Costly fourth-quarter mistakes stymie Mizzou in tough loss to Alabama

The Missouri defense arrived in one of Columbia’s biggest games in recent memory.

Led by edge rushers Damon Wilson II and Zion Young, it made the crucial stops that put the offense in position to score. But the offensive mistakes piled up. Quarterback Beau Pribula wasn’t as sound as he needed to be when throwing the ball against No. 8 Alabama in Saturday’s 27-24 loss, throwing two interceptions in the final quarter.

Miscues cost the No. 14 Tigers a chance to get revenge from a 34-0 loss at Alabama last year.

With a last-ditch effort at tying the game or taking the lead with 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Pribula threw his second pick of the game. Receiver Donovan Olugbode couldn’t get his eyes on the ball in time. Turnovers were the crux of Mizzou’s defeat.

“I thought there was a window there,” Pribula said,” I might have been too early, or it might have been a little high. ... Just thought I had a window there to Don on that scheme.”

Pribula finished his day with 167 passing yards and two touchdowns with a completion rate of 57%. He spent a lot of time in the run game, with 61 rushing yards and a touchdown. He outrushed Ahmad Hardy, who came into the game leading the FBS in rushing yards.

Hardy had 12 carries and ran for 51 yards. His next-lowest yardage total this season was 100 on 10 attempts against Central Arkansas.

The offensive play calling strayed from the rushing attack that brought the Tigers to a 5-0 start. Coach Eli Drinkwitz shouldered the blame for Hardy’s low usage and the result of the game.

“They’ve got a good football team,” Drinkwitz said. “We just didn’t get it done today. Not gonna assign blame to anybody other than the head football coach. It’s my responsibility to get our team ready to go. We had ourselves a chance at the end of the game.”

Mizzou started the morning — it was an 11 a.m. kickoff — by generating quick and efficient offense on its first drive. It ran five straight run plays — two from Hardy and three quarterback keepers from Pribula — and capped it off with a 26-yard completion to tight end Brett Norfleet. The Tigers marked their fifth opening-drive touchdown of the year, which leads the FBS.

That early momentum carried through as the Crimson Tide struggled to communicate early. STAR Daylan Carnell blew up a block and tackled receiver Germie Bernard for a loss of 5 yards, but a taunting penalty after the play by Young cost the Tigers 15 yards.

Later in the drive, Young was called offsides for an additional 5-yard penalty. With some steam lost on the Mizzou side, Alabama capitalized with a 6-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ty Simpson to Kevin Riley to tie the score up, 7-7, with 6:05 left in the first quarter.

“We’ve just gotta stop having silly penalties and play clean football, and we’ll be all right,” Carnell said.

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The Crimson Tide controlled the tempo for much of the first half, while Missouri kept making mistakes. Receiver Marquis Johnson would’ve likely had a wide-open touchdown catch the following drive, but Pribula missed his target by a lot and exited the field after a three-and-out. Later on in the half, he nearly threw a pick and fumbled on a third down on consecutive possessions.

The Mizzou defense stepped up to ensure the game didn’t get out of hand. Simpson zipped a 16-yard touchdown pass to receiver Isaiah Horton at the start of the second quarter, but the Tigers held Alabama to 17 points at halftime. A 30-yard punt from Connor Weselman put the unit in a difficult position with 5:28 left in the second quarter, but a huge sack for a loss of 9 yards by Wilson gave the offense another chance.

Early struggles on third down continued on that possession. Pribula scrambled for no gain rather than attempt a pass into the end zone, so Missouri settled for a 35-yard field goal from kicker Robert Meyer. Frustrations simmered after the drive. Johnson threw his helmet on the sideline. Despite all of that, Mizzou trailed by just a touchdown, 17-10, when it headed to the locker room.

When it got back on Faurot Field, Missouri immediately snatched momentum back. On Alabama’s first play of the second half, Young and linebacker Josiah Trotter combined for a strip sack on Simpson. Wilson recovered. In excellent field position, Pribula juked his way into the end zone to help tie the game at 17-17.

The swings kept coming by the defense. It stopped the Crimson Tide twice at the end of the third quarter after a called-back touchdown — capped off by a QB hurry from Wilson — which forced them to kick a 22-yard field goal.

It came in for the save again minutes later. Looking for an open Kevin Coleman Jr. running a route up the middle, Pribula and Coleman had a miscommunication. Pribula threw a low and short pass before Coleman even turned his body, which resulted in his fourth interception of the season.

“We were throwing the seam. Once we clear, we’ve got to get our eyes around,” Drinkwitz said of the pick. “I’m not sure that’s where the ball has to be put. ... Bottom line, it wasn’t executed the way we wanted to execute it. And whether that’s the wide receiver or the quarterback, end of the day, we can’t turn the ball over.”

Missouri’s defense forced another field goal attempt on the next Alabama drive, and Conor Talty missed the mark from 49 yards out. But the defense couldn’t do it all. With 4:54 remaining in the quarter, Simpson gave receiver Lotzeir Brooks a picture-perfect ball for a 29-yard reception. A couple of plays later, he found an open Daniel Hill in no man’s land to put Alabama up 27-17.

Mizzou kept fighting until the clock hit zero. Olugbode caught his first career touchdown with 1:39 left in the game to bring the score to 27-24, and the defense gave the offense another chance at the 1:17 mark. No timeouts put the Tigers in a tight spot, and the chance evaporated with the interception.

“Just got to do a better job of finding completions earlier,” Pribula said. “I think towards the end of the game we started to do that, but I think I’ve got to do a better job finding completions so we can get the offense in a rhythm and not be stuck on third-and-long and first series.”

The first game of October remains a treacherous spot on the schedule for Missouri. Texas A&M and LSU took it down the last two years, and now Alabama joins the list.