Bama Central

Alabama Plays To Win: Things I Noticed in the Crimson Tide's Win Over Missouri

The Crimson Tide converted two fourth-down attempts to put its game against the Tigers out of reach.
Joe Gaither|
Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Matt Guzman/MissouriOnSI
Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Matt Guzman/MissouriOnSI | Matt Guzman/MissouriOnSI

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Alabama Crimson Tide

The No. 6 Alabama football team went on the road this past Saturday and beat No. 16 Missouri 27-24 to stay unbeaten in SEC play. The Crimson Tide relied on clutch plays and gutsy play-calling in its hard-fought victory over its third straight ranked opponent.

Alabama squandered opportunities to put the game away in the second half, but finally took control of the game with a wild eight-play touchdown drive after the defense's third-straight second-half stop.

Let's take a look at the Crimson Tide's game sealing drive in Columbia as the program put its competitive character on display.

Snap 1: First-and-10 from the Missouri 40-yard Line

The Crimson Tide's defense sets up the Alabama offense with great field position after generating a three-and-out and stopping a fake punt. Alabama faced its third opportunity to take its second-half lead to a two-score game in a crucial top-15 matchup.

Ty Simpson fumbled on the opening drive of the half, and the Crimson Tide opted for a 47-yard field goal after a long drive, which Conor Talty missed, putting immense pressure on the Alabama offense to come away with points to seal the game.

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is trying to open the drive with a deep-crossing pattern to Germie Bernard. Missouri is playing cover three, meaning the middle of the field will be in a schematic bind with Bernard on the over and tight end Josh Cuevas on a dig. Ryan Williams ran off the right side deep thirds player, but Simpson never had a chance to make a read on the play as right tackle Wilkin Formby gets beat by Damon Wilson, opening the drive with a seven-yard sack.

Formby turns after the play with his hands wide open, seemingly indicating he was expecting help from backup running back Daniel Hill in pass protection. Was Hill supposed to chip Wilson before leaking into the flat? Was Hill supposed to stay in to block all along? It's a communication issue we'll never truly have the answer to, but it becomes a devastating way to start a drive in a critical moment.

Snap 2: Second-and-17 from the Missouri 47

The Crimson Tide offense, now backed up behind the chains and dealing with a pass-protection issue, needed to call something to kick start the drive and get into a manageable third down situation. What did Grubb turn to? A screen to Kevin Riley.

Unfortunately, Missouri's defense had a great call, anticipating a screen or a quick pass by rushing just three defenders. Damon Wilson doesn't rush and either plays a spy on Ty Simpson or has Riley in man-to-man coverage. Sterling Webb recognizes the screen early and also begins to play Riley while the remaining two defenders rush Simpson. Simpson can't hold the ball and take another sack, so he delivers the pass to Riley, who's taken down for another seven-yard loss.

Missouri blows up the play with a solid call and an outstanding individual effort, and it looks like they'll get off the field and give the ball back to the offense with another opportunity to take the lead.

Snap 3: Third-and-24 from the Alabama 46

Alabama's offense is now in an interesting position. Does the Crimson Tide try for a 24-yard play that will get a first down? Take a check-down and punt? Take a check-down and try for a long field goal, extending the lead to only six points.

Missouri's defense dictates the situation as its secondary sets up 15 yards off the ball, begging the Crimson Tide to throw underneath. The Tigers rush four, and Alabama chips on both edges, giving both Kadyn Proctor and Wilkin Formby extra help at tackle. Ty Simpson looks deep, but quickly checks down to Kevin Riley on a four-yard pass. Riley races and splits two Tiger defenders before he's eventually stopped by a third, but his yards after the catch force Kalen DeBoer into an even more difficult decision.

Will DeBoer opt for a 56-yard field goal? Will he opt to punt and give the Tigers the ball back with just over five minutes to play and a long field in front of them to take the lead, or will he opt to go for it on fourth-and-eight after the two negative plays to open the game?

The decision is further complicated by the pass-protection issues on the drive, starting running back Jam Miller's exit earlier in the game with a concussion and Ryan Williams's uncertain status, going without a reception on the afternoon.

Snap 4: Fourth-and-8 from the Missouri 38

Kalen DeBoer opted to keep his offense on the field as a touchdown drive would likely give the Crimson Tide enough to hang on for victory.

Missouri showed a five-man pressure at the line of scrimmage before the play, and Ty Simpson adjusted the protection scheme accordingly. The Tigers ultimately only rushed four as Daniel Hill took the linebacker out of the rush when he went into the pass pattern, but the remaining Alabama offensive linemen, Kadyn Proctor, William Sanders, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts, and Wilkin Formby picked up the Missouri rush effectively, giving Simpson plenty of time to make the most impressive pass of the afternoon.

Simpson drifted left and let Germie Bernard clear space for Lotzier Brooks as they both ran corner routes to different depths. Bernards' deeper route drew the attention of the safety, while the other deep safety dropped into the hole looking for a crosser, or to stop Simpson on a scramble. Brooks beat his man over the top and caught Simpson's pass just over Toriano Pride's hands. Simpson's pass had the perfect arc and velocity and gave Brooks a great opportunity to make a clutch reception to keep the drive moving, which he did.

"Yeah, you're just too far out for a field goal, obviously," DeBoer said after the game. "And just keep swinging. I just feel like if we keep swinging and they put me in a spot to put the pressure on me by converting some yards on third down. When I see the fight and I see us get the ball, and I think, was it Kevin [Riley] on the checkdown? And he's knifing through. I just see us battling. There's a feeling you have. There's a belief you have. A lot of it is on the body language and on the execution, and just feel when you've got a quarterback with some guys around him that can go make plays. You can't be reckless, and a punt in that spot can gain you some yards. It can put them back, but also, we're going to play to win. We've done that quite a bit this season, already, and want to continue to play to win."

Snap 5: First-and-goal from the Missouri 9

The Crimson Tide's fourth down conversion sets them up inside the 10-yard line, meaning naturally it's time for the first rushing play of the series.

This play is challenging to decipher, given Daniel Hill's path after the handoff. I believe this play is an inside zone, and Hill has an opportunity to follow his offensive lineman and end up in the front-side B gap off Jaeden Roberts' right hip. This path leaves him one-on-one with Caleb Flagg to beat to get into the endzone.

Instead, Hill scans and looks backside immediately, making me think it may be designed this way. Duo is often designed to get the running backs cutting away from the direction the linemen are blocking, and Hill certainly looks like he's looking to go left all the way. He cuts back left and into the man Kadyn Proctor appeared to block for a short gain on first down.

Snap 6: Second-and-goal from the Missouri 7

Second down just becomes a good football play by both sides as Missouri rushes six and Alabama picks it up nicely. Running back Daniel Hill takes the outside rusher, and each offensive lineman stonewalls its Tiger rusher. Ty Simpson looks right initially as Isiah Horton runs a quick ou,t and Ryan Williams runs a stemmed down corner route. Both receivers appear to break open, but Simpson must not like the distance in the throw as they're to the wide side of the field. Instead, Simpson turns back left to see if Germie Bernard breaks open. Simpson puts his pass to the back pylon, but Bernard breaks more horizontally to the sideline in a tight space. The ball falls harmlessly incomplete as Missouri got the better of Alabama on the down.

Snap 7: Third and-goal from the Missouri 7

The chess match continues on third down as Missouri brings four men initially before the Tiger linebacker misidentifies Daniel Hill as a blocker and green-dog blitzes.

Ty Simpson's initial look appears to be Ryan Williams to the flat, and then Isaiah Horton on a middle-of-the-field curl, but he doesn't like either option. He gets back to the left side and may have thrown another ball to the back pylon to Germie Bernard, who appears to break open, but he doesn't seem to like that either. Instead, Simpson fires a pass to the left sideline to Danny Lewis for a six-yard gain. Simpson's pass is just ahead of the outstretched defender's arms, and Lewis makes a strong reception in an important spot, but had the Alabama quarterback held the ball a second longer and recognized the Tiger linebacker in no man's land he may have been able to dump the ball to Hill as he flowed to the goal line without restriction.

Snap 8: Fourth-and-goal from the Missouri 1

There's no real decision on fourth-and-goal, if Alabama already went for it on fourth-and-eight just outside the redzone earlier in the drive. The Crimson Tide kept its offense on the field with a chance to put the game just outside Missouri's grasp.

Alabama lined up in empty and ran Daniel Hill fast into the flat, right into a boundary corner blitz from Missouri. Grubb had the perfect call and Nicholas Rodriguez found himself in no man's land as Hill raced past him. Combine Hill's route with Danny Lewis's stick route, functioning as a pick, and Hill broke wide open. Simpson floated a pass over Rodriguez and the Crimson Tide finally had its second-half two-score lead.

The play design was excellent as even if Rodriguez covered Hill, Simpson had an opportunity to go to Germie Bernard on a slant route on the opposite side. The throw might've been tougher, but it was there as Grubb gave Simpson multiple answers based on the defense's post-snap reactions.

Alabama Crimson Tide On SI

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Joe Gaither
JOE GAITHER

Joe Gaither oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt web sites.

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