Alabama, with the win over Arkansas, clinches the SEC West title and a spot in the SEC Championship game against UGA on Dec. 4.
The Alabama Crimson Tide won a key home game on Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks by a score of 42-35. With the win, the Tide officially clinches the SEC West title and will play the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 4.
The game against the Hogs wasn’t always pretty, but a win is a win and it definitely counts for the CFP committee.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young had a record-breaking performance in the game, throwing for 561 yards and five touchdowns.
Running back Brian Robinson played his best game of the year, as well, picking up 122 yards on the ground on 27 carries.
Jameson Williams proved to be a solid target for Young, catching eight passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
John Metchie III didn’t turn in a dud of a performance, either, catching 10 balls for 173 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, a few Tide players put up solid individual performances. Henry To’o To’o recorded eight tackles, including two sacks.
Will Anderson tallied a sack on his own to add to his seven total takedowns on the night.
In total, the Alabama defense gave up 468 yards of total offense.
Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
Alabama will be playing in their ninth SEC Championship game since head coach Nick Saban landed in Tuscaloosa in 2007. They are 7-1 in those games.
The Tide bounced back after the loss to Texas A&M and managed to earn a No. 2 spot in the CFP rankings, putting them in a position to control their own destiny.
All that’s left for the Crimson Tide now is a date in Lee County with the Auburn Tigers next Saturday before travelling to Atlanta for the conference championship game in December against UGA.
Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Layne Gerbig on Twitter @LayneG_29.
Grading Alabama’s nail-biting win over the LSU Tigers
Alabama was able to hold off a late push from the LSU Tigers on Saturday night, winning the contest 20-14. A lot of credit goes to the Bayou Bengals who played about as well as they could considering their depth issues. But Alabama was its own worst enemy with the number of blunders that took place in the game.
Now we are back with our weekly grade of the Tide’s performance. This week’s grades will most likely look much different than most weeks. Let’s get right to it!
A win is a win. But not all wins are created equal. Alabama’s 20-14 win over LSU on Saturday night was one of the most painful wins to watch in recent memory.
Each week we take a look at five things we learned from that particular week’s contest. This week’s list is bound to create some controversy.
Here is a closer look at Alabama’s defensive stats as the Tide heads into the BYE week.
Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide currently sit ranked at No. 3 with a 7-1 overall record and a 4-1 record in the SEC.
Now that the Tide has entered into its BYE week, I thought it was a good time to take a closer look at some of the team and individual stats on both sides of the football.
Today we look at the defensive side of the football!
Taking a deeper look at how Alabama graded out in its win over Tennessee
Alabama’s 52-24 victory over Tennessee might be the most unusual 28 point win that I can remember. There were times when the offense seemed unstoppable, but there were also times they couldn’t get out of their own way. The defense was great other than about three or four plays. The special teams unit was really responsible for about 10 points that the Volunteers scored in the contest. So this really is a strange game to dissect.
Nevertheless, we are back for our weekly final grade post for the Tide’s performance. Let’s see how things turned out this week.
What we learned from Alabama’s emphatic win over Mississippi State
The question all week leading up to Alabama’s matchup with Mississippi State was how the Tide would respond following last week’s loss to Texas A&M. To say Alabama answered the bell would be an understatement.
Alabama just completely dominated the Bulldogs 49-9 in Starkville. In a game in which the Tide never trailed, it reminded the Alabama faithful of what this team can and should be. The offense was balanced and the defense forced turnovers and did not allow a single touchdown.
Each week we look at a few of the things we learned from the Tide’s performance, let’s see what we learned this week!
Alabama set the tone early and never looked back. Here is our final grade for the Tide after their dominating victory over Ole Miss.
In one of the most anticipated matchups of the college football weekend, No. 1 Alabama completely dominated the Ole Miss Rebels 42-21. Many experts thought Lane Kiffin and the Rebels could upset the Tide, but Alabama set the tone early and never looked back.
The offense went back in time and delivered a crushing running game and the defense played assignment football to limit the explosive Rebels offense.
Let’s get to the grades, shall we?
Offense: A+
Oct 2, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. (4) fights for yardage against Ole Miss defenders at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports
The Alabama offense but the game in the hands of running back Brian Robinson Jr. and he delivered a career performance. Behind a great showing by the Tide offensive line, Robinson rushed for 171 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries.
Bryce Young continued his success going 20-26 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Young did throw his second interception of the season and was also sacked three times in the contest. Darrian Dalcourt had issues throughout the game with shotgun snaps and is something to monitor moving forward.
If Alabama can continue to have a balanced attack, the offense will be tough t stop for opposing defenses.
Defense: A-
Oct 2, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy (9) is stopped by Alabama lineman Tim Smith (50), linebacker Henry To’o To’o (10) and linebacker Will Anderson, Jr., (31) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports
The Alabama defense set the tone early in the contest with a fourth-down stop in the red zone. The Ole Miss offense could not muster much in the first half. The defensive line, led by Phidarian Mathis and Will Anderson, disrupted Matt Corral for the majority of the contest.
Pete Golding put together a great game plan for the high-powered Rebel offense and the players executed the plan.
The defense did relax a little bit late in the game and allowed Ole Miss to score a couple of cheap touchdowns.
If the defense can continue to play with great intensity and execution, they will be among the nation’s best.
Special teams: A-
Alabama place kicker Will Reichard (16) reacts after a field goal during an NCAA college football game against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
It’s hard to really go in-depth on the special teams unit because the only person busy was placekicker Will Reichard. Reichard connected on all six of his extra points and remains perfect on the season in that category.
The Tide special teams unit did commit a couple of mistakes and that is the only reason they did not receive an A+. On the opening kickoff, Reichard kicked it out of bounds, and in the second half freshman linebacker, Kendrick Blackshire was charged with a targeting call on a kickoff.
All in all, it was a solid performance from the Tide special teams unit.
Overall: A-
Alabama linebacker Henry To’oTo’o (10) plays to the crowd after a defensive stop during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
In a contest that the team would need to perform well, they did just that. Alabama owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and leaned on punishing running game to wear down the Ole Miss defense.
The defense had its best performance of the season shutting down the Ole Miss running game and limiting big plays.
The team continues to improve every week and still has plenty of room to grow. This team is nowhere near a finished product and that has to be scary to other teams around the SEC.
Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.
Here are 5 players who will play crucial roles in the outcome of Alabama vs. Ole Miss.
The anticipation continues to grow the closer we get to Saturday. No. 12 Ole Miss will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 1 Alabama inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium in what is expected to be a fierce battle.
A lot will be made throughout the week about the matchup between Lane Kiffin and his old boss Nick Saban. But when it comes down to it, the players on the field will decide the out of the game.
Here are five players for the Tide that I believe will be crucial to the outcome of the game.
Clint Lamb and Nick Kelly, the new beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News and TideSports.com, kick off the position breakdowns for Alabama, starting with the outside linebackers.
Before diving into that discussion, the two share their thoughts on the recent passing of the new law allowing college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.
