ALABAMA WON. For the first 24 minutes and change, Alabama looked like the No. 1 team in the country and then some, dominating Missouri to the tune of a 27-0 lead with 8:40 still left in the second quarter. But before the Tide could even kick the extra point to go to 28, lightning delayed the game, and the Tide never quite got their mojo going again, mostly remaining in cruise control en route to the 32-point win. But when your defense is holding the opposition to 162 yards and Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon are rushing for 321 combined yards and five touchdowns, who needs flash?

Perhaps the biggest positive for Alabama: After a scary moment where AJ McCarron was helped off the field with a leg injury, it was revealed to be only a bruised knee. The junior returned to the game on the Tide's next possession and seemed fine.


WHY ALABAMA WON: The usual overwhelming advantage in talent at virtually every position and one of the best coaching staffs in the business, same as every week. But Tide fans will walk away highly encouraged by the rushing totals -- though the complaining was never going to be very loud given the whole, you know, undefeated and near-unanimous No. 1 thing and all, there have been whispers the Tide's extremely experienced and extremely talented offensive line hadn't been as dominant as it should have been.
369 yards later -- a large chunk of them in the fourth quarter, when the Tide line should theoretically be at its best, and was -- those very minor complaints are rendered that much more minor. That Barrett Jones and Co. were that impressive (and they were) against a lively (if thin) Missouri defensive front and star tackle Sheldon Richardson is an encouraging sign going forward ... as if the Tide needed any more such signs anyway.

WHEN ALABAMA WON: The 28-0 lead was probably impregnable given the state of Missouri's quarterbacking -- i.e., backup Corbin Berkstresser getting the call in place of the injured James Franklin -- but Lacy's touchdown with 8:05 remaining (capping a manly 11-play, 41-yard drive) and the resulting lead at 35-10 were truly all she wrote.

WHAT ALABAMA WON: Though a Missouri team without Franklin wasn't much competition (ask Vanderbilt), weird things can happen in road games in horrid conditions, and the Tide's hot start made sure they didn't. At 6-0, the Tide will remain No. 1 and the overwhelming SEC West favorites as they prepare for what's by far the toughest four-week stretch on their schedule -- at Tennessee next week, home to Mississippi State, at LSU, vs. Texas A&M. 

WHAT MISSOURI LOST: After that 28-0 start, the best the Tigers could hope for was not to be entirely embarrassed, and they weren't. Even at 3-4 overall and still looking for their first SEC win, after losing Franklin for this game, things could have been worse.

THAT WAS CRAZY: Marcus Murphy gets the Tigers off on the right foot following the delay, going 98 yards for the score: