If aliens had read any of the pregame analyses of Alabama’s opener against MTSU – and then subsequently watched what actually happened on the field – they would come to the conclusion that almost no one on Planet Earth had a clue as to what they were talking about.
Measured in a vacuum, the question of whether a revamped Alabama team (a more blue-collar approach on offense, a return to an aggressive and physical defense) could rejoin the ranks of playoff contenders was pretty much centered around a discussion of the quarterback depth chart. Could multi-talented-but-mistake-prone physical phenom Jalen Milroe control himself yet remain a lethal weapon? Would Notre dame transfer Tyler Buchner be able to be anything more than a game manager if given a chance to play? Would Ty Simpson stay interested in the competition, knowing it was unlikely to be truly over after just one week?
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As it turns out, the quarterbacks were about the least troubling position group on a night when Alabama failed to trouble anyone but the Blue Raiders of MTSU. Alabama won 56-7 and dominated while doing so. All three quarterbacks played, and played well. As for MTSU, the Blue Raiders aren’t going to challenge anyone for a national title any time soon, but this is a team that won seven games a year ago, including a bowl game over San Diego State, and a victory over Miami in the regular season. MTSU wasn’t a pushover even by FBS standards, let alone the kind of Directional State U. that many of Alabama’s contemporaries chose to schedule in Week 1.
The game wasn’t just about transition at the quarterback spot, though. It was about a continuing re-dedication to physical football on the offensive side, and fixing a defense that had grown stale and sloppy over the past couple of years in regard to mental errors, penalties and attention to detail.
Saturday night’s game showed that these rebuilding efforts remain a work in progress in some areas – the Bama offensive line didn’t have its finest game, and the interior defensive line pressure needs more consistency – but in other ways, the changes have been both positive and noticeable. Alabama was flagged just twice on the night for 19 yards, neither flag being of much consequence, and the defense played with what was clearly a more aggressive posture.
And therein is the conundrum for Alabama’s opponents: Quarterback questions aside, does anyone really want to play this team if the defense is fixed? Even if Jalen Milroe and/or the Ty & Tyler Show can’t keep putting up performances like this one, could this team win a championship primarily with its defense?
Against Middle Tennessee, Alabama forced two turnovers, and neither was cheap. Linebacker Dallas Turner and nosetackle Tim Keenan forced MTSU QB Nicholas Vattiato to rush a pass down the right hash that was intercepted by Jaylen Key, and later in the game, LB Kendrick Blackshire ripped the ball out of MTSU WR Jacob Coleman’s hands after a short catch, two plays that seemed almost foreign to Tide fans who watched their defense a year ago rank 100th in interceptions and 70th in forced fumbles.
The pleasant surprises extended to the wide receiver group, much maligned during spring and fall camps, the whole of which avoided dropping any passes or obviously blowing any route assignments. While there will be surely small items to clean up in practice this week, Bama’s wideouts looked like the groups that played in Tuscaloosa three and four seasons ago, just with the names on the jerseys changed.
In short, this was about as solid an opener as Alabama could have played, against decent opposition, and the structural and fundamental improvements on both sides of the ball would seem to promise bigger and better things on the horizon. The offense could end up being more effective than it was last year – not as explosive, but more effective – even without the great Bryce Young under center. The defense, playing downhill with ears pinned, could wind up being the difference in close games, rather than the reason certain games turn close.
Or, a very different Alabama from the one that whipped MTSU on Saturday night could show up as early as next week, against a more dangerous opponent, the Texas Longhorns. We don’t know enough yet to say – but early returns are certainly promising.
Here’s the Five-Point Breakdown for Alabama-MTSU:
1. When allowed to spread his wings, Milroe can be a weapon. The biggest criticism surrounding Jalen Milroe coming into the year was how he looked in relief of an injured Bryce Young against Texas A&M in 2022. Former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien seemed to trot out the same gameplan for Milroe that he would have used for Young, which made little sense and nearly got Alabama beat. In the early going against Middle Tennessee, new coordinator Tommy Rees similarly kept things conservative for Milroe, but a sequence of playcalling that led to Milroe’s second rushing touchdown – and after that, a handful of well-timed deep shots – suggest that Rees may have a better hang of what it takes to bring Milroe’s unique talents to the surface.
Milroe’s first rushing touchdown was quintessential Jalen, taking a horrific snap from C Seth McLaughlin and scrambling for a 21-yard score on a play that, by all rights, should have been a 10-yard loss. By the time Alabama pulled Milroe from the game, his confidence as a passer was brimming.
It bears mentioning here that both Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson played well in relief; Buchner’s quick release and decision-making were apparent, and if Milroe should hit a rough patch down the road, the cupboard behind him is certainly not bare. But assuming Milroe will remain the starter throughout the season, he will be most effective if allowed to be dangerous – and he will be at his most dangerous if allowed to function as a ball-carrier in an offense that keeps a defense off-balance. Saturday night was a good first step toward that goal.
2. It was good that Milroe and the WR/TE group stepped up, because the running game otherwise was average. MTSU’s defensive line would hold its own if it were an SEC unit; we profiled this strength before the game, but even we were surprised by the level of success the Blue Raiders found at times against the Bama OL.
Alabama didn’t move the pile much in the running game. Alabama’s running backs carried the ball 30 times for 136 yards, a pedestrian 4.5 yards per carry, and while Jase McClellan did score once, it came on a nice bounce-out at the goal line after MTSU had the initial lane stuffed. It is very possible that backups Jamarion Miller and Justice Haynes are more talented runners than the current 1-2 rotation of Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams, but Miller had a whiff in pass protection that exposed Jalen Milroe to a particularly nasty sack.
The tradeoff isn’t worth it, at least not now. The bigger question is whether the so-so performance on the ground was a talent issue at running back, or the result of an offensive line that is still trying to put it all together. RG Darrian Dalcourt seemed to really struggle at times in this game, and the concerns about LT Kadyn Proctor’s pass protection abilities seemed legitimate.
If anything, Alabama got more effective late in the game when Miller, Haynes and Richard Young ran the ball behind the second OL, with Bama getting a better interior push from reserve guards Terrence Ferguson and Jaeden Roberts. To put it simply, Alabama can’t repeat this performance against Texas, or any of the top SEC opponents it will face.
3. DBs lived up to billing but … please, someone keep them out of the injury tent. Alabama was already without S Devonta Smith coming into this game, and then lost S Jaylen Key, S Malachi Moore and CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry during the game. That’s the kind of attrition that scares coaches out of their minds. Moore and McKinstry should be able to return for Texas with no issue, but Smith is probably out for an extended period of time and Key’s injury is yet to be determined.
The worst part of Key going down, of course, is that his interception when Alabama was leading 14-0 turned the momentum of the game on its head. Alabama needed better ball-hawking from its safeties in 2023 and Key seemed ready to deliver on it, so here’s hoping his absence from the lineup is short. Beyond that, Alabama played multiple DB combinations and all of them seemed to work quite well. True freshman S Caleb Downs was the leading tackler for the game, and Terrion Arnold and Kristian Story both played well while manning multiple positions. There were fewer busted coverages than usual – MTSU’s lone touchdown may have been on a bit of an overrun by S/CB Earl Little – and less confusion.
4. LB play drove the nails for the defensive gameplan. As good as the secondary looked, the linebacker group may have made the most obvious leap forward from 2022. Even without Will Anderson, Alabama got solid penetration and pursuit from its outside linebacker group, in particular Quandarrius Robinson, who along with Dallas Turner, can line up at multiple positions.
Chris Braswell made an impressive play in coverage, previously his weakest suit, and also applied good edge pressure. The real fireworks, though, came from inside backers Deontae Lawson, who filled his stat sheet with aplomb (7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QB hurry), and Kendrick Blackshire, who came on in relief of Trezmen Marshall and probably outplayed him. Jihaad Campbell wasn’t available for this game, and he was in a neck-and-neck battle with Marshall before getting hurt, so upon his return this position is going to become a real logjam.
Like the secondary, the linebackers in general appeared to be playing with more confidence and aggressiveness. We’d like to see more of Blackshire and Robinson going forward, as well as OLB Keanu Koht, who flashed in a limited number of snaps after being one of the breakout stories of the spring.
5. Interior defensive line needs both more flash and more consistency. When Alabama got pressure on MTSU’s quarterbacks, or when running lanes were stuffed, it was usually more a function of good linebacker play than a push from up front. The notable exception was on Jaylen Key’s interception, which was set up by a combination of effective inside pressure from NT Tim Keenan along with edge pursuit from LB Dallas Turner. Alabama got six QB hurries on the night and all were credited to linebackers (although Keenan should have been given one on the Key INT). In all, Alabama DL recorded only six total tackles.
Jaheim Oatis had three of those, Justin Eboigbe two and true freshman James Smith got one when the subs went in. Tim Smith was shut out as was the nosetackle tandem of Keenan and Damon Payne Jr. Granted, Alabama will see its interior players’ numbers go up when the opponent isn’t running a full-bore Air Raid attack like MTSU’s, but the DL just didn’t flash much on Saturday. They had their moments, but would then disappear for long stretches. The conference schedule will demand more than this.
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