COLUMBIA, Mo. _ Eliah Drinkwitz stayed true to his promise to keep his quarterback choice a secret leading up to Saturday's game against Alabama. Missouri's first suspenseful preseason quarterback competition since a teenaged Brad Smith edged senior Kirk Farmer for the job 18 years ago, remained a mystery until the season's first kickoff.
Would it be Shawn Robinson, the former Big 12 starter, or Connor Bazelak, the redshirt freshman last seen starting against Arkansas in the final game of the Barry Odom regime?
The answer came 54 seconds into the season _ and was mostly a footnote the rest of the night.
Robinson was indeed Drinkwitz's choice, both making their Mizzou debuts in front of a socially distanced crowd of 11,738. But the story of the night at Memorial Stadium was No. 2 Alabama's decided advantages on both sides of the ball in a 38-19 victory, a sobering reminder that Drinkwitz was hired for a reason _ to upgrade the talent in a program now 14-27 in Southeastern Conference games since the start of the 2015 season.
On a day that began with unfamiliar scenes in and around Memorial Stadium _ for one, the barren parking lots, without a tailgate in sight _ the Crimson Tide (1-0) looked like a typical Nick Saban collection of elite talent. Saban's defense rarely gave the Tigers (0-1) room to breathe and collected seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Across the line of scrimmage, Alabama's backfield was impenetrable, giving quarterback Mac Jones a clean pocket to pick through the Tigers for 249 passing yards and a couple touchdowns.
There were some promising signs for Mizzou. Drinkwitz's defenders made far more tackles than they missed. Nick Bolton's 2019 was no mirage: The junior linebacker punished Tide runners into the turf and recovered a fourth-quarter strip sack by teammate Tre Williams. Larry Rountree III will find more open holes against less formidable defenses but still ran with authority and finished with 67 yards on 14 carries. Freshman kicker Harrison Mevis drilled both of his field-goal attempts. Receiver Jalen Knox's move to the slot paid off with more explosive plays in space. He finished with five catches for 63 yards. Young defensive backs Martez Manuel (3.5 tackles for loss) and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. weren't rattled on the big stage.
As for Robinson, at times he made some questionable decisions, tending to hang onto the ball far too long under pressure. In his first game action since the 2018 season, when he started seven games at Texas Christian University, he completed 19 of 25 throws for 185 yards but also lost 35 yards on eight rushing attempts, including a couple sacks. Late in the second quarter, he caught his own pass that Alabama deflected at the line but mistakenly attempted a second pass for a penalty. Later he botched an option pitch to Knox that turned into an Alabama takeaway. Robinson spoiled a visit to the red zone when he scrambled deep into the backfield and took a third-down sack.
With 8:28 left in the fourth quarter, Robinson delivered the first touchdown of the Drinkwitz era, a strike to running back Tyler Badie out of the backfield, good for a 54-yard score. Bazelak got a series in the second quarter then played the game's final series, running in a touchdown as time expired.
By then, the Tide had grabbed complete control. Alabama took a 28-3 lead into halftime with touchdown drives of 66, 66, 91 and 75 yards. Alabama's offensive attack didn't seem to miss all those first-round draft picks now playing in the NFL. Najee Harris powered his way to 32 of Alabama's 66-yards on its first touchdown drive, including a 1-yard burst into the end zone. The Tide went to the air on its next series, first with a diving 46-yard catch by Waddle, then an 18-yard touchdown to Waddle. Another TD to Waddle was overturned by replay review, but Harris punched in a 1-yard touchdown to push the Tide in front 21-0 to open the second quarter.
For the game, Alabama outgained MU in total yardage 414-322, with Waddle proving to be the most dangerous of Jones' many targets. The wideout finished with eight catches for 134 yards and a couple touchdowns. Harris, Alabama's latest in a long line of star running backs, ran for 98 yards and three scores. Jones, his white jersey pristine all night, completed 10 consecutive passes at one point.
