The #9 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) have one of the most unique teams in college football this season. After the loss to Texas, the Crimson Tide tried to create a new identity and look into their problems. Over the course of the season, a trend has been building around the offense and defense. Most of Alabama’s games have had the team start slow and sluggish, only to dominate through the second half. Alabama’s 34-20 big win over Tennessee is the latest example of the team that is the definition of Jekyll and Hyde, bad for one half and good for another.
#9 Alabama Is the Jekyll and Hyde of College Football
Alabama Shows Dominance in the Second Half
It should be automatic at this point that the Alabama Crimson Tide is a team that plays slow in the first half and dominant in the second half. This past weekend against the Volunteers was another example of the Tide’s play.
In the first half, the Volunteers jumped to an early lead of 20-7. Alabama had a chance to take the lead 14-13 late in the second quarter, but an interception thrown by quarterback Jalen Milroe off a tip. The Volunteers quickly took this momentum to score on a 10-play; 80-yard drive with 12 seconds left in the half to expand their 20-7 lead.
The Volunteers outgained the Crimson Tide in total yards, 275-to-133 in the first half. Alabama turned the ball over twice. It looked bleak for the Crimson Tide and their potential journey back to the College Football Playoffs and the SEC Conference after being dominated in the first half.
Alabama looked like a completely different team in the second half by outscoring Tennessee 27-0. They also outgained the Volunteers in total yards, 255-to-129 yards. Milroe and the offensive line looked more composed and able to execute their plays in the second half. The Tide ran the ball better in the second half than in the first half 122-to-33. Finally, Alabama avoided turning the ball over in the second half.
The pattern has been shown since the start of the season
This pattern of poor to great performances has been notable since Alabama’s week two 34-24 home loss to the Texas Longhorns. Alabama was outscored 13-6 in the first half and scored 18 points in the second half, but allowed 21 points. In the following game against South Florida with Tyler Buchner as the starting quarterback, the Crimson Tide went to halftime at 3-3 until Ty Simpson led Alabama to outscore the Bulls 14-0.
In the Tide’s 24-10 win over the Ole Miss Rebels, the offensive line played horribly by allowing nine tackles for loss and four sacks in the first half. After going into halftime with a score down 7-6, the Tide outgained the Rebels 18-3 in the second half. A couple of weeks later, the Crimson Tide outgained Texas A&M 16-3 in the second half after going into halftime down 17-10.
The week before the Tennessee game, the Crimson Tide hosted the Arkansas Razorbacks in a potentially easy matchup. The Tide started with a 21-6 run in the first half, but almost blew the game at home 24-21 as they were outscored 15-3 in the second half. That was the only performance in the half where the Tide were more disappointing than the first.
Perfect time for the Bye-Week?
The Crimson Tide is a team that is slowly getting back to the conversations of the CFB Playoffs. While it is likely, there is no guarantee that Alabama will be back in the CFP if they finish the rest of the season undefeated. This includes the win over the #1 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game. If Michigan or Ohio State wins the Big Ten undefeated, Florida State wins the ACC undefeated, undefeated Oklahoma (potentially Texas) wins out with the Big 12 and Washington wins the PAC-12, they are better shots to go to the CFP. The fact of the matter remains that Alabama has found ways to win but in an ugly fashion. These wins will not be good enough to earn a spot in the CFP, even if Alabama wins the SEC title.
Alabama goes into week nine of the season in a bye week after a huge comeback win over Tennessee. They’ll have two weeks to prepare for the #15 LSU Tigers. This Jekyll and Hyde identity of Alabama will not be enough to defeat the Tigers. Milroe has a chance to be a special playmaker, but he is among the many key players for the Tide to play a complete game. He will have an extra week to diagnose LSU’s secondary in film and visualize live plays in practice. The success of the rest of the season will depend on Milroe’s progression as a leader, the stability of the offensive line, and how well the defense can recover from injuries.
