TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – On the second play of the game, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovalia dropped back and then let a deep pass fly, hitting Jerry Jeudy in stride before Jeudy ran into the end zone.
Missouri kept it close during that first quarter, but then the night unraveled in Tuscaloosa. By the time Dixieland Delight returned at the end of the third quarter, the game was already over with Alabama up 22 points and on its way to a 39-10 victory.
Here are position grades from the game:
##Quarterback: C+
_Drew Lock: 13-26, 142 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions_
Over Lock’s last three games, he has three total touchdowns and seven turnovers. No matter the offensive line play or situation at receiver, Missouri needs more out of its preseason Heisman candidate.
Lock was caught holding on to the ball multiple times, including a strip sack and a safety. The struggles adapting to a pro-style offense have been evident, and the passing game will need to find a pulse for the backstretch of conference play.
##Offensive Line: C
_Four sacks allowed, one safety_
Against the best defensive front seven they will play all season, the line looked extremely overmatched.
Lock will get fairly criticized for his performance this weekend, but Kevin Pendleton said the offense goes as far as the offensive line allows it to.
“It’s bull, because it comes down to guys like me and guys like Paul Adams and Trystan [Colon-Castillo], who have played so much ball,” Pendleton said. “It’s our job to allow him to make plays and allow the other guys to make plays, and I didn’t get it done tonight.”
Lock was sacked or hit on 11 of his 30 dropbacks tonight and couldn’t escape the rushers off the edge, giving him little chance of moving the ball downfield. Also, running backs had minimal room to work with after Alabama controlled the line of scrimmage.
##Running Backs: C+
_Tyler Badie: 6 carries for 41 yards_
_Larry Rountree III: 17 carries for 47 yards_
_Damarea Crockett: 7 carries for 8 yards_
Besides a drive led by runs from Badie, the run game was slow moving, averaging just two yards per carry.
Badie was able to bounce runs to the outside and use his speed to move Missouri downfield on its lone touchdown drive, but Crockett and Rountree didn’t do much with the little room they were given. Also, backs didn’t give Lock any help in the passing game by offering little resistance in pass protection and only catching three passes for 15 yards.
##Wide Receivers: C
_Jalen Knox: 3 receptions for 61 yards_
_Johnathon Johnson: 1 reception for 9 yards_
_Dominic Gicinto: 1 reception for 6 yards_
Outside Knox, none of the receivers made any lasting impact against an Alabama secondary that showed a couple of weaknesses last weekend against Arkansas.
The absences of Nate Brown and Emanuel Hall loomed large, and Missouri’s lack of receiver depth shows it will need the two sooner rather than later. Besides one catch from Gicinto, Johnson and Knox were the only receivers targeted, catching four of the 12 passes thrown their way.
##Tight Ends: B-
_Albert Okwuegbunam: 4 receptions for 47 yards_
_Kendall Blanton: 1 reception for 4 yards_
Okwuegbunam had a couple of nice moments as a check down for Lock, and added a nice catch in the first quarter, but overall the tight ends had a very quiet afternoon.
The offensive line was overpowered, and Blanton and Okwuegbunam did little to help stifle the Alabama pass rush to give running backs holes to run through.
##Defensive Line: B-
_One sack and five tackles for loss_
The run defense was solid for the most part, limiting Alabama to just over four yards a carry. The line also stopped runs at the goal line, which led to a nice performance from the defense in the red zone.
Minus a strip sack from Kobi Whiteside, the Tide had more than enough time to throw the football and Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts made the secondary pay. With the lack of pressure, the secondary was torn apart in the passing game as Alabama moved the ball downfield with ease.
##Secondary: C+
From the second play of the game on, the secondary struggled on deep passes for the fourth game in a row. Alabama completed seven passes of over 20 yards, including the 81-yard score on the game’s second play.
Tagovailoa completed just under half of his passes, but that was partially because he was taking so many deep shots against an overmatched secondary.
Christian Holmes and DeMarkus Acy were able to provide good coverage in the red zone, but that was the only area of the field where the secondary showed any resistance.
##Linebackers: B-
_Cale Garrett: 12 tackles_
_Nick Bolton: 8 tackles_
_Brandon Lee: 4 tackles_
_Terez Hall: 2 tackles, ejected for targeting in the second quarter_
The targeting penalty on Hall stung the defense, but the performance of Bolton was promising for the future of the defense. Bolton was able to make seven of his eight tackles after coming in for Hall and was solid after shooting up the depth chart in fall camp.
“I think he has a really bright future,” Garrett said. “That’s something that could have been inferred all the way back fall camp, just how quickly he was able to pick up our defense. He’s a really smart guy with high football character and high football IQ.”
There was a lack of pressure from Bolton and Lee along with some missed tackles in the run game, but the linebackers followed the trend of a bend-don’t-break defense that got some red zone stops.
##Special Teams: B+
_Tucker McCann: 1-for-1 field goals (43 yards)_
_Corey Fatony: 6 punts for 262 yards, 4 punts inside the 20_
Maybe the only bright spot outside of the red-zone defense, Missouri avoided any disastrous special teams. There were no dropped punts in the rain and no blocked punts for touchdowns like the previous two weeks.
McCann made his only field goal attempt and Fatony was solid in his opportunities in the punting game, pinning Alabama at its own 1-yard line late in the first half. The only complaint could be Odom bringing out Fatony near midfield late in the second quarter when they could have gone for it on fourth down to try to keep pace with Alabama’s prolific offense.
_Edited by Bennett Durando | bdurando@themaneater.com_