Look, I understand when you looked at the Tigers 2018 football schedule this summer you thought if Mizzou came out of their first three SEC games at 1-2 in conference play, they would be just fine.  After Saturday’s disappointing 37-35 loss at South Carolina, 0-3 in conference play is as close to a done deal as you can get.

Missouri (3-2 overall) travels to number one Alabama this upcoming Saturday.  As if it wasn’t bad enough facing the defending national champs, Nick Saban is not happy.

“I don’t think that you really beat the other team when you give up 31 points, like we did today,” Saban said after his team’s win this past Saturday at Arkansas, “at least on the defensive perspective.”

Alabama put up 65 points against the Hogs and jumped out to a 21-0 lead with still more than five minutes to play in the opening quarter, but Saban is never satisfied.  That’s what makes this Tigers-Tide matchup scary.  Bama is already favored 29.5 points in the early Vegas spreads and Saban will be looking for his team to make a defensive statement.

If Emanuel Hall and Nate Brown fail to make the trip again or come in well under 100% healthy, it could be another long day for Drew Lock.

Lock struggled by throwing less than 50% against Carolina and was picked off twice…without his top two wide targets and battling a third-quarter monsoon.  Lock’s numbers are down this year and Mizzou has now gone 5 1/2 quarters without a throwing touchdown.

Arkansas’ Rakeem Boyd put up 102 yards on 15 carries against the Tide.  If Missouri hopes to keep this game respectable, the trio of Crockett, Rountree and Badie will need to help out Lock.  Come Saturday evening at 6 p.m., it may not even matter.  Saban is upset.