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This Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide look to take the next step toward another national championship, a fourth in six years. However, it’s not exactly a cakewalk from this point on. It starts with the SEC Championship against the Missouri Tigers. If Alabama wants to beat a third group of Tigers this year, they’ll need to get the ball to Amari Cooper as much as possible.
Cooper is having an phenomenal year with over 100 receptions and over 1,500 receiving yards, including 200-yard games against Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. It’s clear that Blake Sims will need to play well to get the Tide rolling, but in the loss and the other close games the Tide played, Cooper failed to accumulate 100 receiving yards including close wins against LSU, Mississippi State and Arkansas. Alabama even struggled against Auburn until they found ways to free up Cooper.
Missouri’s defense has been one of the best in the nation, allowing less than 20 points per game on average. However, the Crimson Tide bring so much talent on the offensive side that Missouri could give up a lot more than that this weekend. The Tigers have been pretty good against the pass, so look for Bama to open things up with the run or with WR screens and then dial up big plays for Cooper.
In the end, the Crimson Tide could probably target Cooper on every play and be just fine, but if Missouri can find some way to keep the ball out of Cooper’s hands, the Tigers will have a chance to keep the Tide out of the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Jonathan Brannon is a College Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jbrannon89, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
