Pete Scantlebury
PowerMizzou.com Associate Editor
ATLANTA-- No. 16-Missouri's season of second-half resurgence fell short against top-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
The Crimson Tide (12-1, 8-1 SEC) rolled to a 21-3 halftime lead and held off a third-quarter charge by Missouri (10-3, 7-2 SEC) to win, 42-13. Quarterback Blake Simscompleted 23-of-27 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, as Alabama's offense gashed Missouri's previously-stout defense again and again.
"We just couldn't make stops when we needed to," linebacker Michael Scherer said. "We didn't play our best today."
The role-reversal between Missouri and Alabama's offense was most prevalent in the first half. It was the Crimson Tide, previously the Luddites of up-tempo innovation, marching up and down the field with pace.
Missouri -- normally known as an explosive, fast attack -- pulled and plodded, the only reprieve from stalled drives being long passes, mainly to Jimmie Hunt.
Missouri's leading receiver entering Saturday -- Bud Sasser -- had no catches at halftime. Alabama's leading man, Amari Cooper? Ten for 61.
Cooper finished with 12 catches for 83 yards.
With Lane Kiffin at the helm, the Crimson Tide's offense out-rushed, out-passed, out-paced, out-everythinged Missouri over the first 30 minutes of game time. Alabama's opening drive went 68 yards on 12 plays, didn't face a third-down and ended with a short run up the middle into the end zone by T.J. Yeldon.
Missouri's defense took a big hit when defensive end Shane Ray -- the conference's leader in sacks and tackles-for-loss -- hit Sims late and high on what would be a 58-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White.
Officials flagged Ray for targeting and ejected him from the game.
"I'm going to just let the people who watch the film ... judge the call," Ray said. "I'm just going to let people make that on their down decision. It's not my call, obviously.
"You feel like you were slighted, of course you're going to be angry. It is what it is."
Missouri's offense enjoyed a third-quarter awakening, almost exclusively on a Maty Mauk to Hunt connection. Hunt caught four passes for 120 yards in that quarter, and the Tigers scored ten unanswered points to cut Alabama's lead to 21-13.
Hunt finished with six catches for 169 yards. Mauk completed 16-of-34 passes for 272 yards. The lone Missouri touchdown of the evening came on a fourth-and-one pass to Sasser. But, outside of one touchdown drive and two field-goal drives, Missouri's offense couldn't sustain drives. Six of Missouri's 11 drives last four plays or fewer. Five drives failed to get at least ten yards.
"We was up and down a little bit on offense," Hunt said. "We should have had a little more enthusiasm. We should have just got a lot more first downs.
Missouri would get no closer than an eight-point deficit, however. After a first-half of no-huddle, up-tempo offense, Alabama returned to a more familiar form. Using a stable of running backs, Alabama rolled off 21 unanswered points, its last two touchdowns coming by Derrick Henry.
As a team, Alabama converted nine-of-13 third-down attempts. In the second half, the Crimson Tide only faced five third downs, and converted four of them.
"Whether it was the quick passes they were throwing or what they did, they just kept converting on third downs," Scherer said. "When you're on the field for so long, it gets difficult."
Henry led both teams with 141 yards on 20 carries. His last long run -- 45-yards to Missouri's 1-yard line -- was indicative of the kind of night for the Tigers' defense. Defensive end Markus Golden was left chasing Henry, grasping at air as he nearly scored.
He'd cover that last remaining yard on the very next play.
"It hurts, man," Golden said. "It hurts. We put in a lot of work."
https://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712682
PowerMizzou.com Associate Editor
ATLANTA-- No. 16-Missouri's season of second-half resurgence fell short against top-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
The Crimson Tide (12-1, 8-1 SEC) rolled to a 21-3 halftime lead and held off a third-quarter charge by Missouri (10-3, 7-2 SEC) to win, 42-13. Quarterback Blake Simscompleted 23-of-27 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, as Alabama's offense gashed Missouri's previously-stout defense again and again.
"We just couldn't make stops when we needed to," linebacker Michael Scherer said. "We didn't play our best today."
The role-reversal between Missouri and Alabama's offense was most prevalent in the first half. It was the Crimson Tide, previously the Luddites of up-tempo innovation, marching up and down the field with pace.
Missouri -- normally known as an explosive, fast attack -- pulled and plodded, the only reprieve from stalled drives being long passes, mainly to Jimmie Hunt.
Missouri's leading receiver entering Saturday -- Bud Sasser -- had no catches at halftime. Alabama's leading man, Amari Cooper? Ten for 61.
Cooper finished with 12 catches for 83 yards.
With Lane Kiffin at the helm, the Crimson Tide's offense out-rushed, out-passed, out-paced, out-everythinged Missouri over the first 30 minutes of game time. Alabama's opening drive went 68 yards on 12 plays, didn't face a third-down and ended with a short run up the middle into the end zone by T.J. Yeldon.
Missouri's defense took a big hit when defensive end Shane Ray -- the conference's leader in sacks and tackles-for-loss -- hit Sims late and high on what would be a 58-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White.
Officials flagged Ray for targeting and ejected him from the game.
"I'm going to just let the people who watch the film ... judge the call," Ray said. "I'm just going to let people make that on their down decision. It's not my call, obviously.
"You feel like you were slighted, of course you're going to be angry. It is what it is."
Missouri's offense enjoyed a third-quarter awakening, almost exclusively on a Maty Mauk to Hunt connection. Hunt caught four passes for 120 yards in that quarter, and the Tigers scored ten unanswered points to cut Alabama's lead to 21-13.
Hunt finished with six catches for 169 yards. Mauk completed 16-of-34 passes for 272 yards. The lone Missouri touchdown of the evening came on a fourth-and-one pass to Sasser. But, outside of one touchdown drive and two field-goal drives, Missouri's offense couldn't sustain drives. Six of Missouri's 11 drives last four plays or fewer. Five drives failed to get at least ten yards.
"We was up and down a little bit on offense," Hunt said. "We should have had a little more enthusiasm. We should have just got a lot more first downs.
Missouri would get no closer than an eight-point deficit, however. After a first-half of no-huddle, up-tempo offense, Alabama returned to a more familiar form. Using a stable of running backs, Alabama rolled off 21 unanswered points, its last two touchdowns coming by Derrick Henry.
As a team, Alabama converted nine-of-13 third-down attempts. In the second half, the Crimson Tide only faced five third downs, and converted four of them.
"Whether it was the quick passes they were throwing or what they did, they just kept converting on third downs," Scherer said. "When you're on the field for so long, it gets difficult."
Henry led both teams with 141 yards on 20 carries. His last long run -- 45-yards to Missouri's 1-yard line -- was indicative of the kind of night for the Tigers' defense. Defensive end Markus Golden was left chasing Henry, grasping at air as he nearly scored.
He'd cover that last remaining yard on the very next play.
"It hurts, man," Golden said. "It hurts. We put in a lot of work."
https://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712682
