Hello and Roll Tide!

On Saturday Alabama fell to the Georgia Bulldogs 20-17 in a grind for field position. Alabama had the personnel to hang with Georgia, but just couldn’t get it done. Weather impacted the first half and penalties altered the second. Georgia played a nearly mistake free game, narrowly escaping Tuscaloosa with the win. Below are injury updates, depth notes, a week 6 recap, and week 6 storylines continued. Let’s go!

Injury Updates:

  • Ryan Coleman-Williams sustained both a knee and head injury against Georgia. He is in concussion protocol and will likely miss the Tennessee game
  • Defensive tackle Terrance Green exited the game with a lower-leg injury that Kalen described as “re-aggravated”
  • Starting center Racin Delgatty exited late in the 4th with a leg injury. He is QUESTIONABLE to play against Tennessee

Depth Notes:

  • Jayvin James returned to action, taking all 60 offensive snaps at right tackle
  • Rico Scott played almost every snap on Saturday (59)
  • Derek Meadows filled in immediately for the injured Ryan Coleman-Williams
  • Josh Ford was second of tight ends with 24 snaps, while playing with a broken arm
  • Only 3 non-starters rotated in the secondary: Carmelo O’Neal, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., and Ivan Taylor
  • London Simmons and Kedrick Bingley-Jones saw increased snaps after Terrance Green went down
  • After recording a career high 42 snaps a week ago, freshman Xavier Griffin only took 7 snaps on Saturday

Week 5 Recap: Mississippi State

Offense: Alabama opened the game with a long 12-play drive, killing 7:20 in the 1st quarter, but it ended with a strip sack of Keelon Russell. Ball control seemed to be an issue early while rain poured. Keelon’s footwork was spotty and balls were not coming out of his hand accurately. Late in the 2nd quarter, he got comfortable completing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Pritchett, a 23-yard completion to RCW, and a 28-yard toss to Lotzeir Brooks. Georgia did a good job of pressuring Keelon, sacking him 5 times. When he wasn’t under pressure, the coverage downfield was good. This combination led to Keelon completing only 16 of 30 pass attempts for 185 yards. Keelon did scramble effectively, adding 41 yards with his feet. Alabama’s offense was evenly split, attempting 30 passes and rushing 29 times. The running backs were effective rushing 18 times for 116 yards (6.4 avg). Trae’shawn Brown was excellent, gaining 90 yards on 9 rushes. The ground game was so effective that it is curious why Grubb did not rush more, especially early when the weather was a factor. Alabama lost the possession battle as Georgia chewed up the clock. The Tide only had 3 possessions in the second half scoring 3 points. There were opportunities for Alabama to win this football game; Alabama punted 4 times on Georgia’s side of the field. Alabama was negatively impacted by the refs 3 times, damaging drives, but there’s more on officiating later.

Defense: Bama’s defense struggled to contain Georgia’s 3rd string running back Dwight Phillips who gashed the Tide for 120 yards on the ground. Alongside him, Bo Walker rushed for another 69 yards. Alabama’s front 7 was far too aggressive on running plays, rushing the wrong lanes and allowing huge gains. Adding to the explosive rushing attack, Alabama was unable to disrupt Gunnar Stockton who completed 18 of 22 passes for 249 yards. I’ll give credit where it’s due, Gunnar came up clutch on multiple occasions Saturday night. It seemed that anytime they needed a critical 3rd down conversion, he put the ball in the right place. Much of Alabama’s success thus far on defense was the ability to pressure the quarterback. They were not able to impact Gunnar while only rushing 4. Terrance Greene’s injury at DT certainly hurt. Unable to pressure with 4, Kane started to blitz where Stockton exploited man-coverage. All things considered, the Defense held up well against the #1 scoring offense in the country. Entering Saturday night, Georgia was averaging 50 points per game and Alabama held them to 20. The Tide did force 4 fumbles, and miraculously Georgia recovered all 4 of them. Any one of those could have changed the outcome of this game.

Special Teams: The best weapon that Alabama had on Saturday night was punter Alex Asparuhov. Alex punted 5 times, pinning Georgia inside the 20 on every single punt. He pinned Georgia at the 3, 7, 14, 9, and 7 yard lines. Conor Talty made his only field goal attempt from 39-yards out.

Officiating: You’d expect the officiating crew for a top-10 SEC matchup to be one of the league’s best, but it seems like they sent their JV squad out there on Saturday night. I never like to be the guy who complains about the officiating after a loss, but some of the calls were so egregious and one-sided, that you wonder if they bet on the Bulldogs. Late in the 2nd quarter, Alabama intercepted Stockton, setting up a possession at the Georgia 40-yard line. Keelon tossed a screen pass to EJ Crowell who was met by 3 Georgia defenders who tore his helmet off for a 9-yard loss. Somehow the officials did not throw a flag for a facemask penalty. Instead of a first down, Alabama went backwards and the drive ended in a punt. With 10:47 left in the 4th, Keelon attempted a pass to Ryan Coleman-Williams who droped the pass after a blow to the head. The defender clearly led with the crown of his helmet to a defenseless receiver, yet there was no penalty for targeting. Lastly, on Alabama’s final possession, Keelon targeted Rico Scott in the endzone who got hit by a defender before the ball reached him, yet there wasn’t a pass interference penalty. It was clear cut and obvious: the defender did not turn around for the ball but rather hit Rico head on. The ball was clearly catchable as it hit Rico in the knee. Georgia is a fantastic football team who rarely makes mistakes, so it is frustrating that the officials made this game even more difficult than it already was.

Week 6 Storylines Revisited:

Ground ‘n’ Pound – Alabama’s rushing attack was successful against Georgia. Georgia entered the game allowing only 57.4 rushing yards per game and Alabama rushed for 161. The Tide should have leaned on the running game even more. Instead, Grubb could not stop calling long developing play action passes.

Limit the explosives – Alabama did not do well in this category. Alabama allowed 4 passes of over 20 yards and 5 rushed for over 10 yards. That is 9 explosive plays allowed in one game. This is part of Georgia’s identity in 2026, and Kane was unable to limit them on Saturday.

Let Keelon be Keelon – Keelon Russell struggled early to get things going. Much of that can be chalked up to the weather, but it makes you wonder what Ryan Grubb was thinking upstairs. Keelon’s slow start did not change the play calling. Instead, Grubb continued to call complex passing plays. Keelon could have used help via the rushing attack or with simple check downs. Grubb needs to check his ego and have a better feel for the game.

Make the man in front of you quit – The offensive line played well enough, especially in the run game. Georgia’s front 7 did not look bigger or more physical. This was an even matchup in the trenches. Alabama was a bit behind on the defensive side of the ball, yet they are pretty banged up there. The effort level was good on the defensive line, but they couldn’t quite pressure the QB. All of the tools are there for this team to go toe-to-toe with any team’s big men.

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Roll Tide -Jake