Alabama vs. Virginia Tech: Over Analyzing the 35-10 win over the Hokies
Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
The Alabama Crimson Tide began their quest for a third consecutive national championship in somewhat shaky fashion in the Georgia Dome on Saturday. While the final on the scoreboard of 35-10 showed an impressive 25 point win over a quality opponent, it was without a doubt not the most aesthetically pleasing blowout victory.
Scoring 35 points normally points to a good offensive showing, but three of the Crimson Tide’s five touchdowns were non-offensive. Which is a good and a bad thing, as the Tide showed the ability to light up the scoreboard in more than one way, but also struggled to create an identity for themselves on the offensive side of the football.
In total, the Crimson Tide managed just 206 yards of offense, and was actually outgained by the Hokies, who had 212 yards. AJ McCarron, the nation’s leader in passing efficiency a year ago, never got comfortable in the pocket.
McCarron was nursing an ingrown toenail that had him in a walking boot when he stepped off the bus in Atlanta on Friday. He seemed unable to plant on his left foot to make throws, as he made several throws off of his back foot. It took McCarron 276 less pass attempts to throw his first interception of the 2013 season than 2012; a second quarter pass by AJ was intercepted by Virginia Tech’s Kyle Fuller.
The game started out well enough for McCarron, as he hit Amari Cooper on a pass near the sideline that showed how much the chemistry has grown between the two. But, there wasn’t much of note after that for the ‘Bama signal caller, who finished the game 10-of-23 passing for 110 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His lone touchdown of the evening came on a perfect throw to Christion Jones in the third quarter, who made an over the shoulder grab in the endzone after beating his man off of the line of scrimmage. Interestingly enough, that pass by McCarron was also off of his back foot.
The ground game could never get going, which certainly affected the passing game. In recent seasons, Alabama has been able to use the run to set up the pass, but could never do that on Saturday in the Georgia Dome. The Tide ran the ball 38 times and amassed only 96 yards for a 2.5 yards per carry mark.
The numbers are even more brutal when you dig deeper. Of the 38 rushing attempts, 26 of them went for two yards or less and 16 of them were either for loss or no gain. That means 12 Alabama rushing attempts actually gained more than two yards against the Hokies.
Even with the struggles of the offensive line, T.J. Yeldon managed to have a decent afternoon. He ran for 75 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown. The 4.4 yards per carry average isn’t great for sure, but considering how much the running game struggled, it was actually a solid performance by the Tide sophomore. Yeldon gained a nice chunk of his yards after contact, and looked every bit like the player we expected to see in his second season.
Even with the large stable of running backs the Crimson Tide boasts, it looks like T.J. Yeldon will be used in more of a featured role than most originally thought. Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart were the first running backs to relieve Yeldon in the backfield, and they combined for eight carries for 12 yards.
Dee Hart looked solid enough, but like most ‘Bama runners, just never got a hole to run through. Folwer, on the other hand, looked like he was playing scared for most of the contest. The junior, who is coming off of major knee surgery, played like he was afraid to get injured again. He was soft as a pass blocker, as he completely whiffed on one play that allowed McCarron to get sacked. As a runner, Fowler didn’t have the same burst and power that we saw from him before he got injured last season.
The offense needs Fowler to be the guy he was last season in order to be as successful. His versatility brings a whole new dynamic to the offense.
Freshman running backs Derrick Henry and Altee Tenpenny made their Crimson Tide debuts on Saturday. The two had seen rave reviews since arriving in Tuscaloosa. While Henry is the more highly regarded back, it was actually Tenpenny who made the most of his first live game action. Tenpenny looked strong and quick, as he carried the ball four times for 24 yards. He busted through the line for a 20-yard gain on one run, and it looks, at least early, like Alabama has another special runner in the former four-star back from Little Rock, Arkansas.
It wasn’t nearly as smooth of a debut for Derrick Henry, the five star back out of Yulee, Florida. Henry was blown up in the backfield for a three yard loss in his only carry of the game, and looked lost as a pass blocker and allowed McCarron to get sacked. Young runners, even those with the size and strength of Henry, struggle early as a blocker in college. Regardless of talent, if you can’t block, you won’t see much of the field. Henry will have to improve in that area if he wants to see noteworthy snaps on offense.
Of course, the most disappointing unit on the offense, and the main cause for all the other offensive struggles, was the offensive line. The biggest concern most Crimson Tide fans had coming into the season was an offensive line that had to replace three starters. Most just assumed it would be a seamless transition, but you can’t just expect to transition from what was potentially the best offensive line Alabama history to now with three new starters without some hiccups.
The losses of first round picks Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker along with three-time All-American Barrett Jones showed against Virginia Tech. The line was beaten up front most of the night by the Hokies’ front seven. They couldn’t open up holes for the running game, and they couldn’t protect AJ McCarron for long enough to make plays down the field.
Junior left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio struggled mightily, which is concerning considering nobody was worried about him. He is a returning starter and is expected to leave school early for the NFL Draft this year, and be a very high draft pick. He better improve in a hurry if he wants to make that a reality. Kouandjio was hit with two holding penalties, and was consistently beaten on moves to the inside by Virginia Tech defensive ends.
His older brother Arie certainly didn’t fare any better. I thought having the Kouandjio brothers side-by-side at left tackle and left guard would instantly help the chemistry of the offensive line, but it certainly didn’t after one game. Arie was so bad at left guard that he was benched in the second half in favor of senior Kellen Williams, who seemed to do a bit better, but was still nothing to write home about.
Sophomore Ryan Kelly was thought to possibly be an upgrade over Barrett Jones at center, but he certainly didn’t look like it in the opener. His snaps to McCarron were solid enough, but he struggled to get a push up the middle on running plays, and allowed some pressure on McCarron on passing plays.
Senior right guard Anthony Steen and junior right tackle Austin Shepherd had the best performances on the offensive line, but that’s certainly not saying much.
Losing tight end Michael Williams was a big blow to the offensive line as well because Williams was practically another tackle when he was in there to run block. Nick Saban and company have tried to replicate that with redshirt freshman tackle Brandon Greene playing tight end in short yardage situations.
While the offensive line struggled, it’s certainly not time to panic just yet. It takes time for offensive lines to gel as a unit, and you can’t jump ship after one game. Although, it wouldn’t be a real surprise to see Kellen Williams get the start at left guard in place of Arie Kouandjio against Texas A&M.
I remember how much the offensive line struggled in the 2011 opener against Kent State with new starters thrown into their first game action. Trent Richardson was held to 37 yards on 13 carries in the game as the line failed to open up holes in the running game. The line ended up being fine if you remember, as the Crimson Tide went on to win the BCS National Championship that season.
It’s also important to note just how good of a defense Alabama faced at the Georgia Dome. This was a better defensive team than the Tide will face in College Station in two weeks. The Hokies boast one of the best and most experienced defensive front sevens in the country. I noted in my breakdown of their defense that the Hokies’ defensive line had 91 combined starts between them. They returned all four starters on the defensive line with three of them being seniors and the other a junior.
They brought nine starters back in total from a Top-20 defense in 2012. This was probably the second best defensive team the Crimson Tide will see this season, and they were anything but a cupcake for an inexperienced offensive line. I said it would be a challenge for the Tide’s young offensive line, and it most certainly was.
On the other side of the ball, it was an impressive opening statement for the Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide held the Hokies to 212 total yards of offense, and more than half of that total came on two offensive plays. Freshman running back Trey Edmunds busted through the middle of the Tide’s defense for a 77 yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Alabama was out of position, and junior linebacker Trey DePriest missed a tackle that allowed Edmunds to take it to the house. Logan Thomas also completed a 34-yard pass on Virginia Tech’s second drive of the game. With 111 yards of their total offensive output coming on two plays, Virginia Tech managed just 101 yards on 57 other offensive snaps, which equals out to about 1.8 yards per play.
The defensive line looked improved from last season, and while they only managed to sack Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas one time, they pressured him all afternoon and never let him get comfortable in the pocket. Senior Ed Stinson led the way with a dominating performance. He made eight tackles with a tackle for loss and a sack as the Hokies’ offensive line had no answer for him all night long.
Alabama did allow some runs up the middle to Virginia Tech that we didn’t see much of last season as the loss of Jesse Williams in the middle showed. The Hokies ran for 153 yards in the game, which is about twice as much as the Crimson Tide gave up per game last season. But again, 77 yards of that came on one play. Take out that one Edmunds run, and Virginia Tech carried the ball 32 times for 76 yards (2.4 yards per carry).
The linebackers were solid as always led by senior C.J. Mosley, who was second on the team in tackles with seven. Junior Trey DePriest had a lackluster effort alongside Mosley, and it’ll be interesting to see going forward if he can stave off sophomore Reggie Ragland and true freshman Reuben Foster, who could improve the Tide’s run defense if they can continue to develop.
The secondary, which had the most question marks on the defense after losing star cornerback Dee Milliner, acquitted itself nicely in the season opener. Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas completed only 5-of-26 passes for 59 yards and an interception. Junior safety Vinnie Sunseri made the only interception for the defense, and returned it 38-yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. There was several other opportunities for interceptions, but the Tide just couldn’t quite corral the passes.
Senior cornerback Deion Belue had a strong game, and I’ve said for a while now that he might be the most improved player on the team. Senior John Fulton looked good across the field as well. Junior Jarrick Williams saw a lot of time at the star position with Geno Smith being suspended for the game, and there weren’t any noticeable hiccups.
Converted wide receiver Cyrus Jones saw a lot of action as well, taking advantage of Smith’s suspension, and he played pretty well. The safeties — HaHa Clinton-Dix and Vinnie Sunseri — also turned in strong performances. While the secondary looked strong, you can’t get too fired up about their performance because of the level of competition. Virginia Tech has anything but a high-powered offense, and Logan Thomas was absolutely dreadful all night long. You can chalk up some of his struggles to the Tide defense, but some of it was due to his own futility.
You don’t go 5-for-26 passing by accident, and comparisons to former Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton are laughable at this point. In any case, this is certainly nowhere near the offensive team the Crimson Tide will face in two weeks in College Station.
Special teams was the brightest spot at the Georgia Dome, as the Crimson Tide fared well in all aspects of it. Christion Jones was the star of the show, with two return touchdowns. Jones returned Virginia Tech’s first punt of the evening 72 yards for a touchdown, and wasn’t close to being done.
In the second quarter, after Virginia Tech had cut the Tide lead to 21-10, Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. He became the first Crimson Tide player to return a kick and punt for a touchdown in the same game since the records began being kept in 1944. Later in the game, Jones caught a touchdown pass from AJ McCarron to cap off a fantastic night. He was named the Walter Camp Player of the Week for his efforts.
While Jones stole the show, sophomore Landon Collins also had a terrific game. He was routinely the first person down the field and made play after play on punt coverage. He ended up with five tackles, and even made a stop on a punt return while he was being blocked in the back. Collins’ play on special teams won’t be ignored by the coaching staff as he continues to make his bones. He is the fourth defensive back when Alabama goes to the dime defense, but they might need to try some creative packages to get him on the field more. He is far too talented of a player to be left on the sidelines.
The kicking game could be an adventure again this season. Cade Foster continues to be unable to put the ball in the endzone on kickoffs, even in a dome. Still, Alabama’s kick coverage was so good that it didn’t matter, as the Hokies consistently started drives inside their own 25-yard line after a Tide kickoff. Virginia Tech averaged only 16 yards per kickoff return on six returns, with a long of 24 yards.
Foster’s struggles on kickoffs resulted in redshirt freshman Adam Griffith handling the duties later in the game. It appears that that competition is ongoing, and it will be interesting to see who attempts some longer field goals. Alabama didn’t have a single field goal attempt on Saturday, while Foster was good on all five extra points.
Cody Mandell might be the best punter in the nation, and his nine punts averaged 46.4 yards with a long of 61 as he consistently flipped the field.
There were some positive and negative takeaways from the game on Saturday, and the Crimson Tide certainly have a lot to work on before they go to College Station to take on Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies. The offensive line will have to play better if they want to walk out of Kyle Field victorious as they won’t be able to count on Christion Jones finding lighting in a bottle in the return game every week of the season.
Fortunately, Nick Saban and company have two weeks to prepare for the Aggies, and they’ll likely need every second of it for what could be the marquee game of the 2013 college football season.
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