Alabama entered Saturday night's home game against Missouri seeking some defensive atonement.
The Crimson Tide succeeded after a shaky first quarter.
After allowing a season-high points total in the 65-31 win at Arkansas on Oct. 6, Alabama had to rebound against a Tigers offense headed by senior quarterback Drew Lock and an improved running game. Missouri had a productive first 15 minutes at Bryant-Denny Stadium, amassing 111 yards on 20 plays and scoring 10 points, but the Tigers compiled just 101 yards over the final three quarters and were shut out the rest of the way in a 39-10 defeat.
"We didn't give up very many explosive plays, which is a good thing," Alabama coach Nick Saban said late Saturday night in a news conference. "I was pleased with the way (junior cornerback) Saivion (Smith) played, getting two interceptions. We kept people cut off for the most part.
"Their two best receivers did not play in the game and did not play last week against South Carolina, and I'm not sure what's exactly wrong with them, but I thought we did a pretty good job."
Lock, who set a Southeastern Conference single-season record last year with 44 touchdown passes, completed just 13 of 26 attempts for 142 yards. His lone scoring pass, a 20-yarder to Jalen Knox, occurred with two seconds remaining in the first quarter and pulled the Tigers to within 13-10.
Alabama used a 17-0 second quarter to establish a 30-10 halftime lead.
"I was happy with the way we played," senior outside linebacker Christian Miller told reporters. "There are still a couple of things we could've done a little bit better, but overall we came out and limited their points. They had a high-powered offense, and we got a chance to show what we can do against a first-round draft pick (Lock).
"It was a good effort from our defense."
The top-ranked Tide (7-0, 4-0) employed five defensive backs most of the night, even though Missouri (3-3, 0-3) was using two tight ends and two receivers.
"That's usually something we would play regular against," Saban said. "The front did a good enough job of stopping the run that we didn't need to do it, and we could adjust to all their formations a lot better in nickel. We settled down, and I was really pleased with how the guys played in the second half."
Overshadowing Alabama's seventh triumph by 20 or more points in its first seven games was the third-quarter injury to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who had thrown three touchdown passes. Saban said afterward that Tagovailoa tweaked the same knee he hurt in the Arkansas game and could have returned but that it wasn't worth it.
Backup Jalen Hurts, who compiled a 26-2 record as the starter the past two seasons, replaced Tagovailoa and went 7-of-8 passing for 115 yards.
"Jalen has played a lot, and he has done very well in games," Saban said. "I think he did a great job of managing the game when he was in. We were trying to run the ball and shrink the game a little bit and keep it away from them, and I thought he did a really good job.
"We have confidence in Jalen. He has really improved as a pocket passer. We are really pleased with the way he played today, and we have been pleased with the way he has played all year."
Saban said sophomore receiver DeVonta Smith pulled a muscle and is the "most questionable guy we have" heading into this week's trip to Tennessee (3-3, 1-2).
Davis apologizes
Alabama junior defensive end Raekwon Davis was penalized early in the fourth quarter for throwing punches at Missouri offensive lineman Kevin Pendleton, who was on the ground.
Davis apologized to Pendleton after the game and again through his Twitter account.
"I would like to apologize to Kevin Pendleton, the Missouri Tigers, their fans, Alabama fans, and my teammates and coaches for my actions during tonight's game," Davis wrote. "I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and that's unacceptable. Again, I'm sorry, and it will never happen again."
Tide tidbits
Alabama has averaged 9.81 yards per play this season when Tagovailoa is at quarterback. The Tide had two receivers produce 100-yard performances (Jerry Jeudy had 147 yards and Smith 100) for a third consecutive game after producing just five such games before in program history. Alabama had two interceptions and a fumble recovery against Missouri, bringing its total of created turnovers to 88 in its past 51 games, including 21 returned for scores.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.