Happy Thursday, everyone. We got the first injury report for the Mizzou game, and one surprise name appeared.
Receiver Ryan Williams, receiver Jaylen Mbakwe and linebacker Cayden Jones all were new names
on the availability report, compared to the reports leading up to the Vanderbilt game. Williams is listed as probable, Mbakwe is listed as doubtful and Jones is listed as out.
Williams is a starting receiver for the Crimson Tide, but Mbakwe and Jones are reserves for the offense and defense respectively.
Williams has played in four games this season, catching 21 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Mbakwe has played in three games, tallying one reception for 16 yards. Meanwhile, Jones has seen time in five games, logging eight tackles with one for a loss.
It sounds like Williams will be fine, but still something to monitor.
On the SEC coaches’ teleconference yesterday, Mizzou head man Eli Drinkwitz jabbed Kalen DeBoer about his apparel choices.
“Hey, can I ask Kalen the first question or is that inappropriate?” Drinkwitz asked, as Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer prepared for his 10-minute slot. “Because I just want to know if he’s gonna wear that black hoodie or not. I call it the hoodie of death.”
Dunlap immediately and correctly gauged the attitude of the media corps listening in.
“I would anticipate everyone on the call would probably vote yes for that,” Dunlap said.
“Hoodie of death,” eh?
The obvious matchup of concern for Alabama is SEC leading rusher Ahmad Hardy against what has been a suspect, and sometimes flat-out terrible, run defense.
With the way Alabama has defended the run so far this season, Hardy could have the chance to continue his dominant start to the season. The Crimson Tide have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards per game (155.4) in the SEC. In games against Alabama tFlorida State rushed for 230 and Georgia gained 227 on the ground.
Alabama’s run defense had its best performance of the season last week against Vanderbilt — the Commodores only managed 22 yards in the final three quarters.
But, Vanderbilt abandoned the run game pretty quickly, only having 14 carries in those final three quarters. Unlike Vanderbilt, Missouri has leaned on its run game as the workhorse of its offense, even when trailing.
The schedule has been favorable for sure, but Hardy is still averaging a robust 7.1 yards per carry on the season. By contrast, Alabama’s best individual game effort was Kevin Riley getting 6.3 against Louisiana-Monroe. Mizzou runs it well and often, and tries to limit opponent possessions.
You can bet that they will do that this week, playing against what more and more are saying might be the nation’s best passer.
1. Ty Simpson, Alabama
Simpson has been pressing all the right buttons during Alabama’s four-game winning streak while guiding the Crimson Tide past the malaise of a Week 1 loss at Florida State. Since the FSU game, he is completing 76.5% of his passes and has scored 13 total touchdowns with just one interception. Last week: 5
Remember when QB play was going to be the X factor for the season because the defense was nearly a sure thing? Good times. The defense has shown incremental improvement the past couple of weeks, but that will need to continue.
Alabama has been surprisingly good at possessing the football despite the uneven rushing performance. As Simpson notes, that isn’t by design.
In 2025, Alabama has the 11th longest time of possession average in college football, keeping the ball, on average, for more than 33 minutes per game. The Crimson Tide is second in the SEC in time of possession behind Missouri.
In three of the Crimson Tide’s four wins this season, Alabama has kept possession for more than 34 minutes, something the team only did once in 2024.
Alabama’s time of possession numbers are not purposeful, Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson said. It’s not that the Crimson Tide is trying to hold the ball as long as it can.
“I just think it’s kind of the flow of the game and the flow of our offense,” Simpson said.
You can bet that Kalen DeBoer would love to be chucking it deep, but opponents know this and have been taking away that part of the field. This has left the intermediate area open to be exploited, and Ty has done so at an elite level. This portends well for him at the next level, as there are many more big armed guys who throw a pretty deep ball than there are dudes who can diagnose zones and deliver on time and accurately.
Last, check out this rich nugget.
Big Ten officials are opposed to agreeing to such a legal document if the College Sports Commission has the authority to apply a postseason ban as a penalty. According to those within the conference, the Big Ten believes that only a limited application of the postseason ban penalty should be permitted, such as against a school that ignores previously handed-down sanctions or obstructs an investigation.
But for violations such as knowingly exceeding the revenue-share cap, compensating players illegally or any other matter, a postseason ban should not be on the proverbial table.
This is not a sentiment held by the three other conferences.
I was told that SEC teams were paying players illegally all those years while Big Ten teams were not. Seems odd that the Big Ten wants to protect teams from harsh penalties for running afoul of pay for play rules, doesn’t it?
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
