The 14th-ranked Missouri Tigers host the 8th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in a matchup of SEC teams vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers enter the contest with a perfect 5–0 record (1–0 in SEC play), while Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide are 4–1 on the season (2–0 in SEC play). Mizzou is trying to avenge a 34–0 beatdown at the hands of the Tide from last season on the road in Tuscaloosa. Missouri has yet to beat Alabama as a member of the SEC and hasn’t defeated the Crimson Tide since 1975. Saturday may be the best opportunity Missouri has had to beat the powerhouse program in quite some time, however. Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy leads the NCAA with 730 rushing yards and has an SEC-best nine rushing touchdowns on the season. While quarterback Beau Pribula has been everything the Tigers could have hoped for this season after transferring in from Penn State in the offseason.
Alabama is led by second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, who went 9–4 in his first season coaching the program in 2024. Alabama lost 34–17 to Florida State in the opening game of the season but has won every game since, including key victories over ranked Georgia and Vanderbilt.
Missouri’s defense will have its hands full trying to stop an Alabama offense led by junior quarterback Ty Simpson, who has 13 touchdown passes and only one interception so far this season. Missouri will counter with a defense that’s allowed the second-fewest yards per game in the SEC.
If Missouri can win on Saturday, it would likely vault the Tigers into the top 10 of the rankings and give them a great chance of making their first College Football Playoff.