Hello and Roll Tide!

Alabama was defeated by the Tennessee Volunteers 24-17 on the Third Saturday of October. Kalen DeBoer and the Tide move to 0-2 on the road in SEC play. The Alabama offense had plenty of opportunities to get out to a lead but were unable to capitalize behind poor quarterback play and too many penalties. The defense held Tennessee to 0 points in the first half, even though they continued to blow coverages downfield. Slightly due to injury, the defense’s luck ran out in the second half and the offense was never able to get it going. This was a winnable game that falls on both the players and coaching staff. The Tide will look to rebound against Missouri on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday at 2:30pm. Below are depth/injury notes, a Week 8 recap, Week 9 preview, and Week 9 storylines. Let’s go!

Depth/Injury Notes:

· Keon Sabb exited the game with a lower-extremity injury. Expected to miss a few weeks

o Bray Hubbard took over at safety

· Devonta Smith suffered a hamstring injury, is expected to play

· Cayden Jones is OUT

· Red Morgan suffered a lower-body injury listed as Probable

o King Mack took over the Husky position due to injury

Week 8 Review: Tennessee

Offense: The Alabama offense was a key contributor to the loss on Saturday night. Specifically, Jalen Milroe had a performance to forget. Jalen completed just 25 of his 45 attempts, with only 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The interceptions were both very poor pass attempts. The first came in the endzone as Jalen seemed to have decided pre-snap that he was throwing it to Ryan. This was a common issue all day as Jalen targeted Ryan Williams 18 times, completing 8 of those passes. Whenever there was pressure, it seemed that Jalen just threw it in Ryan’s direction hoping that he would make a play. Jalen was inaccurate all game long, as well he did not scramble outside of designed runs. While Jalen struggled passing, the offensive line also struggled in run-blocking. On 32 rushing attempts, Alabama averaged 2.2 yards per carry. Tennessee recorded 9 tackles for a loss, most of which came on rushing attempts. Pass protection was fine, Jalen was sacked 3 times but did have a decent amount of time to pass whenever he dropped back. Jalen’s decision making and accuracy were the main negatives to Alabama’s passing attack.

Penalties continue to be an issue for the Tide Offense: The O-line committed 3 false starts and one holding, forcing the Tide into obvious passing downs. Jalen committed a Delay of Game as well as Intentional Grounding, leading to a punt. Kendrick Law committed a Personal Foul late in the 4th quarter, making a 4th & 7 into a 4th and 22.

Alabama’s offense had plenty of opportunities to win this football game. The defense held Tennessee scoreless in the first half, yet Alabama was only able to put 7 on the board. Tennessee missed 2 field goals, threw 2 interceptions, and fumbled all in the first half yet the Tide were unable to capitalize. The offense seemed to be a strength for this team, but over the last two weeks they lack an identity. Jalen may not be 100% healthy as this may have been the worst performance of his career. Kalen DeBoer needs to work with Nick Sheridan and figure this out. The SEC seems far too difficult for the former Tight Ends coach.

Defense: Through some act of God, Alabama’s defense was able to shutout the Tennessee Volunteers in the first half on Saturday. The Defensive line played well stopping the run and making Nico uncomfortable. The Secondary let receivers run past them on several passing downs. When asked about this, Kane Wommack credited Alabama’s corners with disrupting route timing at the line of scrimmage. That is an incredibly optimistic view of blown coverage, as it appeared to fans on TV that Nico simply missed multiple wide-open receivers. While the secondary did miss coverages, the intensity and effort by the defense was on full display. Deontae Lawson, LT Overton, and Justin Jefferson all recorded sacks. The team added 4 tackles for a loss as well. Malachi Moore forced a fumble and caught an interception both in the first half. The defense came to play out of the gates but had no support by the Alabama offense.

It was difficult to maintain the defensive effort as injuries plagued the secondary. Keon Sabb, Devonta Smith, Zabien Brown, and Red Morgan all exited the game due to injury. This led to significant minutes for underclassmen Bray Hubbard and King Mack. To help these inexperienced players in coverage, Kane kept the defense in a Nickel package, and Tennessee was able to capitalize on the ground. Tennessee’s run game wore down the Alabama defense in the second half, who spent far too much time on the field. All things considered, holding Tennessee to 24 points is a defensive accomplishment. The Defense outperformed expectations yet was handicapped by the offense. The defense put Alabama in a position to win.

Special Teams: Graham Nicholson went 1 for 2 on Field Goal attempts hitting from 35 and missing from 54 yards out. Kalen DeBoer was asked if he considered putting Conor Talty in for the long attempt, to which he praised Conor’s work ethic and improvement this season. It is possible that Talty will attempt longer range kicks, as he is the team’s kickoff man. James Burnip had a busy day as he punted 7 times combining for 327 yards. Two of these punts pinned Tennessee inside their 20 yard-line. Alabama did not attempt any Kick returns. Cole Adams returned 3 punts for a total of 15 yards.

Week 9 Preview: Missouri Tigers

Missouri comes to Tuscaloosa touting a 6-1 record (2-1 in the SEC). Eli Drinkwitz is in his 5th season as the Head Coach and is building off of a 11 win campaign a season ago that ended with a win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Eli stepped onto the scene in 2019 as he won the Sun Belt Conference winning 11 games (he left before the bowl game). Drinkwitz is an offensive minded head coach: he was the QB coach with Cam Newton and Auburn in 2010 propelling his career to eventual OC of Boise State and NC State.

Eli’s Offensive talents have been on display at Missouri the last two seasons as star quarterback Brady Cook has developed. Cook, in his 5th collegiate season, topped 3,300 passing yards and 20 touchdowns a year ago. Cook’s success has continued this season as he’s passed for 1,545 yards, 7 touchdowns, and only 1 interception. The big storyline going into this week’s matchup is Cook’s health. Cook exited last week against Auburn with an ankle injury, however did return and lead Missouri to a comeback win. Cook is currently listed as Doubtful to play on Saturday. In other injury notes, Missouri’s leading rusher Nate Noel will be OUT against the Tide. As well, starting receiver Mookie Cooper is also OUT. The Tigers have a lengthy injury report and will need depth to step up.

As for athletes expected to play, Alabama’s secondary is going to have their hands full stopping Luther Burden III. Burden is currently projected as a 1st round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Burden entered Missouri in the 2022 class as a 5 star prospect, ranked 14th overall nationally. Burden eclipsed 1,200 receiving yards a year ago and wins 1-on-1 battles against DBs. Backup Quarterback Drew Pyne will likely target Burden a lot as he tries to get comfortable in his new role. Pyne started his career at Notre Dame and was their starter in 2022. Due to incoming transfers, he left for ASU but was unable to take over the starting job. This season, Pyne transferred in behind Senior Brady Cook with hopes of learning the offense to lead the team next season. He has a great opportunity to show Eli and the team that he is the man for the job.

Missouri’s defense is 10th in the Nation allowing 15.6 points per game. They are also top-10 in total yards allowed, notably allowing only 157 passing yards per game. The Missouri defense’s strength is their front 7. Four of their D-linemen have 2+ sacks on the season. Linebacker Corey Flagg leads the team in tackles in the middle, while outside LB Khalil Jacobs is a blitz weapon. Alabama’s offensive line will be challenged to keep pressure away from Jalen Milroe. Pressure on the QB has helped Missouri force 5 interceptions and 3 fumbles this year.

Week 9 Storylines:

Win the line of scrimmage: Alabama’s offensive line has been fickle this season, primarily in pass protection. Some games it seems that Jalen has a lot of time, others we’ve seen free rushers get right to him. This is another skilled defensive line that Missouri has, so pass protection will be very important. The O-line has not been able to produce good running lanes for RBs this season. Missouri is a strong defense, however their run-defense has been average at times. This is where the Tide can capitalize. I hope to see Jam and Justice more involved in designed runs.

Play disciplined: Penalties were an issue to start the year as they committed 20 combined in the first two games. This seemed to be under wraps until the dismal display in Neyland stadium last week. The crowd noise certainly impacted False Starts and Delay of Games. However, holding penalties, pass interference, and personal fouls demonstrate a lack of focus and discipline. The Tide need to clean these penalties up and quit giving advantages to their opponents.

Will Jalen rebound?: Jalen is coming off of the worst performance of his career. Two weeks ago was his worst performance this season as well. He has regressed to last season’s form, which is hardly up to the standard of playing in the SEC. Jalen seems hesitant to scramble and quick-triggered rather than trusting his eyes downfield. A bounce back will be required to beat a tough SEC opponent like Missouri. His health is in question as he has not looked like himself the last two weeks. If he continues to play poorly, we may see Ty Simpson step in to spark the passing game.

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Roll Tide!

-Jake