Alabama leads Georgia 14-10 at halftime. Here’s what Alabama football will need to do to come away with a victory in this Georgia-Alabama game:
Protect the football
Alabama put together a great opening drive, but the fumble from quarterback Keelon Russell put an end to a drive that was going well.
The offensive attack was rolling before the fumble, and it struggled for a while until the Crimson Tide scored in the middle of the second quarter. Protecting the football is key if a team wants to win the big games like this one, especially in wet conditions.
Russell had a close call or two in the passing game. Georgia had opportunities to intercept tipped balls and one late throw, but the Bulldogs were unable to.
The first-year starter will need to avoid getting baited into a bad throw, and his offensive linemen will need to protect him.
Stop giving up big shots up the seam
The Bulldogs scored their first touchdown of the night by attacking the Crimson Tide defense straight up the seams. Alabama’s secondary is stacked with veterans, and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack is admired by fans and analysts, but the halftime adjustments need to be on point if the Crimson Tide are going to shut down Georgia.
Other pass catchers need to step up if Ryan Coleman-Williams is out
Ryan Coleman-Williams went down with an injury near the end of the second quarter. He was helped off the field, and he was hopping a bit.
Alabama wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks has two grabs for 37 yards, but the Crimson Tide will need a team effort from the rest of the pass catchers to fill the shoes of Coleman-Williams if he can’t go in the second half. Rico Scott, Derek Meadows, Cederian Morgan and any of the tight ends or running backs have an opportunity to step up and show what they can do as a pass catcher. Specifically for wide receivers, they can show what they can do blocking on the perimeter too.
If you’re going to run, feed Trae’shawn Brown or EJ Crowell
Both freshman running backs are explosive, and Brown specifically gave Alabama a shot of momentum in the middle of the first half with a 58-yard run. The Crimson Tide scored on the very next play.
Crowell is an unbelievable runner after contact. He can bounce outside and beat defenders. An example of this is what he did on the last play of the half. It looked like he was stuffed at the goal line, but he bounced it outside and made his way into the end zone to put Alabama up 14-10.
Alabama has a stable of running backs, but Brown and Crowell are having solid days today and need to continue receiving touches.
