Alabama vs Missouri: Postgame Grades from the Tide's Win vs. the Tigers

Alabama faced Missouri on Faurot Field in the driving rain. Missouri was without starting quarterback James Franklin and Alabama was down two running backs and a wide receiver. (Dee Hart, Jalston Fowler and DeAndrew White.)

Alabama played some seriously dominating football and looked absolutely unbeatable. That is, until the weather gave everyone a half-hour break. After the break, the Tide came out looking like a completely different team.

Not only did Alabama look beatable, there was a moment in the fourth quarter, during a semi-sustained Missouri drive that it looked possible the Tide could lose today.

Read on to see how this was reflected on the report card.

*Stats not from memory are from ESPN.com

Quarterbacks

Overall Grade: B+ (McCarron), A (Sims)

A.J. McCarron came out strong and led the Tide to a quick 28-0 lead. After the lightning break, the Tide came out flat. McCarron was less aggressive and decidedly less successful, to the point that he turned the ball over to the Tigers all by himself. However, after McCarron's injury, the offense went to the ground for a while. McCarron went to the air a bit in the fourth quarter to sustain a drive, but the meat of the offense from lightning break to final whistle was the ground game.

McCarron finished the game 16/21 for 171 yards and no aerial touchdowns, but a concerning 2/9 on third down.

Blake Sims hit the field for the Tide in the fourth quarter, and his responsibility was not to turn the ball over and eat the clock via the ground game. He responded by leading a ground attack that put 'Bama in the end zone for the final score of the night. That attack included a 36-yard scamper that set up a Tide touchdown.

Running Backs

Overall Grade: A+

Eddie Lacy began gouging the Tigers in the first quarter, with Lacy scoring on the second play of the game from 73 yards out. While that was clearly the most successful Tide play of the game, that was merely the beginning of the Tide's rushing destruction of the Tigers' defense.

Eddie Lacy finished the game with 176 yards on 18 carries and three of the Tide's touchdowns.

T.J. Yeldon finished the game with 144 yards on 18 carries and two of the Tide's scores.

Kenyan Drake established himself as a legit tailback (yes, again) by hitting Tide paydirt for the sixth and final time of the day.

Wide Receivers

Overall Grade: A-

The wideouts did a great job in this game, though a lot if it was springing running backs for first-down gains. Kenny Bell had a monster 44-yard reception in the clutch when Alabama really needed a spark.

Amari Cooper led the Tide in number of receptions with four and had a big 27-yarder to establish himself as a threat to the Tigers. Kevin Norwood rounded out the Tide's three leaders with three receptions for 25 yards of his own.

Tight Ends

Overall Grade: A-

The tight ends pulled their weight in this game by blocking, run blocking and even catching passes when called upon. Michael Williams had a 17-yard reception to sustain a Tide scoring drive.

While unsung heroes of the Tide offense, it's easy to tell when they don't show up for a game: The Tide rushing attack suffers greatly. That was not the case this game at all. The Tide rushing attack hung 351 yards on the Tigers.

Offensive Line

Overall Grade: B-

The offensive line is struggling with consistency this year. The line came out ready to rumble up until the lightning delay. After the delay, there was sporadic pressure on the quarterback that eventually resulted in McCarron suffering a bruised knee.

Also after the break, the running backs had some issues with finding holes to run through. That got fixed in the second half, but this line is hot and cold. When the linemen are hot, they can lead a 21-point explosion in one quarter. When they're cold, McCarron is under pressure and the Tide is punting before you can say “What was that?”

Defensive Line

Overall Grade: A-

The defensive line was huge in this game, holding the Tigers to a scant field goal through 60 minutes. When the special teams unit failed them and allowed Missouri to start in field-goal range, the line stepped up and owned the Tigers. The defense forced a fumble that ended the Tigers' hope for a potential comeback.

The huge downside to the line was LaMichael Fanning's Tekken-like suplex on Mizzou's quarterback that will probably land him on the bench for the Tennessee battle. It will land him in Saban's doghouse for longer than that, for sure.

Linebackers

Overall Grade: A-

Adrian Hubbard and C.J. Mosley combined for two of the Tide's three sacks and basically owned the quarterback for every quarter except the fourth. In the fourth quarter, Missouri showed the frightful ability to slice the Tide defense for short gains and first downs. That didn't last long, though. The Tide linebackers and secondary both stepped up and extinguished what little life the Tigers' offense displayed.

Defensive Backs

Overall Grade: A-

Missouri had zero offensive plays of 30 or more yards. The longest was a lone pass play of 29. Vinnie Sunseri and HaHa Clinton-Dix combined for two interceptions, yet again leaving plenty of room to debate who is actually the better defensive back. When plays broke down and Missouri found the second level, that's all it found. The end zone was nowhere in sight. Even when the Tigers could smell the end zone, there was the Tide secondary picking off a pass and crushing the hopes of the newly-inducted SEC member.

The lone pass play of 29 yards leaves room for concern. This was a backup quarterback that hit that route. Alabama may not get that lucky in the future, and coverages will have to be much tighter.

Special Teams

Overall Grade: C-

It was the best of teams; it was the worst of teams. Special teams showed up and played well in the first and fourth quarters. Then came the second quarter. After the lightning break, Alabama looked completely different in all phases of the game.

After the successful PAT, special teams allowed Missouri a 98-yard return to the house to put Missouri on the board. Later, Cody Mandell would completely miss a great snap and allow Missouri to start well on the scoring side of the 50.

In the fourth quarter, the kickoffs following the two touchdowns both went for touchbacks. That was a much-needed improvement, but would have been much appreciated earlier in the game.

Coaching

Overall Grade: A-

The lightning break messed everything up for everyone in crimson and white. Before the break, Alabama looked absolutely unbeatable. The mistakes from earlier games in the season looked like they were going to be distant memories after 60 fleeting minutes of Alabama football.

Then came the storm. Not just in the sky; that storm passed. What came after that was lack of execution, lack of adjustment and general average-ness from the Crimson Tide.

Even after Missouri's field goal, there were huge questions. Why was Alabama still running the ball to eat clock in the third quarter? Missouri was only down by 18. The Tigers had every bit of hope left if Alabama was going to stick to the ground attack. Even after McCarron's injury, the first few plays were designed runs. Later on, the coaches seemed to “get it” and allow McCarron to make drive-sustaining throws to end up in the end zone so he could come out and heal.