Hello and Roll Tide!

Saturday night the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the LSU Tigers 42-13. This is Kalen DeBoer’s first road win in the Southeastern Conference. The Tide dominated LSU in all 3 phases of the game, forcing opposing fans to leave as early as the 3rd quarter of the game. Jalen Milroe was lethal with his legs and the Defense led by Jihadd Campbell swarmed the LSU attack all night long. This is yet another top-25 win to add to Alabama’s playoff resume. Below are depth/injury notes, a full review of the LSU game, preview of Mercer and Week 12 storylines. Let’s go!

Depth/Injury Notes:

· 2025 5 Star Caleb Cunningham flipped his commitment from Alabama to Ole Miss

· Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown took all of the 1st team reps, Bama did not cycle cornerbacks throughout the game

· Jaedon Roberts exited the game with an injury

o Gino Van De Mark replaced Roberts for the remainder of the game

· Que Robinson sustained a season ending injury, x-rays confirmed a forearm break

o Yhonzae Pierre saw increased snaps at the Wolf position

· Devonta Smith exited with an injury

o Freshman Red Morgan and transfer DaShawn Jones played Husky in his absence

· Ryan Williams returned punts in relief for Cole Adams who is out for the season

· Jam Miller exited with an injury in the 3rd quarter, but returned shortly after

Week 11 Review: LSU Tigers

Offense: Jalen Milroe had a sensational performance completing 12 passes for 109 yards, rushing 12 times for 185 yards and 4 touchdowns. His most effective receiver was Jam Miller who caught 5 passes for 50 yards picking up key 1st downs. The game started off on a low note as the offensive line committed a false start as soon as they got onto the field. Quickly after, Jalen scrambled out of the pocket to find Ryan Williams for a 19-yard 1st down. The offense continued to roll, primarily with perimeter throws. Jalen capped off the drive with a great read-option, taking it 39-yards to the house. As the game continued, Jalen did a great job of making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. It seemed that whenever we needed a big play, Jam Miller was open out of the backfield. Perimeter passing and running back dump-offs opened the run game for Milroe. Near the end of the 1st half, Jalen broke a 22-yard run right before rushing it in from 10-yards away. Alabama leaned heavily on the run game as they rushed the ball 48 times, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Tyler Booker and the O-line dominated the LSU front, opening holes for Jalen, Jam, and Justice. Ryan Williams even got involved in the run game as he took a jet sweep handoff for 22 yards. Alabama did not attempt a pass in the 4th quarter. Bama’s biggest play of the game came to open the 4th quarter as Jalen Milroe exploded past the LSU secondary for a 72-yard touchdown run. Backups entered the game in the 4th quarter, notably sophomore running back Richard Young rushed the ball 6 times and had a score. Alabama dominated LSU’s defense all night long. This should fuel the offense as they look to close out the season.

Defense: Jihadd Campbell set the tone all night as he led Alabama’s defense with 12 tackles, 3 for a loss, and 1.5 sacks. Campbell setup primarily as an off-ball linebacker and took away the perimeter. When he lined up at the wolf, Campbell pressured the quarterback, one such play strip sacking Nussmeier that was recovered by Tim Smith. The captain in the middle, Deontae Lawson, was just as explosive. Lawson broke up passing plays in blitz packages, stopped running backs at the line of scrimmage, and recorded his first career interception in the endzone, ending an impressive drive by the LSU offense. Bray Hubbard had another excellent showing in his second straight start. Bray was physical in pass defense, forcing two redzone incompletions. Great positioning also led to Bray intercepting Nussmeier in the 4th quarter. LSU did have success running the ball early against the Tide, but the intensity that they showed every play seemed to wear down the LSU offense. DaShawn Jones replaced Devonta Smith due to injury, and immediately made impact plays. His man-coverage skill and intense pursuit of the quarterback led to a sack and incompletions. If Devonta misses more time, we should expect to see more from DaShawn Jones. As noted above, Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown played all snaps at corner before the backups came in. It seems that the tryout is over and Kane found his two men for the job. Domani has been great all season and completely shut down LSU star receiver Kyren Lacy, when lined-up against him. This is two games in a row now that the defense has been able to completely shut down SEC offenses. Kane Wommack and team appear to have turned a page and look like one of the best units in all of college football.

Special Teams: Other than allowing a 50-yard kick return during LSU’s 1st possession, the Alabama Special Teams played to the standard that is expected of them. Ryan Williams returned a punt 28-yards in the 2nd quarter setting up the offense with great field possession. Graham Nicholson was a perfect 6 for 6 on PATs. James Burnip only punted twice, yet one of those traveled 62-yards, completely flipping the field. Alabama did not attempt any kick returns.

Week 12 Preview: The Mercer Bears

Alabama must not overlook this FCS opponent as Mike Jacobs has his Bears at 9-1, 1st place in the Southern Conference. Mercer has an elite defense in the FCS: 1st in 3rd down defensive conversions allowed (21.4%); 8th in points allowed per game (16.6); 2nd in turnover margin (1.4/game); and 1st in rushing defense (54.7/game). Their only loss this season came on the road against rival Samford. Samford is a rush-heavy offense led by Senior running back Dwayne McGee. McGee has rushed for 910 yards averaging 5.2 yards per carry, with 7 touchdowns on the season. Quarterback DJ Smith boasts a completion percentage of 73.1%. His top target is Kelin Parson who has 549 yards so far this year. Mercer’s defense is scattered with potential Day 4 NFL draft prospects with inside linebacker Isaac Dowling, defensive tackle Chris Hill, and cornerback TJ Moore. Dowling leads the team with 62 total tackles. Mercer has produced 34 sacks this season as defensive linemen Brayden Manley and Andrew Zock have 7.5 and 6 sacks respectfully. Mercer has proven to disrupt the quarterback and stop the run. Alabama must prepare for a fired-up FCS team coming into Saban Field at Bryant- Denny Stadium.

Week 12 Storylines:

Can we sustain this defensive momentum?: Alabama has had two great defensive showings back to back against Missouri and LSU. Let’s look to see how they maintain the intensity against an FCS program who will leave it all out on the field.

College Football Playoff Resume: As the season is nearing the end, the debate of the 12 best teams in the country continues. In the most recent rankings, Alabama rose to the 10 spot. If the playoffs were today, Alabama would be traveling to Bloomington, Indiana to take on the Hoosiers. There are still a bunch of teams above Alabama who will face off, so nothing is decided. As long as Alabama takes care of the remaining games on their schedule, they should be playing in December. There is still the potential of making the SEC championship due to tie-breakers. If Georgia beats Tennessee on Saturday, Alabama could win the tie-breaker and head to Atlanta. Blake Byler from BamaOnline broke down the scenario needed for Alabama to reach the Conference Championship:

image.png

There’s still plenty of season left, but Alabama’s playoff hopes are high.

As always, reach out with any questions or comments that you have. If you know anyone interested in joining the newsletter, send their email my way. We are now up to 85 members, thank you all for the support!

Roll Tide!

-Jake