The Missouri Tigers suffered a big blow on Wednesday when it was introduced that main rusher Nate Noel (foot) would miss Saturday’s showdown towards No. 15 Alabama, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Noel suffered the harm through the Tigers’ Week 8 win over Auburn.
After transferring from Appalachian State, Noel has been a serious contributing issue for Missouri this season. Not solely does he lead the group in speeding with 503 yards and a formidable 5.9 yards per carry, Noel has additionally accounted for 199 yards on the bottom towards Vanderbilt whereas speeding for 121 yards towards Boston Faculty.
In Noel’s absence, the main target will shift to senior Marcus Carroll, who has rushed for 321 yards and 6 TDs this season. Freshman Jamal Roberts can also get some touches contemplating he has accounted for 3 speeding TDs on the season.
The harm comes at a vital time for Missouri, because the Twenty first-ranked Tigers put together for a street journey to face the Crimson Tide. The sport carries big significance for Missouri, which has a 6-1 document.
Whereas Missouri is certainly one of a whopping seven teams within the SEC with one or fewer losses in convention play, their lone defeat got here from 14th-ranked Texas A&M, which presently sits on the high of the standings at 4-0 in convention play. Because of the competitiveness of the league, a second loss for the Tigers would make their street to the convention title recreation and the Faculty Soccer Playoff much more arduous, doubtlessly placing an finish to their playoff hopes altogether.
With a bye week looming after the Alabama recreation, Missouri can have an additional week to guage Noel earlier than their closing 4 video games of the season, that are all towards presently unranked groups.