Nick Saban came off the field Saturday and sized up the afternoon for No. 1 Alabama.

”It was tough sledding out there today, guys,” the Crimson Tide coach said. The thing is, he was speaking more about the weather than the opponent.

”For the conditions, I was pleased with the balance that we had,” he said.

Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon gave Alabama a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time this season and the duo combined for five scores as Alabama beat Missouri 42-10 in a soggy, lightning-delayed game. The Crimson Tide had a season high 533 total yards and held Missouri to 129 yards – and just 3 yards rushing.

”Basically the offensive line came out and they dominated,” Lacy said. ”I mean, every time we made a big run it was because they made a big hole for us.”

Center Barrett Jones put it like this: ”Probably the best we played all year, given we had a break.”

The first matchup of head coaches who were former Kent State teammates was no contest, with Alabama pummeling a team hampered by injuries at quarterback and the offensive line. The defending national champion Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 SEC) led 21-0 late in the first quarter en route to their 10th straight victory, all by 19 or more points.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel needed no convincing that the Tigers had been steamrolled by a most deserving No. 1.

”That is maybe the best team I have ever seen,” he said.

Alabama did enough things right after the unscheduled break to disappoint the few thousand fans who didn’t leave for good during the 38-minute lightning delay. The Crimson Tide were awaiting the extra-point kick for a 28-0 cushion with 8:40 to go in the half after Yeldon’s second scoring run when the game was halted.

Missouri’s Marcus Murphy set a school single-season record with his fourth kick return for touchdown, a 98-yard kickoff return in the second quarter right after the weather delay.

But the Tigers (3-4, 0-4) have been outscored 126-55 in their first season in the SEC, and have been competitive to the finish in only last week’s 19-15 loss at home to Vanderbilt.

The rest of the season, Pinkel vowed that injuries will be no excuse.

”I told our team we have had a lot of issues, a backup quarterback and all this other stuff,” Pinkel said. ”From this point on, I don’t care. We’re going to move on and try to finish the season the right way.”

Backup quarterback Corbin Berkstresser, a redshirt freshman subbing for injured James Franklin, was 12 for 29 for 126 yards with two interceptions. Missouri has next weekend off and Franklin could return from a left knee strain at home against Kentucky Oct. 27.

Kendial Lawrence had 33 yards on seven carries but Missouri finished with just 3 yards on 28 carries including 53 yards in losses by Berkstresser, 42 of them on a sack-lost fumble at the end of the half.

Lacy had a career-best 177 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns, including a 73-yarder on the game’s second snap, for his second 100-yard game of the year. Yeldon had 144 yards on 18 carries and two TDs, also his second time in triple digits this season.

”The running backs, we haven’t had a big run in a long time,” Lacy said. ”Our plan was to come in and run the ball, we didn’t know how successful it was going to be. But as it turned out it was very successful.”

Trent Richardson and Jalston Fowler each gained more than 100 yards for Alabama at Mississippi last October.

Alabama remained interception-free on the year after AJ McCarron went 16 for 21 for 171 yards, extending his run to 227 passes without a pick. McCarron showed his toughness, too, staying in the game with a quick wrap after twisting his right knee.

Alabama did not make McCarron available to speak to reporters after the game.

The game was halted after several lightning strikes around Faurot Field. The stands were evacuated just after Yeldon’s 15-yard TD run – the last 5 on a leap for the pylon.

Missouri got some momentum from the unexpected break, but not nearly enough. After play resumed with the extra-point kick, Murphy got the Tigers on the scoreboard with his record-setting kickoff return.

The Tigers were on the verge of slicing further into Alabama’s cushion, advancing to the 8 at the end of the half off a fumbled snap by punter Cody Mandell. But Adrian Hubbard stripped Berkstresser on a sack and C.J. Mosley ended up with the ball at the Missouri 49 with two seconds left.

The Crimson Tide quickly took control of the game, converting a blocked punt by Brandon Collins with a 17-yard drive capped by Yeldon’s 1-yard run to make it 21-0.

Lacy scored on the game’s second snap, cutting back across the field and leaving Kenronte Walker grabbing air at the Missouri 40 on a 73-yard run. Alabama then capitalized on Vinnie Sunseri’s second interception of the year, on a ball in and out of the arms of L’Damian Washington. Running a fleaflicker, McCarron hit Kenny Bell for a 44-yard gain to the 6 to set up Lacy’s second TD on a 3-yarder.

With rain intensifying, Brandon Collins stormed through the three-man shield untouched on the blocked punt.

— Associated Press —

CBS Sports named Missouri Basketball junior Phil Pressey a Preseason First Team All-American on Monday. A finalist for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award, Pressey helped lead Mizzou to a 30-5 record last season and shattered the school record with 223 assists over 35 games.

“He is the consummate point guard,” CBS College Basketball insider Jeff Goodman said. “It’s so rare in college basketball today to have a guy like Phil who just makes everyone better. That’s the No. 1 quality of a point guard, someone that heightens the level of play of everyone around him. Phil is a good leader and can be a great defender, but ultimately what sets him apart is his ability to put opposing defenses on their heels and get his teammates open looks.”

Pressey was one of college basketball’s busiest players over the summer. He participated in the LeBron James, Chris Paul and Deron Williams elite camps, and worked heavily with a highly-touted group of newcomers, including former AAU teammate, Alex Oriakhi, who transferred in from Connecticut.

Publications have touted Missouri’s recruiting efforts to balance the program’s recruiting classes through transfer additions and the Tigers have been ranked as high as No. 10 in the early preseason rankings.

Pressey was a First Team All-Big 12 pick by CBS Sports last season and was a Big 12 All-Tournament Team selection after the Tigers claimed the league title in Kansas City. He averaged career highs in scoring (10.3), rebounding (3.3), assists (6.4) and steals (2.1).

In addition to Pressey, fellow backcourt mate Mike Dixon was named a Preseason Second Team All-American by the Sporting News. Dixon was actually Missouri’s most efficient scorer in league play a year ago and was college basketball’s top scorer off the bench (13.5 ppg).

Fans can get their first look at Mizzou’s 2012-13 squad on Friday night at Mizzou Madness. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event is free.

— MU Sports Information —

Marcus Murphy returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown and James Franklin added an 80-yard touchdown pass as Missouri ground out a 21-16 win over Central Florida on Saturday.

UCF trailed 21-10 before a late score, but following a Tigers punt, Knights receiver Jeff Godfrey’s fumble with 2:26 left allowed Missouri (3-2) to hang on.

UCF (2-2) controlled most of the game, using five sacks and a huge advantage in time of possession to take an early lead.

But miscues on defense and special teams unraveled it all, and the Knights sputtered on offense down the stretch in their bid to defeat their first Southeastern Conference opponent at home.

Coming off a dismal passing performance last week at South Carolina, Franklin was efficient, going 19 for 30 for 257 yards.

Kendial Lawrence added 104 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Tigers.

Knights quarterback Blake Bortles kept his team in the game, connecting on 29 of his 43 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns.

Prior to Murphy’s punt return, the Knights looked to be taking control of the game, leading 10-7 and coming off an interception and fourth sack of Franklin early in the third quarter.

But the slide continued with Missouri capitalizing on a short punt and needing just three plays to take its 21-10 advantage with 9:31 to play in the game.

Offense was plentiful in the first half, with both teams using big plays through the air to reach the end zone.

Missouri had several promising drives stall early before getting on the board via an 80-yard touchdown strike from Franklin to Dorial Green-Beckham. That gave the Tigers a 7-3 lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

UCF defensive back A.J. Bouye briefly had Green-Beckham locked up by the legs near the 50 before slipping to the turf. Green-Beckham then sprinted untouched into the end zone.

The play, the Tigers’ longest from scrimmage this season, also was a career-best for Franklin.

The Knights responded on the ensuing drive, with Bortles using a 41-yard pass to Rob Calabrese to set up an 11-yard touchdown pass to Quincy McDuffie.

Following a series of punts, UCF got hot again and drove the ball from its own 12 all the way inside the Tigers’ 10 with less than 2 minutes to play in the half.

A pass interference call on Missouri gave the Knights first-and-goal on the 3. But after a stuffed run and incomplete pass, the opportunity was squandered as Bortles was sacked, and time expired before the Knights could run out their field goal team.

Despite the final miscue, the Knights’ offense had one of their best opening halves of the season with Bortles completing 12 straight passes at one point and 18 for 22 overall for 156 yards. Johnson also averaged nearly 8 yards per carry in racking up 84 yards rushing.

The Tigers were successful at times with their hurry-up offense, but UCF’s defense also helped keep Franklin off balance, sacking him three times in the opening 30 minutes.

— MU Sports Information —

Corbin Berkstresser ran for a score in his first career start at quarterback in place of injured James Franklin, and Missouri’s defense forced four turnovers to ease the pressure on the redshirt freshman in a 24-20 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night.

Missouri (2-1) built a 17-point cushion in the third quarter in front of a sellout crowd of 71,004, the school’s first for a non-conference game since Notre Dame in 1984. The Tigers held on late a week after fizzling late in a 21-point loss to No. 7 Georgia that spoiled the school’s SEC debut.

Marion Grice scored on a pair of fourth-quarter runs that cut the deficit to four for Arizona State (2-1), which had a fumbled snap on the second extra-point kick.

Kendial Lawrence scored on a pair of short runs, and T.J. Moe was strong overall with eight catches for 88 yards and a 43-yard kickoff return to open the game for Missouri.

Missouri kicker Andrew Baggett made a 46-yard field goal early but missed from 37, 45 and 48 yards.

Kenronte Walker made two big plays late, a pass deflection on fourth and goal from the 2 to turn it over on downs and an end-zone interception and 49-yard return to clinch it in the final minute.

Missouri had quarterback suspense until just before kickoff with Franklin the final starter announced, followed by intrigue when Berkstresser took the field while Franklin wore a cap and headset on the sideline, nursing an elbow injury. It was the first start missed by the Tigers’ No. 1 quarterback since coach Gary Pinkel’s first season in 2001.

Brad Smith didn’t miss a start in four seasons, Chase Daniel made it three years in a row and Blaine Gabbert started every game two years. Franklin had made 15 consecutive starts and warmed up without obvious discomfort prior to the game, throwing several passes of 20 or more yards while watched closely by offensive coordinator Dave Yost.

Berkstresser, who subbed in the season’s first two games, got plenty of help early as Missouri built a 17-0 lead. He cost the Tigers a scoring opportunity in the second quarter, throwing into coverage on Brandon McGee’s interception at the Sun Devil 3.

The Tigers got touchdown runs from Berkstresser and Lawrence on a pair of 18-yard drives off turnovers, with Kip Edwards recovering a fumble and intercepting Taylor Kelly on consecutive possessions.

Arizona State had 27 total yards before putting together a 66-yard drive near the end of the half fueled by quick hitters and capped by D.J. Foster’s 33-yard score on a screen pass from Kelly that took advantage of an overzealous pass rush.

ASU punter Josh Hubner fumbled a snap late in the third quarter, recovering the ball after it slipped through his hands and rolled over the top of his head. He still managed to kick the ball, and the desperation 11-yard effort gave Missouri possession at the Sun Devils’ 33. Lawrence had a 14-yard reception to the 2, then ran it in from the 1 for a 24-7 lead.

— Associated Press —

No. 7 Georgia trailed by eight points early in the third quarter and was down by three late in that quarter. Missouri was rising to the occasion in its SEC debut, fueled by a sellout crowd that anticipated the game for months and had been tailgating much of the day.

“It was definitely a great challenge. There were times when I was just starting to wonder what was going to happen,” coach Mark Richt said. “And then our guys started to come through with some big plays on both sides of the ball.”

Aaron Murray hit Marlon Brown for two of his three touchdown passes, the second for the go-ahead score as the Bulldogs recovered from a shaky start with 32 second-half points that spoiled Missouri’s SEC debut in a 41-20 victory Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0) trailed 17-9 early in the third quarter before turning Missouri’s SEC debut into an unsatisfying initiation for the Tigers (1-1, 0-1) and a sellout crowd of 71,004 clad in yellow and waving yellow pom-pons.

“You can’t make the kind of mistakes we made in games like that,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “You’re not going to win games like that against people like that.”

Up by 21 points with the clock winding down, Georgia’s fan contingent, mostly concentrated in one corner of the end zone, chanted “Old Man Football! Old Man Football!” That was in reference to comments by excitable Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, who said he turned off the TV last week during Georgia’s opening victory over Buffalo because he was unimpressed with the Bulldogs’ no-frills style of play.

“We try not to focus on what’s said,” Murray said. “The trash talk is pre-game. But it definitely did add a little incentive.

“I still don’t know exactly know what old man football is. We’re just saying all week, `Hey, we play grown man football. `”

Brown had eight catches for 106 yards with an 11-yard score that put Georgia ahead for good at 24-20 late in the third quarter. A pair of big plays by linebacker Jarvis Jones helped put it away.

“We’ve got to come out and play a full four quarters,” Missouri cornerback E.J. Gaines said. “I felt like they saw our `A’ game in the first half. We didn’t get it done in the second half.”

Jones returned an interception to the 1 midway through the fourth quarter to set up a score by Todd Gurley, then just three plays later he forced a fumble on a sack that gave Georgia possession at the 5 and set up a 6-yard scoring run by Ken Malcome.

“Obviously, he may be the best defensive player in America,” Richt said about Jones.

Georgia outscored Missouri 32-10 in the second half, making a statement to three defensive starters left behind due to suspensions that there’s plenty of depth.

Missouri got two touchdown passes from James Franklin but had little success with the run while falling short of lofty expectations. Pinkel predicted on media day that it would be a game that “will go down in history.”

Missouri peaked on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Franklin to L’Damian Washington that made it 17-9 early in the third quarter.

The schools were a combined 1 for 7 on third down conversions with five first downs and three punts apiece in a sloppy, scoreless first quarter. Each opened 3-and-out, Missouri with minus-22 yards and Georgia with minus-12.

Center Mitch Morse was behind Missouri’s shaky start with two high snaps dooming the opening series. The second was looped far above quarterback James Franklin’s head for a 24-yard loss back to the 4 leading to a punt.

The Tigers and Bulldogs each one big gainer in the second quarter, with Franklin hitting Marcus Lucas for a 41-yard touchdown, and a 34-yarder from Murray to Tavarres King on a screen to the 2 that set up a 2-yard scoring pass from Murray to Marlon Brown with 30 seconds to go in the half.

But Georgia missed a shot to tie it when freshman Marshall Morgan, who hit a 52-yard field goal earlier in the second quarter, was wide right on the extra point kick.

Missouri senior offensive tackle Elvis Fisher was carted off with a right knee injury in the second quarter after getting hurt in a pileup on a running play. Pinkel said the injury was to the MCL, which could sideline Fisher for a month.

Fisher was granted a sixth year of eligibility after missing last season with surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. He started every game from 2008-10.

— Associated Press —

Marcus Murphy scored on punt returns of 72 and 70 yards and Zaviar Gooden and Michael Sam fueled a lightning-fast start with early defensive touchdowns in Missouri’s 62-10 season-opening rout of Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night.

Kendial Lawrence ran for a 76-yard TD and totaled 121 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns for the Tigers, who led 28-0 after running just 12 plays in their tuneup for next week’s SEC debut against No. 6 Georgia. They then stalled for nearly two quarters before turning it back on.

Murphy, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound sophomore tailback, matched a 47-year-old school record with two scoring returns and totaled 180 yards on five punt returns. He added 32 yards on five carries.

Nathan Stanley threw a late 21-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Smiley for Southeastern Louisiana, which since resuming football in 2003 is just 8-45 on the road, including 13 consecutive losses. The Lions, picked to in the middle of the pack of the FCS Southland Conference under new coach Ron Roberts, left Hurricane Isaac behind on Friday and ran into its remnants while getting soaked in a downpour in the second quarter.

Paid attendance of 62,173, the vast majority clad in yellow ponchos, was about 8,000 shy of a sellout. Still, that was an attendance record for Southeastern Louisiana, which plays its home opener against Savannah State next week.

Heralded freshman Dorian Green-Beckham had a 29-yard sideline catch in the third quarter for Missouri, which has won five in a row dating to last season’s strong finish in its Big 12 swan song. The Tigers have won their last 12 openers.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel left his starters in until late in the third quarter, no doubt displeased after a 207-yard first quarter was followed by 53 yards, two personal fouls and no points in the second. Stanley was 11 for 13 for 99 yards to end the half, and Southeastern Louisiana capitalized on a facemask call against Kony Ealy to snap the shutout on Seth Sebastian’s 31-yard field goal to end the half.

The two-TD game was the first for the Missouri defense since 2006 at Texas Tech.

Gooden skirted the sideline on a 20-yard interception return on Southeastern Louisiana’s second snap to make it 14-0, also giving him a pick in three straight games. Ealy’s sack and forced fumble of Stanley set up an easy 7-yard fumble recovery and score for Sam that made it 28-0 with 7:19 to go in the first quarter.

Missouri backup QB Corbin Berkstresser threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Hunt and ran for a 1-yard score after replacing James Franklin late in the third quarter.

The only other time Missouri had two scoring returns in a game was in 1965, when Johnny Roland returned a punt and Ray Thorpe a kickoff in a 14-14 tie against UCLA.

— Associated Press —