Alabama seeking to regain defensive edge
Alabama defenders are eager to get back on the field to prove they can get off the field.
The Crimson Tide were uncharacteristically generous down the stretch of the regular season on third downs, allowing their final three Southeastern Conference opponents — LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn — to convert 26 of 52 opportunities (50 percent) into first downs. Bouncing back in that important facet at the Sugar Bowl next Monday night will not be easy, as Clemson leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in third-down offense and ranks ninth nationally with a 46.7-percent success rate.
“We’ve emphasized that lately more than we have this whole season,” Alabama senior inside linebacker Rashaan Evans said last week in a news conference. “The No. 1 thing for any defense is getting off the field on third down, because snap counts matter at the end of the game.”
Alabama held its final on-campus practice for the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday and is headed to New Orleans today.
The Crimson Tide are a very respectable 19th nationally in third-down defense this season, allowing 58 of 176 conversions for a 33-percent clip. Yet much of their success has been the result of three shellackings at the start of conference play.
Against Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Tennessee — a trio Alabama bludgeoned by a combined 170-10 — the Tide held those offenses to 2-for-36 on third downs.
It was a different story in November, as LSU went 9-of-19 on third downs, Mississippi State 8-of-15 and Auburn 9-of 18. As a result, Alabama faced a combined deficit of more than 38 minutes of possession time in those three games.
“When you play teams that run the ball like that, you have to get off the field,” Tide coach Nick Saban said last month.
“A lot of times, it feels like teams are getting our linebackers out of the box to where they can run the ball. They’ve been spreading us out a lot. I think that’s one of the main things they’re trying to expose.”
– SENIOR INSIDE LINEBACKER RASHAAN EVANS
“A lot of things contribute to giving a team more opportunities — not getting off the field on third down, giving them extra possessions, whether through penalties or whatever.
“All these things sort of go hand in hand with how do you stop the run?”
Alabama wasn’t gashed on the ground in its last three SEC games, but it hardly dominated. LSU rushed 42 times for 151 yards (3.6 per carry), and Mississippi State rushed 49 times for 172 yards (3.5) and Auburn 49 for 168 (3.4).
Auburn had the benefit of Jarrett Stidham’s 22-of-29, 240-yard passing performance to give Gus Malzahn’s Tigers balance in their 26-14 triumph on Nov. 25, and Crimson Tide defenders know they have to be more effective in New Orleans to avoid a similar outcome against the Tigers of Dabo Swinney.
“A lot of times, it feels like teams are getting our linebackers out of the box to where they can run the ball,” Evans said. “They’ve been spreading us out a
lot. I think that’s one of the main things they’re trying to expose.”
Said senior cornerback Anthony Averett: “We know what they’re going to do. We’ve played this team a lot. We’ve just got to execute.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.