Saturday’s college football game between Missouri and Alabama is one of the most important results of the entire season. Crimson Tide offensive lineman Wilkin Formby could not be less worried.
The 6-foot-7, 324-pound redshirt freshman made it abundantly clear that the Tigers should be nervous about the beatdown they are going to receive in less than 48 hours.
Alabama is in unprecedented territory. Nick Saban lost six games during his first season in Tuscaloosa. He lost three games in 2010. Other than that, the Crimson Tide never lost more than two games during his entire 18-year tenure. It lost only one game or went undefeated in nine of 18 seasons.
Kalen DeBoer’s team already lost twice to Vanderbilt and Texas through the first seven games of his first year.
One of this biggest storylines of this upcoming weekend is how Alabama will bounce back against a top-25 Missouri team. Formby is confident. Perhaps a little bit too confident.
I think that most importantly, we’re just gonna show — I feel bad for Mizzou. Because we’ve come off a loss, and we’re very focused on us. It’s all about us. We’re focused on just keep winning. It’s the next game. We’re focused on the next game at hand. Just being able to dominate our opponent, and more so focus on us and what we have to do.
— Wilkin Formby
Maybe Formby is right. Maybe the Crimson Tide will humble the Tigers (who are likely playing without starting quarterback Brady Cook and starting running back Nate Noel) on its home field.
However, should things not go as Alabama expects, this quote is going to stick around the program for a very long time. If there wasn’t something to play for before, Formby’s bold words provide an extra reason not to lose. A third loss after “feeling bad for Mizzou” would be embarrassing. That can’t happen.
Wilkin Formby says the leaders in the locker room stepped up to “keep us all together” after the loss to Tennessee. Nobody is pointing fingers. They’re taking it day-by-day as a team.
It sure sounds like the Crimson Tide is ready to make a statement against a depleted SEC opponent. It would be very funny if the Tigers were able to flip the script and leave Bryant-Denny with a win.