Alabama's offensive flaws were outed by Texas, so it's up to Nick Saban to find a fix for the Crimson Tide's issues at receiver and offensive line
Alabama fans spent nearly nine months arguing ‘ifs’ and ‘buts,’ effectively claiming another Crimson Tide championship since wideouts John Metchie and Jameson Williams were hurt against Georgia.
So it only seems fair to question whether Nick Saban’s top-ranked squad would’ve lost to Texas on a scorching Saturday in Austin, where the Longhorns outplayed the Crimson Tide for much of the afternoon despite promising freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers suffering a shoulder injury early in the first quarter.
I kid. A little.
Alabama made one more play than Texas on Saturday, outlasting the Longhorns 20-19. Texas’ valiant upset effort came up just short, as Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young led a pair of gritty fourth-quarter scoring drives, including setting up the game-winning field goal inside the final 15 seconds.
Young uncorked a ridiculous touchdown throw in the fourth, and on Alabama’s final drive, he did his best dip, duck and dodge move to avoid a free rusher on a potential game-ending sack. Young’s Houdini escape — aided by a badly missed holding call — turned a 10-yard loss into a 20-yard gain to setup Will Reichard’s kick.
“When his best was needed, he was really good,” Nick Saban said postgame.
“And that’s what we needed. … He’s very instinctive. He plays quarterback like a point guard in basketball.”
Just like he did against Auburn last fall, Young bailed out Alabama.
The Tide constantly shot themselves in the foot on Saturday, as the Tide were plagued by drops, poor pass protection and a Nick Saban-era record 15 flags. Through three quarters, Alabama had more penalty yards (100) than Young had passing yards (77). Will Anderson jumped offsides three times and a had a ridiculous late hit.
“We’ve got to play better, there’s no doubt about that,” Saban said.
It was a strange performance, but discipline his a Saban staple, so I don’t expect the uncharacteristic sloppiness to be an issue the rest of the season for the Tide.
I can’t say the same about their issues at wide receivers or offensive line.
Texas, which was a 21-point underdog, exposed Alabama’s two real flaws — ones myself and others highlighted throughout the offseason.
Alabama has a fighter pilot QB but lacks the jet fuel WRs
Young is awesome, but Alabama no longer has a room full of fireball receivers.
Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton, who had as many drops (2) as catches Saturday, is not Jameson Williams or John Metchie.
Until late in the game, Trashon Holden, Ja’Corey Brooks and others struggled to get separation against a Texas secondary with a lot of inexperience. Tight end Cameron Latu is a nice safety valve for Young, but he isn’t an explosive playmaker. The Tide’s best receiver was Georgia Tech transfer tailback Jahmyr Gibbs (nine teaches for 74 yards and a score), and that’s not enough. Alabama had a single play over 20 yards to a wideout vs. Texas/
Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones were fantastic for the Tide, but the program’s offensive resurgence in the last five years is directly tied to some insane wide receiver recruiting. Their factory of 1st Round picks provided the gas that fueled all the offensive fireworks.
They don’t have that luxury in 2022, though. There’s a reason why they went so hard after Jordan Addison after already adding Burton and Tyler Harrell.
Maybe the lack of dudes at wideout wouldn’t be a problem if Alabama had still a mauling offensive line and dominant running game — ala “old school 2012 Nick Saban’s Alabama.”
But that ain’t the case either.
When Alabama grabbed a transfer offensive tackle from Vanderbilt out of the portal, it spoke volumes about where the Tide believed their OL stood, too.
Pass protection was a problem throughout the game Saturday, and outside of a 81-yard touchdown run, they couldn’t move the ball on the ground as well. They didn’t get a first down in the third quarter.
When is the last time your remember big ole’ bad Bama couldn’t muster a yard on 4th-and-inches?
To exacerbate things, Bill O’Brien’s playcalling was maddeningly inconsistent, and Alabama was constantly snapping the football with less than 1-second on the play clock.
“We’ve got to focus on what’s in front of (us),” Saban said.
“If you’re an offensive lineman, that’s the guy you got to block. If you’re a receiver, that’s the guy you got to beat. If you’re a runner, you got to press the hole and make the right cuts. We didn’t do any of that stuff like we need to.
“So it wasn’t just one thing.”
No it was not.
Will all those concerns, even considering Bryce Young’s heroics, is this really a championship offense? The Death Star had its big flaw, and 2022 Alabama does, too. Right now at least.
The defense is terrific. Their special teams are solid. Young is fantastic.
All that was true in the national championship game against Georgia last season, too though. And we saw then that Young can only shoulder so much of the load offensively.
It wasn’t enough in January. It was barely enough against the Longhorns. Alabama managed not to totally melt down in the Texas heat Saturday, but it may not be so fortunate later this fall come SEC play.
If the Tide truly want this to be a #REVENGETOURSZN, then Saban and O’Brien are going to have to figure out how to scheme up an elite offense that no longer has the best players on the perimeter or 1st Rounders at tackle.