Many observations were taking from Alabama’s loss to Vanderbilt, but one needs to be highlighted more.
Where was the Crimson Tide’s rushing attack last week?
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Vandy featured its running game as the Commodores ran the football 54 times, including twice for touchdowns. Sedrick Alexander (21 carries) and Diego Pavia (20 carries) wore Alabama’s defensive front down with 41 combined rushing attempts.
The Tide has two of the best backs in college football; however, Justice Haynes and Jam Miller combined for just 11 of Alabama’s 21 rushing attempts. Miller had 45 yards rushing and two scores on an average of nine yards per carry. Haynes had some nice plays too in the run game, but the Tide did not lean on its offensive line. Vanderbilt controlled the trenches and it allowed it to win time of possession and third down efficiency. The Commodores shocked the world with a 40-35 upset victory over ‘Bama.
Nick Sheridan, Alabama’s offensive coordinator, explained Monday about the absence of the run game.
“We did put oversells in a hole early, and we were playing a little bitt go catch-up,” Sheridan said.
“We didn’t get the chance to run the ball, maybe, as much as we wanted.”
Sheridan mentioned Alabama could not establish the balance it wanted to. The Tide may be explosive, but it is not complete without making opposition respect the run game. Haynes and Miller saw how Vanderbilt controlled the tempo, and they want to achieve it for Alabama. A physical Tide team has to show up against South Carolina this week at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
