The No. 17-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide walked into Athens on Saturday night and emerged with a victory in Sanford Stadium.
The win was reminiscent of the 2008 win in Sanford Stadium, the last time Georgia did a blackout when Alabama was the visitor, but things have changed, and not just since 2008, but also since the Crimson Tide last played in Week 3 against Wisconsin.
Jam Miller and the running backs
Running back Jam Miller finally made his return from a collarbone injury that had him sidelined all season, and he proved to be a true difference maker for Alabama.
Although the run game did not work as efficiently on Saturday night as it did versus the Badgers, the Crimson Tide pounded the ball, recording 38 total rushes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s all about preparation,” Miller said. “We watched their film to see what they do and just learned from it.”
Miller got the bulk of the carries with 16 rushes and was also the leading rusher with 46 yards.
What was intriguing to see was how Alabama, with the intent of throwing as much of the playbook as it could at the Bulldogs, had wide receiver Germie Bernard run the ball five times.
It was decently effective, though, as Bernard had 20 yards on those five rushes. However, as a team, the efficiency on the ground had plenty of room for improvement.
The team finished with just a 3.1 yard per carry average, which was also an issue against the Badgers at 3.3.
Quarterback Ty Simpson also ran the ball less, but that was in part due to the fact that the air attack was used more this game than it was against Wisconsin.
As Miller proved to be the leader in the running back room by the end of the night, it’ll be nice to have him back going forward, especially as Alabama looks for revenge against Vanderbilt next.
Ground defense
As the offense continued to run the ball, so did Georgia, and Alabama couldn’t do much about it.
Georgia found plenty of success on the ground, which has been an area of concern for the Alabama defense for a while now, and it showed on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs recorded 33 rushes by the end of the night, one less than Wisconsin had, but Georgia still managed to rush for 135 more yards and two more touchdowns.
Georgia was highly efficient as it finished with an average of 6.9 yards per carry. The defense successfully stuffed the pass, but allowing this level of efficiency is concerning.
Penalties and execution
Alabama saw a performance from the offensive line on Saturday night that looked like it could win the Joe Moore Award, which is awarded to the best offensive line in college football.
“We just knew we had to play better on the road,” offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor said. “It was a great opponent, a great team.”
The Bulldogs only managed to acquire one sack while Simpson didn’t face much pressure throughout the game.
And to make it better, it was the best execution that we’ve seen all around so far this season as the Crimson Tide recorded just four penalties for 16 yards.
Last week, Alabama recorded seven penalties for 57 yards, and although it may be hard to see the difference that it made in the score, penalties can hurt and kill drives.
As far as execution goes, there wasn’t much more that anyone could ask of Simpson. He finished with a 63% completion rate, 276 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Wide receiver Ryan Williams did start the game off with an unfortunate drop on what would have been a touchdown, but he still got back on track and tallied five catches for 43 yards.
Overall, there’s still room for improvement, but it was a great performance and the Crimson Tide looks to be in a great place after moving forward and bouncing back from the loss to Florida State.
“It’s another step in the right direction for our team,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I know they’re [the players] already talking, they’re not done with their improvement.”
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