By Rant On Contributor, Andy Bass
Alright everybody.
Hand up, my bad last week. But this is a safe space for all, myself included, and we will not judge each other for dumb things we said in the past. We (mostly me) expected Alabama to go out there and do Alabama things and we (again, primarily yours truly) were wrong.
Who would’ve expected that Alabama would be down 14 points at halftime? Or that Alabama would stage a massive comeback to take the lead? And then utterly collapse into first half familiarity and blow it? No one. However, the show must go on folks, and this week Mississippi State is Public Enemy #1. I for one entirely refuse to let everyone else (read: myself) overlook this game against an offense that couldn’t match up better against Bama.
MSU has one of the most elite passing attacks in all of college football. They will let it fly on all four downs in literally any situation, and Alabama has a secondary that is good not great. This is a secondary that could be great, but that would require an elite pass rush that the Tide hasn’t showcased outside of Will Anderson when he isn’t double-teamed. Check out the big ZERO that Alabama posted for sacks last week. A&M kept Zach Calzada upright, got the ball out quick, and scorched Bama, and if you think Mike Leach didn’t see that then you’re more stupid than Pete Golding, or Bill O’Brien’s goal line play-calling.
Sorry. Got off track. That was the last time, I promise.
The Air Raid is a really simple offensive plan. Wideout screens, crossing routes, slants, and a lot of quick, pocket passes. The offensive line has the advantage of getting in a good rhythm with their set up and not having to expend as much energy as a heavy running team. All you need to make this system to work is an accurate quarterback, and Will Rogers is going at a 76% clip so far this season. In their last three games, Memphis, LSU, and TAMU, he’s averaging 399 yards per game and has 9 TDs to 1 INT.
Now, to be positive, the Bulldogs are 1-2 in those games despite the stellar numbers. If Alabama can make a big play or two and win the turnover battle, this is a very winnable game on Saturday. When you pass, only one outcome is a good one, right? A completion. The other two outcomes are bad: an incompletion, and an interception. This can lead to plenty of short drives and drives stalling out, which is why State only scores 27.8 points per game.
Drew Sanders will be out again for the defense. Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell will fill in for him. Saban also said that there will be more of a need than usual to keep a rotation for freshness. The lack of Jase McClellan hurt a little more than I hoped. Roydell Williams can provide some pass-catching, but he just isn’t the same as McClellan.The top thing I will be keeping an eye on though is the offensive line play. Alabama let A&M’s front seven chase Bryce Young throughout the game and didn’t get the kind of push that Bama fans have grown accustomed to. Evan Neal can’t play all five positions at once guys, this is a team effort and not one of the other linemen are carrying their weight.
Alabama has to focus though to win this game. If they come out slow like last week, MSU will come out and make them pay and leave them in a hole. If they fall apart like in the second half against Florida (or the LAST FIVE MINUTES SATURDAY), then they have the ability to move the ball downfield very quickly and strike fast. Bama needs a concerted effort on all sides to avoid this game becoming more trouble than it ever should be. This is one of the worst teams in the SEC West.
Alabama is the better of the two teams that’ll take the field in Starkville Saturday night.
They just need to act like it.
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