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COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� The first real 鈥渂ig one鈥� of the 2025 season is here.

Missouri played a 鈥渞owdy鈥� one in Week 2 against archrival Kansas. South Carolina, in Week 4, wound up feeling like 鈥渁 lot lesser one鈥� than it had been expected to be. There are other key games, valuable games, important games to come.

But this is one of the biggest CoMo has seen in a while.

No. 14 Missouri, undefeated and unafraid to run the football, will host No. 8 Alabama, which has recovered from a season-opening loss to look like one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference.

It鈥檚 big for the Tigers not because the opponent wears crimson helmets with white numbers but because Mizzou has a real chance to beat the Tide. It鈥檚 reflected in the betting spread, in the punditry, in the nervous optimism of the gold-adorned fans who鈥檒l fill Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

MU-Alabama will kick off at 11 a.m. on ABC (KDNL Channel 30, locally) and be broadcast locally over the radio on KTRS (550 AM). The game is Missouri鈥檚 18th consecutive sellout, which is tied for the longest streak in program history.

Here are three things to watch in this high-profile clash between the Tigers and Crimson Tide:

Can Alabama stop Hardy?

So far, no team Missouri has played has shown it can. Hardy, the tailback who transferred to Mizzou after starting his career at Louisiana-Monroe, leads the nation in rushing yards.

His emergence has allowed the Tigers to lean on the run and grind out results on the ground. Hardy鈥檚 bruising running style 鈥� he has 551 yards after contact and has forced 48 missed tackles 鈥� has allowed him to carve up defenses.

鈥淗e鈥檚 done it his whole career,鈥� MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said, 鈥渂ut the challenges continue to grow this week.鈥�

Here鈥檚 the thing about Bama, though: While the Tide have their usual mix of talented defensive players, they鈥檝e shown a soft spot when it comes to stopping the run.

Florida State beat Alabama by racking up 230 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground in Week 1. Georgia and Vanderbilt, the Tide鈥檚 two most recent opponents, ran for 6.9 and 7.1 yards per carry, respectively.

Maybe Alabama adjusts by loading up the box to try to clog rushing lanes for Hardy and secondary tailback Jamal Roberts. Even then, the Tigers have been happy to turn to double tight end sets for a heavier style of football.

Expect Mizzou to try to establish the run as its offensive engine 鈥� which may just work.

Can Tigers secondary hold up?

Just as Missouri鈥檚 offensive strength aligns with Alabama鈥檚 defensive weakness, the reciprocal is true, too.

Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson 鈥� the SEC passing leader 鈥� has looked stellar in recent outings as he鈥檚 settled in as a starter, helped by his premier duo of wideouts in Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams.

And the Tigers secondary has been prone to damaging coverage busts at times this season, gifting deep, open targets to opposing quarterbacks.

Buttoning up the secondary was a bye-week priority for MU, which couldn鈥檛 ignore the reality of how much of a liability those leaks have been. If the coverage hasn鈥檛 improved, though, the Tigers could be in for a long day against the Tide.

That鈥檚 to say nothing of the plays in which Bernard and Williams will simply free themselves for catches or Simpson will feel out the gaps between zones. It鈥檚 a 鈥減ick your poison鈥� situation for the Mizzou defense, even if its secondary improves.

鈥淲e play zone, (Simpson is) going to pick us apart,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚f we blitz, he鈥檚 going to stand in there and identify the one-on-one matchup and take it.鈥�

Coaching connections

There鈥檚 a remarkable degree of familiarity between the opposing playcallers in this game, dating back to when they overlapped at previous schools.

Mizzou offensive coordinator Kirby Moore was on the staff at Fresno State from 2017 to 2022, a time during which Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer spent two separate stints with the Bulldogs. In 2021, the last season in which they were both at Fresno, DeBoer was the head coach and Moore the passing game coordinator on a 10-win team.

Corey Batoon, MU鈥檚 defensive coordinator, worked for Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack when they were both at South Alabama from 2021 to 2023. Wommack was the head coach of the Jaguars while Batoon was the D-coordinator. That probably means there won鈥檛 be many surprises with what either team wants to do from a tactical standpoint. For Mizzou鈥檚 end of these coaching tandems, it becomes a matter of not overthinking the type of game the coordinators will call.

鈥淚t probably just creates more mind splinters than anything,鈥� Drinkwitz said, 鈥渂ecause you start thinking 鈥榠f this, then that鈥� or you start thinking too much about it. It鈥檚 going to be a players鈥� game. I think scheme will have something to do with it, but it鈥檚 going to be a players鈥� game.鈥�