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On Homecoming, Alabama football welcomed home some defense vs Missouri | Goodbread
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- On Homecoming, Alabama football welcomed home some defense vs Missouri | Goodbread
On Homecoming, Alabama football welcomed home some defense on Saturday.
It's been awhile since the Crimson Tide was consistently dominant on that side of the ball, and by awhile, I mean the 2020 UA team that won the Crimson Tide 's last national championship with the likes of Will Anderson, Christian Barmore , Pat Surtain and Brian Branch . Even that defense had its hiccups – 48 points allowed against Ole Miss , and 46 to Florida – but most weeks, it held together just fine.
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Four years later, Alabama 's defense hasn't measured up anywhere close to that level. But for one gloriously weathered afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium, new defensive coordinator Kane Wommack's stop unit turned in a peak performance in a 34-0 home win over Missouri . In fact, it was Alabama's first shutout in SEC play since that same 2020 season, when the Crimson Tide blanked Mississippi State 41-0 on Halloween.
Whatever got into the Crimson Tide defense, Wommack should bottle it for future use if he can.
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What he can't bottle is the advantage of playing against a backup quarterback every week. Missouri star QB Brady Cook entered the game already hobbled with an injury, started anyway, then got hurt again when he busted a finger on his throwing hand on the helmet of Alabama linebacker Que Robinson. Tigers backup Drew Pyne wasn't at all up to the task, throwing three interceptions and struggling mightily for the second week in a row. Missouri has exactly one offensive weapon that truly belongs in the 'dangerous' category − star wide receiver Luther Burden − but without Cook to ignite Burden's production, the Tigers ' offense was handcuffed.
This was no juggernaut Alabama faced Saturday.
That said, Alabama's defense played its best game of the season at just the right time for a confidence booster: entering an idle week with a crucial road game at LSU up next. Safeties Malachi Moore and Bray Hubbard drifted easily into the path of two ill-advised Pyne throws for interceptions, and linebacker Qua Russaw made it a third pick with a tough catch near the home sideline. Missouri had slightly better luck running the ball than throwing it, but once the Crimson Tide offense found a groove and opened a big lead, the Tigers' offense had no choice but to stick with a passing game that posed no real threat.
Missouri managed just 239 yards of total offense, with only 72 of it through the air. The Tigers converted on third down just three times, and with the shutout in jeopardy, Alabama's Daron Payne Jr. and Justin Okoronkwo combined for a fourth-down stuff on the Crimson Tide 1-yard line with 4:21 remaining.
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The win momentarily stabilized the Crimson Tide's precarious College Football Playoff hopes as it continues to navigate a lose-and-done proposition through the second half of the season. As a two-loss team, Alabama's margin for error is nil.
And the defense played like it.
This story was updated to add new information.
Tuscaloosa News sport columnist Chase Goodbread.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Goodbread: On Homecoming, Alabama football welcomed home some defense
