Alabama vs. Missouri: TV Info, Odds and Predictions for SEC Championship 2014
Top-ranked Alabama faces one final test before punching its ticket to the College Football Playoff, as the No. 14 Missouri Tigers take aim at an earth-shattering upset in the 2014 SEC Championship Game.
It's a repeat trip to Atlanta's Georgia Dome for Missouri, a school that has more than earned respect in its first few years in college football's marquee league.
But the Crimson Tide are far from strangers to the stage, having won the SEC West now in four of the last seven seasons. They also opened their season in the Georgia Dome, outlasting West Virginia 33-23 on August 30.
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Nick Saban's crew is the favorite far and away, as it would be against any team in the land. But anything can happen in the span of 60 minutes with so much talent on both sides of the field.
When: Saturday, Dec. 6
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
SEC Championship Odds
| Alabama | -14.5 | -620 |
| Missouri | +14.5 | +515 |
Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, last updated Dec. 3 at 10 p.m. ET
Game Preview and Prediction
You've heard all of the jokes by now.
As treacherous and tough-nosed as the SEC West has been from top to bottom in 2014, its SEC East counterparts have been punch-lines all season long. Having five of your seven members with six or fewer wins—in comparison to the burly West—will do that.
But Missouri won't be any sort of punch-line when Saturday afternoon comes.
The 10-2 Tigers ripped through their SEC slate with just one loss, coming up victorious in back-to-back must-wins at Tennessee and against Arkansas to get here. Quarterback Maty Mauk has shaken off a woeful start to 2014 by playing magnificent ball of late, going for at least 230 yards in each of the last three games.
While Mauk's timely plays have played a huge role in getting the Tigers here, running back Russell Hansbrough has been the workhorse. With at least 15 carries in five straight games, the SEC's sixth-leading rusher can pass the 1,000-yard plateau with 53 yards against the Tide.
He did suffer an injury scare late in Missouri's dramatic comeback over Arkansas, but head coach Gary Pinkel expects him to be a go on Saturday, per St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Dave Matter.
It's a reloaded pass rush, however, that truly makes the Tigers go. As Alabama coach Nick Saban elaborated on, defensive ends Shane Ray and Markus Golden are among the best duos in the country, per Rivals.com's Gabe DeArmond:
Missouri's defense has been a game-changer all season long, and the stats back it up as David Morrison of the Columbia Daily Tribune noted:
Even the best pass-rushers can meet their match against a cerebral mobile quarterback, and Alabama just might have the answer.
On the verge of being benched in the Iron Bowl, Tide quarterback Blake Sims bounced back to play the best football of his life. He did it largely with his arm, but his escapability has been a crutch for this offense against daunting defenses.
A looming injury could make Sims' legs all the more important. As Bleacher Report's Marc Torrence reported, the Tide could potentially be without tackle Cam Robinson:
"To make matters a little more complicated for Alabama, the status of its star left tackle, Cam Robinson, is still up in the air. Robinson sustained a shoulder injury against Auburn and has been limited in practice this week. He will likely be a game-time decision.
It will put even more pressure on Sims to make plays with his legs, to neutralize the one thing that Missouri does really well.
"
There's no discounting the importance of Sims against the duo of Ray and Golden, but it will be entrenched in Lane Kiffin's game plan to incorporate a lot of T.J. Yeldon in space and Amari Cooper on short routes.
Downhill running attacks have led to Missouri's demise in its two losses, as Indiana rolled for 241 rushing yards and Georgia racked up 210. With Yeldon peaking as the season goes on and Derrick Henry in relief, the Tide will have similar success.
The Tigers will keep this one close in the first half if Mauk can connect with Bud Sasser and Jimmie Hunt deep down the field against a suspect Alabama secondary. But it won't be a contest into the fourth quarter, as Sims and Cooper will take the top off Missouri's defense to close it out.
Prediction: Alabama 41, Missouri 24
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