Mizzou's early defensive mistakes vs Alabama highlighted by targeting ejection

Missouri executed its first drive against Alabama to perfection with a six-play drive that ended in a touchdown to Brett Norfleet for 26 yards. It was time for the defense to go to work.

Missouri has two shots to get off the field, but shot themselves in the foot with penalties like offsides in the red zone and a taunting penalty that has the Crimson Tide and an automatic first down after a stop on third down. The defense is simply making mistakes that the Tigers can't afford to have against a team like Alabama.

The latest mistake for the defense, potentially the most costly, was Marvin Burks Jr. being flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty that resulted in him being ejected for targeting. Burks Jr. is a big part of the Missouri secondary, and that is a huge loss for the Tigers' defense.

Here is the hit.

The hit certainly wasn't meant to be malicious; he was simply trying to time his hit adn came in early, and instead of hitting Derek Meadows in the chest, he hit him in the head. It certainly was a scary hit as the medical team had to come out and check on Meadows immediately, but with the type of hit, it didn't take very long for the refs to review the play and eject Burks Jr.

The Missouri defense is going to have to figure something out, as the Crimson Tide defense has now scored again to make it a 14-7 game, and the offense seems to have gone a little cold since the start of the game. There is still so much time left, but if the Tigers want to pull off the upset win, they have to get back to playing complementary football in this game.