For much of Saturday morning/afternoon, Faurot Field was electric — another sellout crowd, another heavyweight SEC matchup, another chance for Missouri to prove it belonged among the conference elite.
But as the final interception fell into the arms of Dijon Lee Jr., the crowd’s roar turned to a collective sigh.
No. 14 Missouri’s perfect start is no more. The Tigers fell 27–24 to No. 8 Alabama on Saturday in Columbia, their first loss of the 2025 season — a game decided as much by their own mistakes as by the Crimson Tide’s talent.
“Heartbreak and disappointment,” Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said, describing his feelings after the game. “We didn’t come here to play them close. We came here to win. We had too many mistakes in critical situations. That’s on me as the head coach.”
Missouri (5–1, 1–1 SEC) had its chances. Plenty of them. But between penalties, turnovers, and missed opportunities on both sides of the ball, Alabama (5–1, 3–0) made enough plays to leave Columbia with a win — and to remind the Tigers that contending in the SEC means mistakes come costly.
For the first few moments, it looked like the Tigers were ready for their biggest win of the season. Missouri opened the game with a statement drive, slicing through Alabama’s defense for 78 yards in six plays, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Beau Pribula to tight end Brett Norfleet.
Then, slowly, the sloppiness began.
On Alabama’s first drive, defensive end Zion Young was flagged twice — first for unsportsmanlike conduct, then for offsides — both giving the Tide free first downs. Alabama turned the gifts into points, marching 78 yards to tie the game, courtesy of a six-yard touchdown pass by Ty Simpson.
Bama's overall time of possession compared to Mizzou's in the first quarter? 10:44-4:16. Overall? 38:33-21:27. The Tide took what the Tigers have done to each of its competitors and simply beat them at their own game.
At the 3:32 mark of the opening quarter, another blow for Mizzou. Tigers free safety Marvin Burks Jr. was ejected for targeting after a big hit on Alabama receiver Derek Meadows. The call, upheld on review, added 15 yards and extended a Tide drive that ended in another touchdown to begin the first nine seconds of the second quarter. Suddenly, Missouri trailed 14–7 and had lost a valuable depth player in its secondary.
“I have no comments about officials, reviews, any of that stuff," Drinkwitz said when asked about the call.
Alabama stretched the lead to 17–7 before a late field goal cut it to 17–10 at halftime. Following its opening drive of 78 yards, Mizzou had accumulated 22 total yards of offense. A 10-play, 57-yard drive gave Robert Meyer the 35-yard field goal before the halftime break.
If Missouri’s offense couldn’t find rhythm, its defense refused to quit.
After allowing 145 yards and 14 points on Alabama’s first 21 plays, the Tigers settled in. They finished with four sacks and seven tackles for loss — the kind of effort that kept them in the game despite the offensive miscues. On two touchdown potential drives, one lasting 9:09 in the third and the second lasting 4:14 in the fourth, the Mizzou defense held the Tide to a pair of field goals.
Early in the third quarter, linebacker Josiah Trotter burst through on a blitz and sacked quarterback Ty Simpson. Young stripped the ball loose, and defensive end Zion Young recovered. Three plays later, Pribula powered in for a five-yard touchdown run, shaking Alabama safety Bray Hubbard to tie the score at 17–17.
The stadium reached fever pitch again. For a moment, Missouri looked like the tougher, hungrier team.
But that energy never fully translated into consistent offense. Pribula finished 16-of-28 for 167 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, while rushing for 69 yards and another score. Ahmad Hardy, limited to 52 rushing yards on 12 carries, didn't find as many lanes against Alabama’s defensive front as he had made a habit of doing in the Tigers' season up till this game. Missouri converted just one of 10 third-down attempts after entering the week with a highly efficient third-down offense.
“They’re a good football team,” Drinkwitz said. “We just didn’t get it done. I’m not going to assign blame to anybody but myself. We have to execute better on third downs and stay on the field.”
Even with the inconsistency, Missouri kept clawing back. With 10 minutes left in the fourth, the Tigers’ defense appeared to make the stop it needed, forcing Alabama into a 3rd-and-24 at its own 46. But the Tide found a 16-yard gain, then converted the ensuing 4th-and-8 on a 29-yard completion.
Moments later, on fourth-and-goal, Simpson hit receiver Daniel Hill wide open in the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. Simpson finished 23-of-31 for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
Down 10 points with just over three minutes left, Missouri still had a pulse. Pribula led a quick scoring drive capped by a touchdown to freshman receiver Donovan Olugbode, cutting the deficit to 27–24 with 1:40 left.
Drinkwitz opted for an onside kick, reasoning that “you’ve got to give yourself another opportunity to recover the ball.” The attempt failed, but Missouri’s defense held and forced a punt, giving Pribula one last chance.
The senior quarterback advanced the ball near midfield, but on third-and-10, he forced a throw into traffic to Olugbode— Pribula's second interception of the day — sealing the loss.
“I thought there was a window,” Pribula said. “Obviously there wasn’t. My job is to lead scoring drives, and I didn’t do that.”
As the ball changed hands and the clock wound down, the open reciever Johnson ripped off his helmet in frustration — a fitting image for a game that slipped away from Missouri’s grasp. Drinkwitz, while frustrated, did have this to say near the end of his press conference.
“We lost, but all is not lost,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got a good enough football team. We didn’t have our A game today. We’ll learn the lesson.”
Missouri’s defense proved it could stand toe-to-toe with an SEC powerhouse. Its offense showed flashes but lacked consistency overall. If there’s a takeaway from Saturday, it’s that Missouri simply made too many mistakes to pick up a crucial victory.
“We didn’t come here to play them close,” Drinkwitz repeated. “We came here to win. And we’ll be better for it.”