Good morning, it’s game day from Atlanta and I come to you from the lobby of the media hotel ahead of this afternoon’s kickoff of the SEC Championship game.
The Missouri Tigers arrived Friday afternoon, a hour behind schedule. They cut their allotted time on the field from 45 minutes to 15. That’s still a change from last year’s game when they didn’t step onto the field until their pregame warm up.
This is one of those games that leans heavily in favor of Alabama on paper. Head to head matchups at the majority of positions go to Alabama, but this game is going to be closer than the 14.5 point spread would indicate. I’d be shocked and disappointed if Mizzou lost this game by more than two touchdowns.
In my video, I’ll offer some closing thoughts, but the general overview is don’t expect widespread change on either side of the ball for Missouri. Offensively, the Tigers are going to have to try to run the football. It’s their strength, but it’s also Alabama’s strength. However, Mizzou can’t become one-dimensional leaning to the passing game.
Defensively, the Tigers will try to pressure Tide quarterback Blake Sims with mostly a four-man rush. They’ll have their linebackers play good gap coverage and stick to their assignments and keep the secondary in a position to not let Amari Cooper get behind.
Limit penalties, limit turnovers, limit big plays. If Missouri does that, I feel like they have a chance in this game in the fourth quarter. Enjoy the video. Check out more from Google+ and in our special SEC section on this website and follow me for live chats on Twitter @Missourisports