COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hasn’t beaten Alabama in football since 1975.
In fact, none of the six meetings since have been very close, including those as Southeastern Conference rivals.
If the No. 14 Tigers are serious about contending in the SEC, though, and potentially making the College Football Playoff, then beating the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide on Saturday has never been more important. Missouri is off to an unbeaten start, beat up South Carolina in its conference opener, and has steadily climbed through the AP Top 25 after starting off unranked.
But the Crimson Tide represent a different test entirely: a perennial national championship contender.
“It's a really good football team. Very physical, great size. All the measurables from a team you'd expect from Alabama,” Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula said. “You just have to play a good game and stay true to ourselves and not try to do too much. But that's a really good football team, and that's what you have to expect in the SEC.”
Missouri (5-0, 1-0) has not won its first six games in a season since 2013, its second year in the SEC, when it ultimately lost to Auburn in the conference championship game. The Tigers avoided Alabama that year, but they took care of Georgia, Tennessee and just about everyone else on the schedule in a season that truly heralded their arrival in the league.
That was under Gary Pinkel. Now, the Tigers have a chance to deliver a signature win for coach Eli Drinkwitz, who has led them to at least 10 wins each of the past two seasons but has never seemed to get the respect that he or his team deserve.
“I mean, they're 5-0. They're a ranked team,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “So I think the whole thing isn't like — there's not a surprise that we're facing this team that's going to be at a high level on the road.”
The Crimson Tide (4-1, 2-0) have certainly been on a roll of their own after a season-opening loss to Florida State. They went beat Georgia on the road a couple of weeks ago and knocked Vanderbilt from the ranks of the unbeaten last weekend.
“The way they played versus Wisconsin and Georgia and Vandy in comparison to Week 1, it looks like a totally different team,” Drinkwitz said. “They know who they are.”
Long time coming
The last time two top-15 teams met at Faurot Field was Sept. 29, 1979, when No. 4 Texas shut out the fifth-ranked Tigers. The Longhorns would finish 9-3 and lose the Sun Bowl while Missouri went 7-5 and won the Hall of Fame Classic.
Health check
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The Tigers hope to have All-American left tackle Cayden Green back this week. He started the first three games but missed the past two with a right foot injury, though the specific nature of it has not been revealed.
“Won’t know for certain until the end of the week,” Drinkwitz said.
Contrasting stars
Alabama features the SEC's most prolific passer in Ty Simpson, who leads the league with 1,478 yards through the air to go with 13 touchdown passes and just one interception. And while Pribula has played well for the Tigers, they counter with the SEC's top rusher in Ahmad Hardy, who has 730 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground this season.
More star searching
Alabama and Missouri each have one of the SEC’s top wide receivers, providing them with some game-breaking dynamism. For the Crimson Tide, that is Germie Bernard, who is averaging 15.7 yards on 25 catches with five TDs. For the Tigers, that is Kevin Coleman, who leads the conference with 39 receptions for 386 yards and a score.
“We work all off-season, summer and fall camp to play in games like this,” Alabama safety Bray Hubbard said. “Their record and numbers show that they’re a great team. We have to go in there prepared and do what we need to do to get a win.”
Home sweet home
In a bit of strange scheduling, the Tigers are wrapping up a six-game homestand to begin the season; they finally hit the road next week to go to Auburn. But the Crimson Tide are plenty familiar with playing away from Tuscaloosa, opening with Florida State in Tallahassee before beating the Bulldogs between the hedges in Athens, Georgia.
“Coach Drinkwitz has done a great job building that program up, being super consistent here with the wins,” DeBoer said, “but also just consistent each and every week with what you’re going to get. We’re going to be looking forward to a great challenge.”
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