Looking To Saturday, How Do We Match Up With Missouri?

[KrAzY3]

Regarding home field advantage for Missouri, I think that's overblown. They have the least intimidating stadium outside of Vandy. Bama as we noted have played in two very hostile environments already. Bama face perhaps the most hostile environment I've seen at Fsu in recent memories. It was so loud and crazy, I knew it would affect our offense. In Athens, Kirby never lost a night at home and was 33 -0 in Sanford stadium. It didn't bother Bama one bit, heck I think the team thrive on it! The biggest advantage I believe for Missouri is that is an early game and Missouri had a bye to work on their game plan.

I don't think the environment should negatively affect Alabama much, at least in terms of crowd noise. They have certainly played worse in general on the road under DeBoer, but as you noted they have played in two far more hostile environments so that part isn't a real concern. It's probably more just Missouri being comfortable at home vs. potentially looking shaky on the road that's to Missouri's advantage.

It is still set up the way Missouri would want it to be, as you noted early game @ home, also a revenge game, coming off a bye, also coming off a tough game for Alabama. Some similarities to Vandy last year. The team just needs to show up and handle business though, as long as the team that played FSU doesn't show up I think Alabama should be fine.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I absolutely hate that our game is an early game. I wanted to do a long hike in north Georgia, but I will have to settle for closer to home a d a fairly quick one.

 

[RammerJammer14]

I absolutely hate that our game is an early game. I wanted to do a long hike in north Georgia, but I will have to settle for closer to home a d a fairly quick one.

I’ll be out of town for a wedding so will just have to hope it goes well, maybe check the score occasionally. Might be better for my blood pressure anyways lol.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

I actually think we match up well with Mizz very well. Don't get me wrong, It's a still good team and I'm not overlooking them, but everything I am seeing right now based on videos of Mizz offense/defense I think we'll do well.

On Offense: Keep doing what they have been doing for the last four games. Establish the running game, mix it up with some healthy dose of Miller/Riley/Hill. Someone mentioned quick passing game, but I agree and disagree at same time. The OL is good enough to hold their own. So just keep doing what they've been doing.. control the tempo, take off 8 mins off the clock. Stuff like that, but at same time, Push the tempo and get points on the board. We want to be up by 21 points at half time. Take the air out of the game.

Defense, just take what they did in 2nd half and continue to improve. Just do the job.

 

[81usaf92]

Regarding home field advantage for Missouri, I think that's overblown. They have the least intimidating stadium outside of Vandy. Bama as we noted have played in two very hostile environments already. Bama face perhaps the most hostile environment I've seen at Fsu in recent memories. It was so loud and crazy, I knew it would affect our offense. In Athens, Kirby never lost a night at home and was 33 -0 in Sanford stadium. It didn't bother Bama one bit, heck I think the team thrive on it! The biggest advantage I believe for Missouri is that is an early game and Missouri had a bye to work on their game plan.

Farout Field is one of those weird “built in a hole” stadiums in which you enter at the middle of the stadium. The stands are extremely close to the sidelines. So if they have anything to cheer about then that place can get stupid loud.

I’m reminded that Missouri has a bigger stadium and a larger fanbase than Oregon but yet Autzen Stadium is consistently ranked as a top 5 loudest and hostile stadium. How a stadium is built in order to trap noise is probably more important than how many people actually are there.

 

[PA Tide Fan]

I absolutely hate that our game is an early game. I wanted to do a long hike in north Georgia, but I will have to settle for closer to home a d a fairly quick one.

Yeah, I'm surprised this wasn't the prime time game. ABC has Georgia-Auburn in the prime time slot. OTOH an early game gets the stress out of the way quickly.

 

[PattheCatinSaudi]

It is strongly weighted towards current seasons offensive and defensive numbers. It does not allow for SOS in any way. It also said that Vandy would beat Bama 34-32.

The model will get closer as more data is inputted.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Bama passing game should be the difference in the game. our running game has shown signs of life and could be a factor as well. the defense is playing hungry and aggressive which bolds well for more turnovers. Bama is plus 9 in turnovers and has given up only one.

Rewatched the Vandy game, and our running game was clicking. Not sure why we got cute a few times when we were making good ground just lining up and pounding the rock. And that was against a team that all the pundits said we couldn't run on.

 

[bamamc1]

College Football Nerd's model has Missouri on top 30-20. Keep in mind that Missouri's toughest games were Kansas and at South Carolina.

Their other 3 were Central Arkansas, Louisiana, and UMass.

Their stats are skewed.

Missouri hasn’t played a road game this year.

 

[mlh]

It's hard to say how we match up since our schedules have been so different. We've had a couple of tough games and their only tough game was SC, and that was close. I think SC had a couple of opportunities to put them away and failed to do it.

I expect this game to be very much like the Vandy game. I think that is becoming our identity - very solid passing game, good running game, defense prone to giving up a big play or two but solid otherwise.

We have more talent than Mizzou. We've played a tougher schedule. And we're still playing with a chip on our shoulder. If I was a betting man, I'd take Bama and the points.

 

[Bamaro]

I'm not sure whether the SOS is for the full schedule or for games played so far.

 

[BamaMoon]

I'm not sure whether the SOS is for the full schedule or for games played so far.

When I first saw this comparison, I read it one line at a time and was pretty shocked at how their "numbers" match or in some cases exceed ours. But then I got to that last line and it was like bomb went off in my head.

I mean, they aren't a bad team, but that SOS stat is a BIG time problem for them. And, if there was a way to add it up, I'd venture to say most of their big stats come from some very inferior positional matchups so far that have allowed them to pimp their numbers. For instance, their rushing number is impressive, but if you take their 5 opponents, I'm curious where the DLs or LBs would rank nationally. I bet it's not good!

We know we've been tested by 3 or 4 good/decent teams. That's going to be the big difference in what happens. Outside of us showing up in a coma, turning the ball over OR being dumb with penalties, our talent gap will take over. If Ty and the passing game click, we could run them out of their own stadium!

I will say I think Drink is an above average coach who gets alot out of a team. I suspect that when he leaves for a better opportunity, Mizzu will regress.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Farout Field is one of those weird “built in a hole” stadiums in which you enter at the middle of the stadium. The stands are extremely close to the sidelines. So if they have anything to cheer about then that place can get stupid loud.

I’m reminded that Missouri has a bigger stadium and a larger fanbase than Oregon but yet Autzen Stadium is consistently ranked as a top 5 loudest and hostile stadium. How a stadium is built in order to trap noise is probably more important than how many people actually are there.

Yeah, we take classes for sound in architecture. Then in the real world we actually hire sound consultants for design.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

What was tough about VU's shovel pass was that they faked a handoff to the back and then had him reverse field and take the pitch. Usually when a back has a fake handoff the defense ignores him...at least in the middle of the scrimmage line. Really well run by them...I'm not sure I saw them run it in the 2nd half.

I would like to implement that shovel pass from time to time. It can be dangerous.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

When I first saw this comparison, I read it one line at a time and was pretty shocked at how their "numbers" match or in some cases exceed ours. But then I got to that last line and it was like bomb went off in my head.

I mean, they aren't a bad team, but that SOS stat is a BIG time problem for them. And, if there was a way to add it up, I'd venture to say most of their big stats come from some very inferior positional matchups so far that have allowed them to pimp their numbers. For instance, their rushing number is impressive, but if you take their 5 opponents, I'm curious where the DLs or LBs would rank nationally. I bet it's not good!

We know we've been tested by 3 or 4 good/decent teams. That's going to be the big difference in what happens. Outside of us showing up in a coma, turning the ball over OR being dumb with penalties, our talent gap will take over. If Ty and the passing game click, we could run them out of their own stadium!

I will say I think Drink is an above average coach who gets alot out of a team. I suspect that when he leaves for a better opportunity, Mizzu will regress.

Yeah, they're averaging 296 yards rushing per game. If they get 300 yards rushing on us we're dead. But I just dont think that 296 yards per game average is legit because of who is was against.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Yeah, they're averaging 296 yards rushing per game. If they get 300 yards rushing on us we're dead. But I just dont think that 296 yards per game average is legit because of who is was against.

It is kind of like us saying we average 73 points a game against teams in Louisiana.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Yeah, they're averaging 296 yards rushing per game. If they get 300 yards rushing on us we're dead. But I just dont think that 296 yards per game average is legit because of who is was against.

Yeah I think Mizzou is probably good to really good but they have faced some terrible rush defenses.

USCe - 70th
Kansas - 90th
Umass - 123rd
Louisiana - 130th

Central Arkansas - …. 74th In FCS

So they faced 2 teams that are Bad against the run and 2 teams who are Horrifically Bad against the run and 1 team that’s Bad against the run a whole division lower.

That’s maybe encouraging.

What’s not encouraging is Bama is ranked 88th in Rush Defense.

In our 2 road games we avg allowing about 230 yards rushing (FSU and UGA)

We were much better vs. Vandy though and only allowed 130 yards so maybe we are improving since Vandy has a Top 25 Rushing Offense.

 

[graydogg85]

Mizzou’s offense under Drink is actually pretty similar conceptually to ours, to the point that there was talk of DeBoer bringing in their OC Kirby Moore when he first arrived at Alabama and it became apparent Grubb wasn’t coming. Moore worked under DeBoer at Fresno State as the passing game coordinator.

Moore has done a good job tailoring the offense to fit their personnel, and as you can see it’s an extremely run-heavy offense this season. Pribula is a true dual-threat QB to the point that they basically just had wildcat-style packages for him at Penn State. The run game is very different from what Vandy does though - it is probably more “traditional” and downhill. They will call some designed runs with Pribula similar to how we used Milroe last season.

Vandy basically runs a more balanced version of a service academy offense, primarily from the shotgun and pistol sets.

Historically, we tend to defend an offense like Mizzou’s better than misdirection-based gadget schemes like Vandy and FSU. I thought we did an excellent job with Vandy last week though, especially after about midway through the second quarter. Vandy didn’t help their cause by getting away from the run. I think their starting RB only had 4-5 carries.

I’m not sure how all of this carries over to this week. It seems like more and more these days, games are played in a bit of a vacuum and prior results aren’t always as indicative as they used to be. I honestly thought we’d get boat raced by Georgia and I was glad to eat crow on that.

 

[BamaMoon]

Yeah I think Mizzou is probably good to really good but they have faced some terrible rush defenses.

USCe - 70th
Kansas - 90th
Umass - 123rd
Louisiana - 130th

Central Arkansas - …. 74th In FCS

So they faced 2 teams that are Bad against the run and 2 teams who are Horrifically Bad against the run and 1 team that’s Bad against the run a whole division lower.

That’s maybe encouraging.

What’s not encouraging is Bama is ranked 88th in Rush Defense.

In our 2 road games we avg allowing about 230 yards rushing (FSU and UGA)

We were much better vs. Vandy though and only allowed 130 yards so maybe we are improving since Vandy has a Top 25 Rushing Offense.

Thank you for that research on their opponents. Exactly what I suspected!

They have a very good HC and seem to always play above their heads, but if we keep our hand to the plow and play the way we have the last 4 games, Bama should take care of business!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Yeah I think Mizzou is probably good to really good but they have faced some terrible rush defenses.

USCe - 70th
Kansas - 90th
Umass - 123rd
Louisiana - 130th

Central Arkansas - …. 74th In FCS

So they faced 2 teams that are Bad against the run and 2 teams who are Horrifically Bad against the run and 1 team that’s Bad against the run a whole division lower.

That’s maybe encouraging.

What’s not encouraging is Bama is ranked 88th in Rush Defense.

In our 2 road games we avg allowing about 230 yards rushing (FSU and UGA)

We were much better vs. Vandy though and only allowed 130 yards so maybe we are improving since Vandy has a Top 25 Rushing Offense.

It looks like our defensive line is on the come up with the younger dudes starting to work their way into the lineup. If we give up their current rush average we've taken a big step back compared to where we are trending.