RECAP: Mizzou loses four-quarter fight, turns attention to Auburn

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Football's fourth-quarter rally fell short of saving the team's undefeated record.

The Tigers (5-1) nearly completed a 10-point comeback against Alabama in the final minutes of Saturday's SEC showdown, the first game between two Associated Press (AP) top-15 teams on Faurot Field since 1979. However, costly mistakes in critical moments denied MU's bid for a come-from-behind victory, marking the team's first loss at Memorial Stadium since Oct. 7, 2023.

Alabama topped Mizzou in several decisive categories. While the Tigers finished 1-for-10 on third downs, the Crimson Tide was 6-for-15 in those situations, including 3-for-3 on fourth down conversions. MU was only able to manufacture 77 passing yards in the first 56 minutes and committed two turnovers.

Despite the end result, the game did represent MU's smallest margin of defeat against Alabama in five decades. However, the Tigers are uninterested in moral victories. Its only focus is on next week's response at Auburn.

"We didn't come here to play them close. We came here to win," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "Learn the lesson, leave the event. We're disappointed. We had a good enough football team. We turned the ball over twice. We didn't get off the field on fourth downs and didn't stay on the field on third downs. You're going to lose the game, so that's on me as a head football coach to get that stuff corrected."

You can watch a full recap of Saturday's game against Alabama in the video player above.