Fifty years ago, Mizzou stunned Alabama: ‘They kicked the (heck) out of us’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mizzou upset No. 2 Alabama 20-7 in 1975 as a three-touchdown underdog.
- Defensive tackle Keith Morrissey recorded three key sacks and ended drives.
- Onofrio's defense limited Alabama to 31 rushing yards on 34 carries.
The Missouri Tigers have their work cut out for them this week in the Alabama Crimson Tide.
As a small betting-line underdog, Mizzou is facing its largest test of the season with Kalen DeBoer’s squad. There’s a perfect record at stake — Mizzou is 5-0 — and the Tigers have lost their last six matchups with Alabama.
Let’s go back in time, though, to that last win 50 years ago, an early September kickoff in 1975.
Legendary head coach Bear Bryant welcomed Mizzou to face his Crimson Tide on a Monday night in Birmingham. Bryant led Alabama to six national championships and, at one point, amassed the most wins of any head coach in college football.
On that Monday night, Bryant’s team was ranked No. 2 in the country and hadn’t lost a regular-season game in two years.
As you may know, Missouri put an end to that streak — in a way that the Hall of Fame coach summed up in just a few words.
“They kicked the hell out of us,” Bryant said, per a Boca Raton News report. “What more can I say?”
A massive upset: Mizzou stuns Alabama
Despite entering as a 20-point favorite, Alabama was broken down by Al Onofrio’s Tigers in a 20-7 trouncing. The Tigers put in the work early to score on four of their first five possessions.
Missouri led 20-0 at halftime.
Defensive tackle Keith Morrissey made his first career start in that game. According to a 1975 report from Steve Martin in The Tuscaloosa News, Morrissey originally came to Mizzou from Gallatin, Missouri, to play quarterback for the Tigers.
It’s a good thing Onofrio and the staff sent him to the D-line: Morrissey, a sophomore, led the Tigers with three second-half sacks, including two on a monumental drive in the fourth quarter.
With nine minutes remaining, Morrissey sacked Alabama quarterback Richard Todd twice on the same drive for a combined loss of 21 yards, and tackled a receiver for another loss of 3.
“I had my day to shine on that particular evening,” Morrissey told The Star in a recent phone call. Sports Illustrated agreed, awarding him the publication’s Lineman of the Week accolade.
Morrissey recalls the preparation for such a contest dating back to spring ball that year, with extra time needed for what the Tigers were going to face. In the 1974 season, Alabama averaged 289.9 yards per game on the ground. In 1975, they averaged a ridiculous 301.8 rushing yards.
Can you imagine what that number would have looked like if it hadn’t been for Onofrio’s defense ... which held them to all of 31 rushing yards on 34 carries?
“(Onofrio) was a great defensive technician, and he had implemented a defense that specifically was designed to shut down their power running game,” Morrissey said.
There was another aspect at play.
“I think they felt that they were a superior team to us,” Morrissey added. “I think Bear Bryant felt like he could run the ball on us, and it was early in the season so they wanted to execute their run plan, but with so many people on the line of scrimmage, it made it difficult for their blockers to have success on that.”
Alabama switched its game plan
Morrissey also noted that Alabama changed its offensive approach during the game, switching to a passing scheme. But that was a win for the Mizzou defense.
Alabama was known for its run game. The Crimson Tide, however, averaged just 83.7 passing yards per game that season.
“I don’t know that they were really designed to be a passing team,” Morrissey said. “Their run blockers are bigger guys and they were designed for pushing other bodies out of the way. On a pass block, you’ve got to be more agile and stop the rushers from coming in.”
As a 6-foot-4, 227-pound lineman, Morrissey was in his element for Alabama’s switch.
“That’s me as a smaller defensive lineman,” Morrissey said. “That’s kind of where I was able to outmaneuver (Todd) and have success with that.”
Another note: The Tigers believed they could win that game.
Morrissey said the Tigers felt prepared walking into Legion Field for a nationally broadcast game on ABC.
“The television people in the NCAA were looking for a game prior to the NFL Monday night season start,” Morrissey said. “They had to come up with something to put in there. I think their first preference obviously was a powerful team, and it just so happens we fell into that slot.”
Tony Galbreath created the comfortable first-half lead for the Tigers, running for 89 of his 120 yards in the half.
Despite playing just two years with the Tigers after transferring in from Indian Hill Junior College, Galbreath is 27th in program history with 1,647 rushing yards.
“He was one of the better athletes on our team,” Morrissey said.
It was all enough for Bryant to express his frustration afterward.
“I think we were pretty fortunate not to have been beaten worse,” he said.
Mizzou took down ... the national champions
Given Bryant’s legacy, Morrissey looks back on those comments with a sense of pride.
“Bear Bryant will always be a legend and just to have that for Missouri history is pretty special,” Morrissey said.
As the history books tell us, Bryant and Alabama easily regrouped after the upset. The Crimson Tide ran the table the rest of the way, finishing 11-1 as national champions and winning the Sugar Bowl against Joe Paterno and Penn State. Mizzou finished 6-5.
But the 1975 Tigers will always have that Monday night in Birmingham, a game Morrissey says “there’s no doubt” sits atop his list when looking back at his days as a Tiger.
“Alabama is far and above any game or experience that I’ve ever had at the University of Missouri,” Morrissey said.
Now, will the 2025 Tigers be able to replicate that energy and bring an end to a long streak of losses?
Morrissey believes Mizzou will be able to compete with the Crimson Tide, unlike last year’s 34-0 shutout defeat on the road.
After all — just like in 1975 — Mizzou has a talented running back who could very well put up serious yardage Saturday.
“He’s pretty amazing,” Morrissey said of Mizzou star Ahmad Hardy. “To have that weapon, and to have that young man be at the University of Missouri … Missouri is very fortunate to have his talents.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 7:30 AM.
