No. 1 ALABAMA (6-0, 3-0 SEC) vs. MISSOURI (3-2, 0-2)
7 p.m. EDT at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
VIDEO & RADIO
ESPN & 97.3/99.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
Missouri has upped its running game under first-year offensive coordinator Derek Dooley, having averaged 211.6 yards per contest this season and rushed for 172 during its 43-29 home loss to Georgia on Sept. 22. Alabama, meanwhile, ranks an uncharacteristic eighth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing defense, having allowed an average of 134.3 yards a game, up from 94.7 for all of last season. "We don't always strike the blockers up front, and we haven't always fit the runs exactly like we would like with the linebackers and the secondary run support hasn't always been as good as it needs to be," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "We've also given up a lot of yards in the fourth quarter, which sort of throws things off a little bit. We've got a lot of new players, and we've had some injuries that we've had to overcome."
ONE TO WATCH
Missouri senior quarterback Drew Lock may never have a bigger showcase in which to impress NFL scouts than facing the Crimson Tide defense inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Lock set an SEC record last season with 44 touchdown passes but has just 11 through five games and didn't have any against Georgia. "Drew took last week's loss to South Carolina hard, as our whole locker room did," coach Barry Odom said of the 37-35 defeat. "Drew puts a lot on himself as far as carrying this football team, and he's also one of the greatest competitors I've been around. He knows the challenges that are out there this week, and he also knows the opportunities not only from his standpoint but for the entire football team."
IN THE END
Alabama's average game score this season is 56-16, which is actually misleading given that the average is 40-6 at halftime. Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has yet to throw a fourth-quarter pass, so how would the Tide fare in a four-quarter game? "It's impossible to create that if it hasn't happened in a game," Saban said. "There are things we can do in practice with end-of-the-game situations - needing a touchdown or needing a field goal with so much time left. When do you clock the ball? How do you take the air out of it if you're ahead and it's a close game? Until you have to do it in a game, you never know how ready you are for it. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it will at some point this season." Just not in this game.
PREDICTION
Alabama 49, Missouri 16