SEC logo Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 21 Missouri Tigers have bounced back from their 41-10 drubbing by the Texas A&M Aggies on October 5 with wins over the UMass Minutemen and Auburn Tigers, improving to 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

This week, the Tigers face one of their toughest tests of the season. On Saturday, they head to Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide.

While Alabama isn’t the Alabama of old, as they already have a pair of conference losses, it’s never easy to win on the road in college football.

Things will be made even tougher for the Tigers as they look to pull off the upset, as leading rusher Nate Noel will miss the game with a foot injury, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday.

“Sources: Missouri leading rusher Nate Noel (foot) will miss game at No. 15 Alabama on Saturday. He’s No. 21 Missouri’s most productive tailback with 503 yards and an average of 5.9 yards per carry,” Thamel’s post read.

Noel left last week’s win over Auburn in the first half and returned to make just one more carry, finishing the day with six carries for 32 yards.

Marcus Carroll will likely gain the bulk of Noel’s carries while the Tigers’ leading rusher is out. Carroll has rushed 66 times for 321 yards this season and has found the end zone six times.

[Pete Thamel]

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