7th-ranked Alabama will travel to face 11th-ranked Tennessee on Saturday in a massive SEC matchup. Both teams are coming off narrow wins to big underdogs. They both were upset two weeks ago by unranked teams. Neither team is playing their best ball right now. For Bama, the lack of defensive stops and the inability to get off the field was the main reason they lost to Vanderbilt two weeks ago. Last week, their reasons for almost losing to South Carolina were more on the offense this time. They still need more consistency on that side of the ball.
Running Concerns
The point we made last week was that Alabama needed to run the ball more in order to sustain longer drives and keep the defense off the field. They seemed to agree particularly on the first drive when they ran the ball six of nine plays that led to a touchdown. But those six carries only netted 13 yards. The next drive was seven plays that led to a punt and they only tried running the ball two times. They’re realizing what was obvious on Saturday. They’re not a very good rushing team. They ran for 134 yards against the Gamecocks, but that was on 34 carries for only 2.7 yards per carry. Their 179 yards rushing per game doesn’t crack the top 50 in college football.
This is even more concerning when you have arguably the best running quarterback in the country, Jalen Milroe. He has 11 rushing touchdowns, so clearly he’s been successful. But after running all over Georgia a few weeks ago, he’s been clamped down rushing for only 46 yards on 25 carries in the last two games. Teams have seemed to focus on limiting his running since the second half of the Georgia game. They have focused on keeping him from taking over games and so far it’s worked.
The Backfield Duo
Jam Miller and Justice Haynes have not really been able to get going this year. Coach Kalen DeBoer was asked about trying to get them more carries. “They’re very critical to our offense. They’re extremely athletic. They can do it all. They’re every-down backs in their own right. And we need to continue to grow. And I think we took another step this week. I think South Carolina had a very strong defensive front, not just up front, but tied in the linebacker corp and how they fit. And that was gonna be a challenge going in and I thought we took another step in our physicality and execution. Thought those guys ran hard as well.”
It’s hard for DeBoer to argue they took another step last week when Miller and Haynes combined for 68 yards on 20 carries. Miller couldn’t punch it in from the four on two carries during the first drive and they had to rely on Milroe to run it in. They’ve combined for 609 yards rushing in six games, so they have contributed. But to say physicality and execution took another step against the Gamecocks is optimistic, to say the least. The challenge won’t get easier this week. Tennessee is only giving up 79 yards rushing per game and a measly 2.2 yards per carry.
Containing the Run
The Crimson Tide not only has a challenge in running the ball, but it might even take more of a commitment to stop the run. Tennessee enters the game averaging 246 yards rushing per game, that’s seventh in the country. That’s mostly because of star running back Dylan Sampson. He already has 699 yards rushing on 5.9 yards per carry in six games. He also has 15 rushing touchdowns. His yards and touchdowns lead the country. He’s going to be a load to contain for a defense that has allowed 298 yards rushing over the last two games.
The Other Quarterback
Sampson is enough to worry about. But quarterback Nico Iamaleava creates a whole other problem. Before the last two weeks, he was one of the front-runners for the Heisman. But he struggled mightily in the last two games. He’s 33 for 55 for 337 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception in those games. For a dual-threat, he has not run the ball well either with only 19 carries for 18 yards in those games. But make no mistake, he’s a legit threat to Alabama. DeBoer knows it as he mentioned in his weekly presser “Live arm. Extremely talented. You can tell they have the skill on the outside to where they can hit the home run and make big plays any time. I think a lot of it is just trying to disrupt him to where the continuity and the flow is just not consistent.”
Even with their recent struggles, this is an explosive offense. Vanderbilt and South Carolina wouldn’t fall into that category and they found ways to be successful against the Crimson Tide. The defense needs to take their game to another level if they hope to slow them down.
Outlook
Alabama must play better this week if they hope to have any chance of winning. Facing talent like Iamaleava and Sampson is one thing. Facing a defense built to stop the run is another. South Carolina and Vanderbilt are decent teams, but Tennessee is better. Milroe can’t afford to make careless turnovers like he did last week. It’s becoming far too common of an occurrence. And even coming off a couple of mediocre performances, Tennessee will take advantage of that. In a hyper-competitive SEC conference, every loss is one step closer to missing out on a playoff bid. That’s why this game is massive.
