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COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� Connor Tollison knew where it went wrong for Missouri.

The center is in his fifth year with the Tigers, so he鈥檚 been around the program鈥檚 other brushes with Southeastern Conference blue bloods. Georgia in 2022. Louisiana State and Georgia in 2023. Alabama in 2024.

Another ill-timed tally went on that list Saturday, when the Crimson Tide beat Mizzou 27-24.

Tollison, asked what the difference between MU and Alabama was, looked down at the printed-out box score in front of him. He wasn鈥檛 looking for anything he didn鈥檛 already know.

鈥淥ne for 10 on third down,鈥� he said, scanning the sheet. 鈥淲herever that鈥檚 at.鈥�

That鈥檚 how Missouri fared on third downs, in case it wasn鈥檛 clear, which was a continual offensive struggle against the Crimson Tide. Alabama went 6-for-15 and converted all three of the fourth downs it attempted.

鈥淯ltimately, we just had too many critical mistakes in critical situations to win,鈥� Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said. 鈥淭hird downs in the first half on defense, third downs the whole game on offense, and then fourth-down conversions.鈥�

On a day when MU鈥檚 offensive approach deviated from its normal devotion to the run and its overall effectiveness suffered, third downs illustrate the depth and implications of the struggle.

Mizzou鈥檚 lone successful third down conversion came at the start of the second quarter, when tailback Ahmad Hardy gained 9 yards on third and 1.

That was one of only two third downs on which Hardy touched the ball. And it was the only time the Tigers converted third and short (defined as third and 4 yards or less to go).

Across the 10 third down tries, MU ran the ball four times. That itself is a deviation from the norm: Through the first five games of this season, the Tigers ran on 52% of their offensive plays across all downs and distances.

Two of those were Hardy carries. Another was a scramble from Beau Pribula that didn鈥檛 gain any yards. The other was a designed run for Pribula on which he fumbled, requiring a teammate to fall on top of the ball.

There was also a sack, which counts as a rushing attempt in college football but wasn鈥檛 really Missouri trying to run.

That leaves five third downs on which Pribula threw the ball. His tally there: one completion for 7 yards and two interceptions.

鈥淥bviously wasn鈥檛 good enough,鈥� Pribula said of his overall performance. 鈥淢y job is to lead scoring drives so we score more points. Wasn鈥檛 able to do that.鈥�

Part of the issue was that Mizzou was stuck in third down so often in the first place. It was lackluster results on first and second down that got the Tigers in those situations.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know the statistics behind it, but I feel like we were in third and long a good bit and just couldn鈥檛 find a rhythm,鈥� Pribula said.

鈥淲e need to find a rhythm (to) stay out of third down. Ten third downs is a lot for the lack of time we had on the field.鈥�

To his latter point, sort of: Mizzou faced a third down every 2.1 minutes it had the ball. Alabama, meanwhile, faced third down once every 2.5 minutes. There鈥檚 a difference there, albeit not a vast one.

And the Crimson Tide actually saw longer third downs (6 yards to go, on average) than Missouri did (5.8).

But the Tide gained 5.5 yards per third down while the Tigers only got 1.8.

鈥淵ou gotta stay on schedule when it comes to offense,鈥� Tollison said. 鈥淭hird and 2 is a lot easier than third and 9.鈥�

After the game, Drinkwitz was not especially eager to diagnose his discontent with the rushing attack or lack thereof. Asked by the Post-Dispatch about the difference between MU鈥檚 first drive, when it ran five times to great effect, and the rest of the game, he offered a couple of different deflections.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a good football team,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e just didn鈥檛 get it done today. Not gonna assign blame to anybody other than the head football coach. It鈥檚 my responsibility to get our team ready to go. We had ourselves a chance at the end of the game. So, it鈥檚 my responsibility.鈥�

When the Post-Dispatch followed up to ask whether Alabama did anything to deny MU the ability to run, Drinkwitz wasn鈥檛 any more verbose.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I have to watch it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to make a judgment on that until I watch the game. It鈥檚 a good question. It鈥檚 a legit question. I just, I don鈥檛 know.鈥�

Perhaps 鈥� though he was careful not to admit this 鈥� his gripe was with the playcalling of offensive coordinator Kirby Moore. Maybe it was the execution of his players.

And despite the unwillingness to run and inability to convert on third downs, Mizzou only lost by three points. Still, a loss is a loss and those are among the reasons why.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 get off the field on fourth downs and didn鈥檛 stay on the field on third downs,鈥� Drinkwitz said.