Hello and Roll Tide!

Alabama defeated the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday night 50-36. There were two lightning delays totaling 2 hours and 19 minutes but the crowd stuck around, willing Alabama to victory. Once again, the Tide found themselves trailing in the first half. Then the offense exploded scoring on 9 consecutive possessions. 50 points is the most that Alabama has scored against a Power-4 team during Kalen DeBoer’s tenure. The defense was a bit shaky, allowing 36 points, but winning a shoot-out restored confidence in the offense. Below are injury updates, depth notes, an FSU recap, and Week 3 storylines revisited. Let’s go!

njury Updates:

  • Junior linebacker Cayden Jones will miss the remainder of the season
  • EJ Crowell and Daniel Hill were banged up on Saturday and are expected to be available this week
  • AK Dear and Noah Rogers will make their debuts against South Carolina. They each missed the first 3 contests
  • Zay Mincey did not dress for the FSU game

Depth Notes:

  • Kevin Riley did not see any snaps at RB as freshmen Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell continue to carve larger roles
  • WR reps were dominated by the big 3: Ryan Coleman-Williams (62 snaps), Rico Scott (60), and Lotzeir Brooks (39)
  • Michael Carroll returned at right guard and William Sanders played all snaps at left guard
  • Desmond Emeozulu started at Bandit as Devan Thompkins moved to the interior line
  • Jah-Marien Latham out-snapped Justin Hill at WOLF 25 to 16
  • 10 different players played in the secondary
  • Ivan Taylor saw an increase in snap share (26.9%)

Week 3: Florida State Recap

Offense: Similar to the Kentucky game, Alabama’s offense started slow. Two punts followed by two field goals found Alabama in a quick 21-6 hole. The offense finally found the endzone on a 12-play, 75 yard drive that took up most of the 2nd quarter. From then on, the offense was on fire. Keelon Russell (#12) looked confident in the pocket making some incredible throws. His first touchdown pass was to freshman Cederian Morgan (#8), who faked outside, ran a seam, and Keelon delivered a perfect strike for a 21-yard touchdown. His touchdown pass to Kaleb Edwards (#81) was equally impressive as he fit the ball over the linebacker and between the safeties. His most impressive throw came with 34 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Keelon operated a clean pocket, stepped up, and lofted a deep ball down the sideline right into Lotzeir Brooks’ (#3) arms for a 40-yard gain. Keelon’s final stat line was 23 completions for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lotzeir Brooks was his favorite target hauling in 8 receptions for 101 yards. Keelon also had a highlight 57-yard touchdown run. On this run, Ryan Coleman-Williams (#1) tricked his defender into pursuing him and Rico Scott (#7) provided a key block giving Keelon an untouched touchdown rush. The running backs were productive, combining for 196 yards on 30 carries (6.5 yards per attempt). Leading the group was Trae’shawn Brown (#17) with 86 yards and a touchdown. The freshman has scored a touchdown in all 3 games to start his career. The offensive line did a good job creating clean pockets and only allowed 1 sack. They also did a great job in the run game. Grubb motioned tight ends to block and had guards pulling, creating advantages on running plays. The success in the run game is encouraging. It is worth noting that Alabama kept the same starting 5 on the offensive line all game. It would appear that Grubb has finally chosen his starting group.

Defense: For the first time this season, Alabama’s defense looked vulnerable. Kane Wommack changed up personnel to defend against Aston Daniel’s legs. Devan Thompkins (#1) moved inside, Desmond Umeozulu (#9) started at BANDIT, and Jah-Marien Latham (#20) took snaps at WOLF. FSU’s misdirection confused Alabama who overcommitted. Jah-Marien did not properly set the edge, allowing an untouched 12-yard touchdown run in the 1st. The most egregious play came in the 3rd quarter where FSU simply tossed a screen to their running back for a 65-yard gain. Bray Hubbard (#18), Carmelo O’Neal (#28), and Abdull Sanders (#35) all missed tackles on the play. Alabama played a lot of man-coverage in the secondary and multiple guys got beat. On FSU’s first drive, Daniels threw up a prayer to the endzone and Dijon Lee (#5) fell down, leaving Duce Robinson wide-open for a touchdown. He was targeted 3 times allowing 3 catches for 79 yards. Carmelo O’Neal was also beat in man-coverage allowing a 35-yard bomb. Not everything from the defense was bad on Saturday. Keon Sabb (#3) and Ivan Taylor (#13) combined for an impressive interception late in the 2nd quarter. Keon tipped the ball directly to Ivan who was trailing him. The defensive line was very productive in pass rush. Devan Thompkins is a mis-match when lined up across from a guard. He often shoves guards directly backwards into the pocket, creating a panic. Alongside him, transfer Terrence Green (#99) bulldozes through the line. Late in the 2nd, Green sacked Ashton Daniels on a 4-man rush simply by running through an offensive lineman. Yhonzae Pierre (#0) continues to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Late in the 3rd, Yhonzae beat his man with speed and got into Daniels’ face immediately, batting down a pass attempt. Middle linebackers Luke Metz (#4) and Caleb Woodson (#5) were productive with 6 and 5 tackles, but missed plenty of gap assignments. They were great in the first two games, so we should remain confident in the linebackers. Overall, the defense was vulnerable but made plenty of plays to win this game.

Special Teams: Conor Talty made another 3 field goals from 32, 43, and 45 yards out. He is a perfect 8 for 8 to start the season. Punter Alex Asparuhov punted twice averaging 42.5 yards per punt. Lorcan Quinn usually kicks the ball through the endzone on kickoffs, but with 3:37 left in the 1st, he left one short and FSU returned it for 31-yards. Lorcan made the tackle on the play.

Week 3 Storylines Revisited

Start hot and start quick – Alabama did not start hot or quick in this one. Quickly, Alabama was in a 21-6 deficit. From that moment on they were incredibly hot. Florida State’s offense proved a more difficult challenge than Kentucky, so Bama needed to play catch-up fast. As the competition continues to get better, Kalen needs to make sure that his offense is ready to go right away.

Strength vs Weakness – Alabama and Florida State seemed to flip expectations when it came to 3rd down. Alabama’s defense, who had been 2nd best in the country on 3rd down, allowed 8 conversions on 15 attempts. Florida State’s defense, who was 8th worst on 3rd down, held Bama to 4 for 12 on 3rd down. While it is interesting that the teams performed opposite of what was expected, this did not impact the outcome of the game.

Win the games you are supposed to – Alabama did win this game, but it was much too close for comfort. Alabama entered the game a 3-touchdown favorite but found themselves in a tight contest. Bama did pull away late, but seemed to play with their prey a bit too long. Kalen has to be better at getting the Tide ready for kickoff. Slow starts will eventually catch up to them.

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Roll Tide! -Jake