The Alabama Crimson Tide might be without Tua Tagovailoa but they’re still the team to beat for the College Football Playoff crown.
Nick Saban’s Monday press conference included an open-ended prognosis for star-quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Some believe Tagovailoa will be ready for the Alabama Crimson Tide’s November 9th clash with the LSU Tigers and others don’t. Regardless of his status, we know the Alabama Crimson Tide remain the team to beat in 2019.
Those assuming Alabama doesn’t stand a chance to beat LSU without Tagovailoa haven’t been paying attention to the last decade of college football. Tagovailoa has undoubtedly elevated the Crimson Tide but the identity of Nick Saban’s program remains the ground-and-pound offense backed by a stingy defense.
Think back to 2011
Remember those Alabama vs LSU duals during the 2011 college football season? LSU edged Alabama by a field goal during the regular season, only to lose the BCS Championship to the Tide two months later. That was the season Nick Saban relied on A.J. McCarron under center. A quarterback who rarely saw 300-yards passing, McCarron cemented his collegiate career handing the ball off.
The 2011 Tide backfield featured Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy, a duo that bruised opponents with old fashioned power running. Fast-forward to 2019 where Alabama has proven capable of leaning on Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. for offensive production. The Tide bludgeoned Tennessee on the ground last week to the tune of 105 rushing yards from Harris and another 40 from Robinson. Alabama also tallied a trio of rushing touchdowns that are credited to the gaping holes opened by the offensive line.
Budding Defense
Another staple of Alabama’s 2011 team was their defense, a unit that finished the top-ranked in all of college football. The 2019 Tide defense isn’t quite that good, but they’re ranked 13th in the country and getting better every week. This is a unit starting a pair of true freshmen at linebacker, missing a starting defensive end in Labryan Ray. Regardless, the Tide defense is gaining confidence while getting the job done each week.
Should Alabama’s defense carry them into the 2020 playoff, remember the goal-line stand against Tennessee that resulted in the Trevon Diggs touchdown.
100-yard scoop 'n score for Alabama 😳 pic.twitter.com/o7fZE6GeYC
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2019
Mac Jones is no slouch
Alabama’s biggest adjustment this week in practice will be along the offensive line. Brian Griese came off as a bumbling idiot during last week’s broadcast, but he raised the issue of the Tide offensive line adjusting to Mac Jones. Jones being right-handed forces the Tide trench to put more emphasis on the left side, which is now the backside. Those who understand schemes realize this is a much bigger task than it sounds. And speaking of Mac Jones, let’s not forget this kid is no slouch. Jones was a four-star recruit out of Jacksonville, Florida and has been in Tuscaloosa since 2017. He has plenty of arm talent, smarts, and a litany of top targets. All Jones needs is first-team reps and to get his timing down.
This may all be made easy with Tagovailoa’s triumphant return following Alabama’s bye week. Then again it may not. But we can’t do is forget that this is Nick Saban’s program and flashy quarterback or not, the man knows how to win. Voters realize this, hence why the Tide remains at the top of the AP poll. Not even a shaky win against 2-win Tennessee coupled with more big wins by LSU and Ohio State was enough to knock them off.
Tua or no Tua, the path to college football supremacy still runs through Tuscaloosa.
