The Alabama Crimson Tide used a late interception from cornerback Dijon Lee to seal a 27-24 victory over the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field in a top-25 dogfight on Saturday.

No. 8 Alabama (5-1 overall, 3-0 SEC) rallied from an early 7-0 deficit in Columbia to score 17 unanswered points and hold a 17-10 lead at halftime. Missouri (5-1, 1-1) tied it coming out of the break after a Ty Simpson fumble on the Crimson Tide’s first play of the second half.

Alabama also overcame a missed 49-yard Conor Talty field goal and narrowly stopped a fake punt that led to a short touchdown pass to sophomore running back Daniel Hill on a fourth-and-goal play 3:16 left for a 27-17 lead. The Tide then had to hang on after Missouri marched 75 yards on only seven plays with 1:40 left.

After failing to pick up a first down, Alabama punted with a three-point lead and left Missouri with one last chance to tie or win the game. Lee’s game-winning interception of quarterback Beau Pribula at the 32-yard line came with only 37 seconds left and ensured Alabama of escaping Columbia for its fifth straight win.

Simpson was 23-of-31 passing for 200 yards and three touchdowns on a day when neither Ryan Williams (zero catches) or Germie Bernard (three catches, 20 yards) were much of a factor. Instead, it was freshman Lotzeir Brooks that led Alabama with four catches for 58 yards. Isaiah Horton (three catches, 34 yards) caught his third touchdown of the season.

Pribula was 16-of-28 for 167 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Missouri. Alabama held the nation’s leading rusher, Ahmad Hardy, to 52 yards on 12 carries in the victory. The Crimson Tide controlled the clock for the third straight week, winning the time of possession battle 38:33 to 21:27.

Alabama’s defense also held Missouri to just 1-of-10 on third down attempts, while picking up 6 of 15 on third downs. The Tide converted all three fourth-down attempts, including Simpson’s touchdown pass to Hill.

After a game that came down to the final play, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz met with reporters to discuss his team’s 27-24 loss to the Crimson Tide. Here’s what the sixth-year Tigers coach said about Alabama.

Eli Drinkwitz reflects on Missouri loss to Alabama football

“Disappointed because we had an opportunity. Proud of the way our defense fought. Proud of the way our offense fought, but ultimately we just had too many critical mistakes in critical situations to win. Third downs in the first half on defense, third downs the whole game on offense. And then fourth-down conversions, (Alabama was) 3-for-3 and then we missed our fake punt there. Those are going to stick with us for a while. Going to hurt. They’re hurting in that locker room right now because they believe we can do it and just came up short. So, we’re going to have to bounce back this week.”

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz explains fake punt call against Alabama

Missouri’s fake punt came with around seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter and Alabama nursing a 20-17 lead on 4th and 4 from the Tigers’ own 40-yard line.

“It was my decision. We had the look. We knew they were going to get into a — they matched our personnel, meaning they put their fake or their punt return defense on there. We thought we could get four yards out there, so we snapped it to one of the best running backs in the country and ended up just getting a yard short. But we hadn’t been able to sustain drives. Defensive time of possession had really tilted and I just felt like that was the time.

“I also felt like if we could get a stop right there, we’d be no worse than a one-possession game. And again, we get a sack (on) first down. We get a second-down screen stop. We give up chunk yardage on third down and then 4th and 8, they convert. Then down there on the goal line (on) fourth down, they convert.”

Eli Drinkwitz credits Alabama defense for keeping Missouri run game, Ahmad Hardy in check

“Yeah, they (Alabama) got a good football team. We just didn’t get it done today. Not going to assign blame to anybody other than the head football coach. It’s my responsibility to get our team ready to go. We had ourselves a chance at the end of the game, so it’s my responsibility.”

Eli Drinkwitz assesses Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula’s performance in loss to Alabama

“He gave us an opportunity. The two interceptions are on seam balls. I’m sure we all wish we had them back, but he did a nice job of escaping a lot of pressure. Never really got him into a rhythm throwing the ball. We’ve got to do a better job of developing a rhythm, throwing the ball. I mean, we ended up with 200 yards passing, but I think going down 10, we had like 68. So the stats are misleading there. We’re going to have to be willing to throw the ball on first down.”

What did Eli Drinkwitz see from Missouri on final drive, late Beau Pribula interception?

“(Pribula) saw the right look to throw the seam,” Drinkwitz said. “Just didn’t have our eyes back in time and missed it.”

Did Alabama’s defense take away Missouri run game?

“I don’t know, I have to watch it,” Drinkwitz said. “I’m not going to make a judgment on that until I watch the game. It’s a legitimate question. I just don’t know.”

Eli Drinkwitz says ‘heartbreak’ is biggest takeaway from Missouri loss to Alabama

When asked by a reporter for his biggest takeaways from Missouri’s loss to Alabama, Drinkwitz said:

“Heartbreak and disappointment. We didn’t come here to play them close. We came here to win. I’m not good with playing them close. Bull crap. We came here to win. We didn’t get it done, so we’re going to be disappointed, but we’re going to learn our lessons and leave the event. We’re not going to sit here and pout and make it more than it was.

“Learn the lesson, leave the event. We’re just 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 (that way). So, that’s on me as a head football coach to get that stuff corrected. It’s got to get corrected in practice. It’s got to be executed better on Saturdays. There’s no feeling sorry for ourselves. No, ‘Man, we tried hard.’ That’s a given.”

Eli Drinkwitz asked to explain Beau Pribula interception to Alabama’s Bray Hubbard

Pribula was picked off by Hubbard on 3rd and 4 at the Alabama 40-yard line two minutes into the fourth quarter.

“We were throwing the seam,” Drinkwitz said. “Once we clear, we’ve got to get our eyes around, but I’m not sure that’s where the ball has to be put. Botton line is it wasn’t executed the way we (wanted to) execute it — whether that’s the wide receiver, the quarterback. At the end of the day, we can’t turn the ball over.”

Eli Drinkwitz has quick response about targeting call on Missouri safety Marvin Burks Jr.

“Got no comments about officials, reviews, any of that stuff,” Drinkwitz replied while shaking his head.

Why did Missouri attempt onside kick against Alabama late in fourth quarter?

Missouri attempted an onside kick after the Tigers had cut the lead to 27-24 with 1:40 left. Alabama recovered at the Tigers’ 41-yard line. Drinkwitz explained the decision:

“Give yourself another opportunity to recover the ball. There’s no guarantees that you’re going to stop them, even with the three timeouts. If you kick it deep and you don’t stop them, you’re kicking yourself on why you didn’t at least give yourself a chance to recover. It’s a three-point game, and you have to stop them. So, whether you stop them at the 45 or you stop them at the 20, it was really insignificant because with three timeouts, you’re going to get the ball back with about 1:20. You need about a second for every yard you’re trying to travel.”

Final thoughts from Eli Drinkwitz after Missouri loss to Alabama football

“We lost, but all is not lost. That’s the realities of college football. We lost today. We went toe-to-toe with them. A lot of things we can get better at. Didn’t have our A-game today. Got to go back and find it.”

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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks after loss to Alabama