On Aug. 17, 2020, the Southeastern Conference announced a revamped schedule for an adjusted football season that promised to be among the strangest in college football history because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many intricacies and peculiarities of the schedule was a particularly rough road ahead for Missouri.
Eli Drinkwitz, at the time the newest coach in the conference, learned via an SEC Network broadcast that the road through his maiden voyage in arguably the toughest conference in the nation would start against who else but the top-ranked team in the country: Alabama. “When they announced the SEC schedule, I noticed we were playing the No. 1 team in the country in the first game of my career here,” Drinkwitz reflected five years later.
“So, I didn’t sleep really well for however many months that was (until the game).” Those sleep-deprived nights didn’t translate into much success for the Tigers, truth be told. Alabama entered the contest with a 95.
5% chance to win the contest, per ESPN Analytics, and that probability never dipped below 94.6% — when then-Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones’ third-down pass to wideout DeVonta Smith fell incomplete to force a three-and-out on Alabama’s first drive. The Crimson Tide eventually doubled up Mizzou on the scoreboard, romping past the host Tigers 38-19 on Sept.
26, 2020. Smith went on to win the Heisman Trophy; Jones became a first-round pick in the ensuing NFL Draft; and Alabama finished its 2020 season.
