against the wall after taking the second loss of the season at Tennessee. But despite the two losses, the Crimson Tide still has a path to the playoff because of the wins already on the resume and the opportunities ahead. This season is far from over, and DeBoer has his team in a good position with four games remaining in the regular season.

"And I know where these guys' heads are at with what they did this last week, with what happened today. Might be time for us to have this week to get ready for LSU and the bye. You can always find a reason for it to be a good time, and I feel it's good time to start our guys recover physically and mentally and make the final run."

Read more: What Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama's Blowout Victory Over Missouri

Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said After Missouri Lost to Alabama

Complete Domination for Alabama Defense in Shutout Win over Missouri