COLUMBIA, Mo. - It was a monumental game for both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, October 11. Alabama looked to silence the doubters who said it struggled on the road with inferior competition, and Missouri was looking to hush the crowd that claimed it had played nobody this season, cementing the Tigers as legitimate playoff contenders.

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No. 8 Alabama and No. 14 Missouri were set for a clash that would captivate fans across the college football world.

1ST QUARTER

Missouri took the opening drive and immediately moved the ball, gashing the Alabama defense. Ahmad Hardy was already taking advantage of poor tackling by the Crimson Tide's defense, and the Tigers capped a six-play, 78-yard drive with a 26-yard touchdown from Beau Pribula to Brett Norfleet, with Bray Hubbard trailing in coverage. The Crimson Tide was punched in the mouth. How would they respond?

Alabama's offense responded by driving the length of the field like it has so many times this season. The Crimson Tide picked up four first downs on its opening drive of the game, and capped it with a six-yard touchdown from Ty Simpson to Kevin Riley on a Texas route. Alabama's offense responded to the adversity, like we expected from this game. Alabama's defense had five minutes and 58 seconds to figure out what went wrong on the sidelines after the Tigers' opening drive went six plays and 78 yards in 2:43.

Alabama's defense immediately responded by forcing a three-and-out, although the Crimson Tide got lucky. On third down, Missouri had a wide-open receiver, who Dijon Lee was supposed to cover, but Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula threw it out of bounds, setting up Alabama's offense in favorable field position.

2ND QUARTER

Ty Simpson was, yet again, surgical on the drive for the Crimson Tide. An 11-play, 67-yard drive ended in another Ty Simpson touchdown pass, his 15th on the season, where he found Miami transfer wide receiver Isaiah Horton for a 16-yard touchdown on a beautiful play design by Ryan Grubb and the Alabama coaching staff. Alabama had a lead on Missouri for the first time in this game.

The Alabama defense continued to hold strong, with the defensive front beginning to get pressure on Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula, including Keon Keeley, who made a rare sighting on a third down for Alabama's first sack of the day.

Alabama's offense didn't quite make its way back into the endzone, but Ty Simpson was able to lead the Crimson Tide into field goal range, which has been an area that Alabama fans have held their breath for so far this season. Despite the struggles, Conor Talty came in and drilled his season-long field goal, 46 yards, to extend the Crimson Tide's lead to 17-7 with 7:10 left in the first half.

That would remain the score for much of the second quarter, with Alabama able to move the ball effectively, but Ty Simpson was sacked, taking the Crimson Tide out of field goal range. After the punt by Blake Doud, Missouri took the remaining 3:32 off the clock on a 10-play, 57-yard drive that ended in the Tigers cutting the Crimson Tide's lead to one score with a 35-yard field goal.

Halftime in CoMo saw the Crimson Tide with a 17-10 lead, and Alabama got the ball back after halftime. Alabama needed to keep its foot on the gas, or Missouri could begin to make the game interesting.

3RD QUARTER

And interesting, Missouri made it. The Tigers stripped Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson on the first play of the second half, and three plays later, Beau Pribula kept the ball on a QB keeper, juked an Alabama defender, and walked into the endzone. We had a tie game in CoMo, 17-17.

Alabama ate nine minutes off the clock on its ensuing drive to try and keep the Missouri offense, which had begun to build momentum, on the sideline. It also allowed the Crimson Tide's defense to rest. Alabama was down by a goal to go situation, and should've had a touchdown if Ty Simpson had not been stepped on by an offensive lineman. Alabama continued to leave points on the board and give Missouri life, but the Crimson Tide held a 20-17 lead with nine seconds left in the third quarter. It was setting up to be a fourth quarter for the ages between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers.

4TH QUARTER

Bray Hubbard came up huge for the Crimson Tide defense, collecting an errant pass from Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula and setting the Alabama offense up in favorable field position. The Crimson Tide would look to have a long drive that ended in points to put away Missouri.

The Crimson Tide's drive did take four minutes off the clock, but Alabama could not add points, leaving the door open for Missouri to tie or take the lead. Talty missed a 49-yard field goal to start the next Missouri drive at the Tigers' 31-yard line.

Missouri tried to fake a punt on its next drive, but Alabama sniffed it out, stopping it just short of the first down marker. On the next Alabama drive, Ty Simpson, facing a 3rd and 20 with immense pressure, ripped a ball to Lotzeir Brooks along the Crimson Tide's sideline and converted. Then, facing pressure yet again on fourth and goal, Simpson found running back Daniel Hill in the endzone for a two-yard touchdown. After the extra point, Alabama held a 10-point lead over Missouri with 3:16 left in the game. It wasn't over yet, however, with Missouri having all three timeouts left to make some noise with.

Missouri went down the field, 75 yards, in 1:37 to cut the Alabama lead to three, and yet again, Crimson Tide fans were sitting on pins and needles, nervous, as they needed their offense to pick up a first down to all but secure a win over a ranked team on the road. Did Ty Simpson have one more miracle in him on a Saturday afternoon in October?

Alabama failed to pick up a first down, but Missouri did burn all three of its timeouts. Blake Doud punted for 31 yards, and it would fall on the Alabama defense to hold on for a potential win. And freshman cornerback Dijon Lee sealed the game for Alabama with an interception on Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula. Alabama would hang on to win 27-24 in Columbia, Missouri, securing its third ranked win of the season.

Next Saturday, No. 8 Alabama will return to Bryant-Denny Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.