Mac Jones, No. 2 Alabama Cruise to Easy Season-Opening Win vs. Missouri

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

No. 2 Alabama scored the game's first 21 points and led 28-3 at halftime en route to a 38-19 road win over Missouri on Saturday at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field in an SEC battle in Columbia.

The trio of Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle proved too strong for the Tigers defense. 

Harris scored on a pair of one-yard touchdown rushes and an eight-yard run. Jones found Waddle for 18- and 23-yard touchdown passes.

Missouri trailed 35-3 in the third quarter before scoring 16 points down the stretch on a Harrison Mevis 37-yard field goal, a 54-yard Tyler Badie touchdown reception and a Connor Bazelak seven-yard touchdown run, the latter of which came with no time remaining in regulation.

The game marked the 2020 season opener for both teams as well as Eliah Drinkwitz's first game as the Tigers' head coach.

Notable Performances

Alabama QB Mac Jones: 18-of-24, 249 passing yards, 2 TD

Alabama RB Najee Harris: 17 carries, 98 rushing yards, 3 TD

Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle: 8 catches, 134 receiving yards, 2 TD

Missouri QB Shawn Robinson: 19-of-25, 185 passing yards, 1 TD

Missouri RB Larry Rountree III: 14 carries, 67 rushing yards

Missouri RB Tyler Badie: 1 catch, 54 receiving yards, 1 TD

Jaylen Waddle Shines Under Bright Lights

The Alabama wide receiver corps featured a pair of future first-round NFL draft picks in Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy last season, and DeVonta Smith may very well join them next April.

Junior wideout Waddle didn't see as many opportunities as those three last year, but Ruggs' and Jeudy's departures for the NFL made room for him on the field this season.

Waddle dominated in his first opportunity as a featured player on Alabama's offense thanks to eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

His efforts played a key role in Alabama storming to a 28-3 halftime lead thanks to his two touchdown catches, the first of which came from 18 yards out and gave the Crimson Tide a 13-0 edge: 

ESPN College Football @ESPNCFB

Jaylen Waddle is dangerous 😳 https://t.co/FmT5nD7mFd

Waddle helped set up his own score by making this difficult contested catch:

SEC Network @SECNetwork

This catch was TOUGH. https://t.co/FLCh08Xjjh

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In sum, Waddle finished the first half with seven catches for 121 yards and his two scores, and that helped create this dominant statistical gap:

Alabama Athletics @UA_Athletics

Here are the @AlabamaFTBL Halftime Stats presented by @UPS. #RollTide https://t.co/ZQ6TRaZP3F

Waddle has a bright future ahead of him, and Dane Brugler of The Athletic thinks very highly of his NFL draft prospects:

Dane Brugler @dpbrugler

#Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle pretty much doing whatever he wants vs. the Missouri defense. He enters the season as my WR2 prospect (behind only LSU's Ja'Marr Chase).

Waddle tonight: 7/121/2 and it's not halftime yet.

At the very least, watching Waddle is quite exciting, with Marq Burnett of the Nashville Business Journal wondering if anyone has fit that adjective best more than this wideout during head coach Nick Saban's Alabama era:

Marq Burnett @Marq_Burnett

Honestly not even hyperbole: has there been a skill player more exciting than Jaylen Waddle during the Nick Saban era? (Key word is exciting)

Ultimately, Waddle passed his first test in a featured role, and his efforts should go a long way toward determining whether Alabama can get back onto the College Football Playoff national championship perch.

What's Next?

Alabama will host No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in Tuscaloosa's Bryant-Denny Stadium. Missouri will visit No. 16 Tennessee in Knoxville's Neyland Stadium on Saturday at noon.

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