Alabama Football: Keys to Victory vs. West Virginia
The 2014 Alabama football season is upon, and once again the boys in crimson and white will take the field in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Alabama is replacing a lot of key players, including record-setting quarterback AJ McCarron. Meanwhile, West Virginia is installing a new defense – the 3-3-5 “stack.” What are some of the keys to victory for Alabama in the season opener?
Control the tempo
It is no mystery that West Virginia wants to control the tempo of a game and play as many plays on offense as possible. That resulted in a lot of points scored in the Geno Smith days.
Defensively, West Virginia has been very soft in previous years, finishing 106th in passing defense, 99th in scoring defense, 90th in rush defense, and 101st in total defense in 2013. They allowed nearly five yards per carry on the ground, and over 20 rushing touchdowns in 2013. This likely has Alabama’s punishing stable of running backs licking their chops.
With a new quarterback (or more likely quarterbacks) behind center for Alabama, they will look to the trio of T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry, and Kenyan Drake to churn out the yards and keep the West Virginia offense off the field.
West Virginia is still a solid football program, with an offense that can put up gaudy numbers.
The best defense against the spread/hurry-up no-huddle style is a great offense that keeps the opponent off the field. Alabama will likely have up to six defensive backs on the field most of the game because of the way West Virginia wants to spread out the defense and make quick, short passes.
Quarterback Clint Trickett threw for 1,605 yards and seven scores in 2013, but is expected to pick things up as he takes over sole ownership of the starting role. Mario Alford (552 yards, 2 TD in 2013) and Kevin White (507 yards, 5 TDs in 2013) are his favorite targets, and he has a stable of running backs to use as well.
Expect Dreamius Smith (494 yards, 5 TD), Wendell Smallwood (221 yards, 1 TD in 2013), and Pittsburgh transfer Russel Shell (641 yards, 4 TD as a freshman at Pittsburgh in 2012) to share carries. Sure tackling is a must for the defensive backs because West Virginia is known for turning short passes in to huge plays over the years.
No turnovers
Alabama is favored by 26 points in this game, and it’s easy to understand why, as the talent gap is pretty big between the two schools. But West Virginia is still a solid football program, with an offense that can put up gaudy numbers. If Alabama turns the ball over, that could lead to big plays for West Virginia, especially against a relatively young secondary.
Blake Sims and Jacob Coker must take care of the football and not make mistakes. There will be no need to force anything, especially with the running game. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake both lost four fumbles in 2013, so they will certainly need to make sure to keep control of the ball as well.
Consistency
Last year the word we heard a lot going into the season was “complacency,” and we saw that complacency ended up biting the 2013 version of Alabama hard late in the year. This year, the theme is consistency.
Saban has stressed that whoever the signal caller ends up being for the 2014 Alabama Crimson Tide will need to show that he can be consistent in the way he manages the offense, distributes the football, and does not make mistakes or turn the ball over.
The defense also must be consistent and disciplined against a high-powered offense, and the other offensive players must consistently do their jobs well to make it easier on the quarterbacks to get them comfortable. Whether that means a running back breaking off a long run or a receiver bailing out one of the quarterbacks on a bad throw, the team must stay consistent to stay away from a letdown this early in the season.
No. 2 Alabama faces West Virginia Saturday afternoon at 2:30 (central) on ABC. BamaHammer will feature a live thread during the game, and news and analysis after the game.