No. 16 Missouri would have bolstered its bid to reach the College Football Playoff by knocking off Alabama at home last week.
But the Tigers (5-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) fell short during their disappointing 27-24 loss.
The outcome leaves Missouri with less margin for error when it resumes its postseason quest Saturday night at Auburn (3-3, 0-3).
“For us, our mindset is improvement, and we’re focused on our next target,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said at his Tuesday news conference.
Missouri will look to reestablish its ground attack after Alabama held running back Ahmad Hardy to 52 yards on 12 carries. In his first five games, Hardy rushed for 730 yards on 103 carries.
Drinkwitz is also seeking more explosive plays with his downfield passing. Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula completed 16 of 28 passes for 162 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Crimson Tide.
“I think Beau’s done some really, really good things, and there’s other things that he’s still growing and developing,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s played well enough for us to win five games, and we had the ball in the last game with an opportunity. There’s always going to be growing pains with a first-year starting quarterback. It’s unrealistic for him to be perfect.”
Auburn is 1-11 against nationally ranked teams under coach Hugh Freeze and just 5-14 in SEC play. It had a chance to score a breakthrough home victory over then-No. 10 Georgia on Saturday in its previous game, but it faded to a 20-10 loss to put pressure on Freeze.
His team had a chance to take a 17-0 lead over Georgia, but quarterback Jackson Arnold fumbled while extending the ball toward the goal line in the pivotal play of the game.
Arnold struggled in the second half and finished the game 19 for 31 for just 137 yards overall.
“When you look at the first half, you’re in love with what you see,” Freeze said. “When you look at parts of the second half, you question why not the same throws, why not the same accuracy. So all of that is certainly worth looking at.”
But Freeze has decided not to switch to backup quarterback Ashton Daniels, a Stanford transfer.
“We are always getting other guys reps for sure, but Jackson is who we are going with Saturday, and hopefully he gets off to that same start he did again and continues it now throughout four quarters,” he said.
Arnold has yet to throw an interception this season. He also has rushed for 247 yards and six touchdowns.
“I’ll say this, what Jackson Arnold’s gone through, it’s been very impressive to watch him perform,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s doing a good job taking care of the football. He’s an incredibly tough runner. Does a great job escaping the pocket.”
Arnold needs to do more damage with his downfield throws — especially against Missouri, which has allowed an average of just 72.8 yards rushing in its six games.
“People aren’t running the ball on them very much at all,” Freeze said.
Auburn’s depth at running back has taken a hit with the dismissal of Damari Alston from the team due to disciplinary issues. Alston (128 yards, 32 carries) was the team’s third-leading rusher behind Jeremiah Cobb (453 yards, 70 carries) and Arnold.
