Kalen DeBoer is impressed with what Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz has built. It’s a much different Tigers team than Alabama football is used to seeing.
It’s a Missouri team that has won 17 of its last 20 games, a Missouri team that has appeared in the Top 15 of the last 20 US LBM Coaches Polls.
“Just a resilient group, won some close games,” DeBoer said of Missouri. “So we’ve got another great task at hand as they’re all going to always be in the SEC. Our guys are looking forward to the challenge.”
Alabama kicks off against Missouri at 2:30 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide-Tigers game will be broadcast on ABC.
Here are three matchups to watch in Saturday’s Homecoming game between Alabama vs. Missouri.
Familiarity between Alabama football coordinators and Missouri coordinators
The upcoming chess match between Alabama vs. Missouri’s coordinators Saturday afternoon carries a bit of extra weight.
Missouri defensive coordinator Corey Batoon was Kane Wommack’s defensive coordinator at South Alabama from 2021-23, and worked under Kane’s father Dave Wommack at Ole Miss from 2012-16.
“I think the way that they play, I think the effort, the toughness, the physicality, the disruption of the football, I think those are the things that you see aside from maybe some similarities schematically because I think great coaches like the ones we’re going against this week, they just adjust to who they have and what their players do best,” Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said. “And so year to year that may look different. But I think the style of play and how they play, those are things that show up with coach Wommack and coach Batoon.”
Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore was DeBoer’s pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Fresno State. In Moore, Wommack said he expects an explosive game plan on the outside with “a lot of different things and pictures that they’re going to show you.”
“A lot of those schemes and tendancies are similar to ours,” Alabama co-defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler said. “But it’s kind of fun to go against a version of our own.”
Alabama pass rush vs Missouri QB Drew Pyne
Drew Pyne was not comfortable against Auburn.
The Missouri quarterback, who moved into the starting role against Auburn when Brady Cook was sidelined with an injury, was limited to 78 passing yards and completed 10 of 21 pass attempts.
Pyne is expected to be thrust into his first start of the season against Alabama. And the Crimson Tide must continue to make Pyne uncomfortable, mixing traditional three- and four-man pass rushes with blitzes to disrupt Pyne’s timing and Missouri’s ability to move the ball downfield.
That’s not all on Alabama’s pass rush, a unit that averages more than two sacks per game. It was not all on Auburn either, a unit that recorded one sack against Pyne last week, but five sacks and six tackles-for-loss overall.
Consistent discomfort is a key for Alabama against Pyne, whether through pressure or shifting pictures in the defensive backfield, enough for the second-string quarterback to hold onto the football.
Alabama cornerbacks vs Missouri WR Luther Burden
Maurice Linguist knows Missouri will find a way to get Luther Burden the football Saturday, no matter who the Tigers’ quarterback is.
“I think he’s going to end up being a high draft pick,” Linguist said of Burden, who he described as a weapon everywhere from the outside, both slot positions and in the backfield with the “speed on the GPS and on film” to get over the top and create separation.
The deep ball is something Alabama defensive backs have been susceptible to, something Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava continuously tested the Crimson Tide with.
Burden and the Missouri offense will likely follow suit, giving Domani Jackson, Jaylen Mbakwe and whichever Alabama cornerback is assigned to him their toughest task yet.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
