The Alabama Crimson Tide have not lost a game this season, and they don’t figure to lose an SEC game in the coming weeks. It will likely take a top-level team in the College Football Playoff semifinals or final to beat them. What ingredients, though, does a team absolutely need to beat Nick Saban’s team? A few stand out above and beyond the rest, and they’ll be explained below:
A Mobile Quarterback Plays Well Against Them
The Tide have historically struggled with very fast quarterbacks. Cam Newton was one. Trevor Knight of Oklahoma in the 2014 Sugar Bowl was another. Chad Kelly of Ole Miss has been a real headache for them in recent years. The thing about Alabama’s defense is that while it’s certainly fast, it is a run-smothering defense which is adept at playing smashmouth and being brutally imposing between the tackles. As soon as quarterbacks can get outside the tackle box, Alabama’s defense – which is so good at cutting off the middle of the field and being in place to provide good run support – is caught out of position and off balance. Deshaun Watson of Clemson is the ideal example of a dual-threat quarterback who can run to create different passing angles and give Alabama an unsatisfying moving target which takes away from the front seven’s certainty that it can get another sack to halt a drive.
Jalen Hurts Throws A Lot Of Interceptions
There is no question that the Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts is an excellent runner, one of the very best in the country. When he is not penned in and a defense loses containment against him, bye-bye, it’s over. However, if defenses can keep Hurts in the pocket and force him to throw the ball, he has not shown that he can consistently avoid turnovers. As soon as he attempts throws which are even slightly marked by risk-taking, his chances of throwing a pick skyrocket. Hurts will give opponents at least one shot per game, but they have to intercept it to get it. Then they need to cash it into points.
An Opposing Defensive Line Contains The Alabama Ground Game
When LSU shut out the Crimson Tide for three quarters, it’s true that Hurts did not explode on a quarterback keeper for a big gain – that didn’t happen until the fourth quarter. However, while LSU corralled Hurts, it had to do something else in order to combat the Tide and their mobile signal caller. That was to stop the Alabama running game by loading up the tackle box and daring Hurts to do something about it. Other defenses have dared the Tide’s QB. These defenses will force Hurts to beat them in the air. Coaches have to be willing to make that bet and stand by it, but not all have.
An Opposing Team Hits The Deep Ball Against The Alabama Secondary
This is the thing an offense must do to get on top of Bama and put true pressure on this defense. Running into the teeth of the defense or any situation in which two or more Bama defenders are there to plug a gap is risky at best, foolish at worst. Instead of confronting Alabama’s strength on the defensive line and at linebacker, take on the secondary in a one-on-one confrontation – that’s how to make the Tide sweat. Instead of playing 11-on-11 football, play one-on-one. The odds are so much better.
Be Disciplined
One thing we know about the Crimson Tide is that they don’t beat themselves. For someone to knock off a Nick Saban coached team, they are going to have to play their best ball of the season. While many teams aren’t capable of playing mistake-free football, that is what it is going to take. We’ve seen this a couple of times now as teams have had Alabama on the ropes only to blow. Take Texas A&M, for example. They were up by a score and had momentum when they forced Alabama to punt early in the third quarter. They would have had the ball, the momentum and the lead. Instead, they took a stupid roughing the passer penalty that extended the drive. Alabama scored and then never looked back. The same thing happened against LSU as a stupid penalty extended a drive and led to a Crimson Tide score; in a 10-0 game, that was a big deal. For a team to beat the Tide, they’ll have to avoid these boneheaded mistakes and play disciplined football.
