Maybe we should all learn to expect the unexpected.
By the time Alabama had snapped the ball for the third time Saturday night, the following events had occurred: Western Kentucky’s headsets had failed (twice), necessitating Alabama to relocate new playcaller Nick Sheridan from the booth to the sideline (and then back again).
Left tackle Kadyn Proctor had injured a shoulder in warmups and couldn’t play. Two other offensive linemen, Tyler Booker and Parker Brailsford, had lost helmets on the same play and had to come out of the game, meaning that Alabama played seven different offensive linemen over three snaps, with an eighth lineman (Proctor) watching from the sidelines in street clothes. This coming after the remnants of a wannabe tropical system had dumped rain on Bryant-Denny Stadium for a couple of hours and made a general mess of DeBoer’s first pregame.
Regardless, it all turned out to just be noise in the line, as Alabama rolled to a 63-0 win over a Western Kentucky team that probably isn’t going to turn out as bad as Alabama made it look. The way Bama got to that margin of victory, though, was both unlike and not unlike some of the more memorable blowout victories of the Nick Saban regime.
Alabama set up two scores with interceptions, got pressure on Western Kentucky QB T.J. Finley anytime the Hilltoppers tried to let him set up in the pocket, and were aggressive and … well, swarming, to make a reference to the new defense’s name. Western Kentucky’s running game, which was its most suspect component coming into this game, was neutered completely.
The big question here is how much of an analog Western Kentucky will prove to be for future opponents. There are some similarities to next week’s opponent, South Florida, but USF is a better and more talented team overall. There are some systematic similarities to Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma and Auburn, but all four of those teams are built differently (and with far more talent) than this Hilltopper team. The real answer is that this game probably exists in its own universe.
So the real takeaways are not necessarily how Alabama figured out a way to dump-truck a decent Conference USA contender, but rather how it played overall against its own standards.
Alabama didn’t panic when the early sideline communication issues raised their head, and after about half the first quarter, Elijah Pritchett settled in fairly well at left tackle. The defense struggled to get off the field for a long stretch of the second quarter but held Western Kentucky out of the end zone and forced both a missed field goal and a turnover on downs in the shadow of the Bama goal line.
If teams truly do take on the personality of their coaches, this will be both the biggest change for the 2024 Alabama team and also the hardest prediction to accurately make. Nick Saban was all-business, gruff and intimidating. Kalen DeBoer is intense, aggressive to the point of sometimes coming off as hell-bent for leather, and quick to turn the page after a negative result. If Saban and DeBoer were working dogs, DeBoer would be a border collie to Saban’s Rottweiler.
Some of what we discussed in our pregame article never came to pass: Western Kentucky never seriously threatened Alabama with big plays, and Alabama never looked overly out-of-sorts. The offense appeared to be well-designed almost to the point of precision, especially in the running game. It could be that the transition from Saban to DeBoer will go more smoothly than expected.
There’s that word again, “expected.” Maybe it will be OK to put some real expectations on this team. If Bama continues to play like it did Saturday, we might be able to expect those expectations to be met.
Here’s the Five-Point Breakdown for Alabama-Western Kentucky:
1. The transformation of the defensive front went seamlessly and paid instant dividends. We wondered how Alabama’s defensive line would react to the transition from a two-gap, control-oriented line to a one-gap, penetrating scheme, and we got our answer early. Tim Keenan played a solid game at tackle, as did Jeheim Oatis and James Smith, disrupting the Hilltopper line and freeing up pressure from across the front. Wolf LB Quandarrius Robinson was too much for a pretty good tackle and guard combo, Marshall Jackson and Quantavious Leslie, to handle. He sacked QB T.J. Finley once, recorded a QB hurry and affected Finley on at least two other passes. The Hilltopper running game was shut down completely, held to just 42 yards on 27 carries (1.6 avg.), with only one run of 10 yards or more. Qua Russaw was actually the surprise starter at Wolf and recorded 4 tackles there while making an impact all over the field. Again, every point we make here is going to include the caveat “it was against Western Kentucky” but the point is, there were no indications of a bad fit systematically. This was a performance Alabama can build upon.
2. Defensive backfield answered a lot of questions and sent a message to future opponents. Alabama used five cornerbacks in the first two drives of the game, which might be the clearest sign of all that Nick Saban is no longer in charge. Alabama rotated defensive backs all night, playing essentially two full platoons plus another couple of bodies. The change in defensive scheme, and the use of more zone coverage, allowed defensive backs to go hunting for big plays more often. Michigan transfer Keon Sabb had 2 interceptions in the first quarter and had to fight CB Zabien Brown for one of those. Alabama got solid play up and down the depth chart; S Bray Hubbard looked particularly strong in relief of Malachi Moore in centerfield and true freshman Red Morgan continues to show why coaches rave about his potential. There were no big bust plays over the corners, despite Finley being a proven commodity at quarterback and the WKU receiver corps being wholly competent. Wake Forest transfer CB DaShawn Jones had a nice breakup late and also made a solid stop behind the line of scrimmage on a ball carrier. Which leads into this …
3. DeBoer seems committed to playing more players, and it can only help competition at spots. We would usually list something like this one fifth since it’s more of a feel-good issue, but we believe DeBoer’s substitution strategy could actually pay dividends for more than just the down-the-depth-chart players, practice warriors and walk-ons. On the aforementioned play where DaShawn Jones made an aggressive stop late, it had all the feel of a player trying to still compete for a job. The one consistent complaint about Nick Saban that had merit was that Saban often played starters well after the results of games were no longer in question. DeBoer’s approach has a different feel. It looks like a deliberate attempt to build depth, confidence and familiarity under live fire. It’s an approach not without risk, but Alabama made it work Saturday. In addition to the five cornerbacks getting on the field in the first two drives, Alabama played four inside linebackers in the first half, five defensive tackles, three whole platoons of wide receivers and five tight ends. Then, late in the game, more players were added to those totals. Alabama even got walk-on OLs Graham Roten and Baker Hickman significant work on the team’s last offensive drive. We counted nine walk-ons that got playing time in this game and may have missed one or two others.
4. Offensive play design offered promise. The caveat about it being WKU aside, the actual design of Bama’s offensive plays – in particular the run-blocking schemes, and the designed quarterback runs – seemed to be better than anything we’ve seen from a Bama offense since the end of the Steve Sarkisian era. Jalen Milroe’s two touchdown runs were both off those kind of nightmare plays that defensive coordinators hate to see with a running quarterback. Justice Haynes’ long touchdown run was triggered by a great double-pull block from RG Jaeden Roberts and RT Wilkin Formby that opened up a chasm-sized hole on the left of the formation. Alabama didn’t have to throw the ball much, but we saw enough evidence that, after years of threatening to do so, Crimson Tide coaches might actually be on the verge of featuring the tight ends in interesting ways in the passing game. Rolling up 600 yards of total offense in a debut pretty much says it all, but this game was just proof of concept for what DeBoer has said he wants in an offense: dynamic, but physical.
5. The list of clean-up items is thankfully short. First games under new regimes can be a sloppy mess, and Alabama had to overcome a lot of craziness at the outset, but the final grade for this game was actually a high mark in this regard. Alabama was flagged for 7 penalties, but 4 of them came in the first quarter and then the Crimson Tide got it together. There were just two plays, one flagged and one not, where substitutions didn’t come off cleanly. Bama had to call timeout to avoid a delay of game once due to communication errors. All in all, it was a solid effort. As for actual performance issues, once Elijah Pritchett calmed down, he did a good job replacing Proctor at left tackle, but he has to sometimes fight the tendency to get grabby. Bama’s lone turnover was on a bad snap, something we’ve seen far too much of already over the past 12 months. Conor Talty had a decent day as Bama’s kickoff specialist but only reached the end zone on half his attempts. Backup QB Ty Simpson had a good day overall, especially since he was mostly working with the second unit, but his decision to throw to the middle of the field on a play that resulted in a roughing call was a poor one. Still, this is a short list of items to work on and is evidence of a well-prepared team.
Follow Jess Nicholas on X at @TideFansJessN